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Even if you identify yourself as a member of the LGBTQIA + community, it may be difficult to fully understand the seven characters of this acronym. And for those who are not LGBTQIA +, this may be much more confusion. What does each letter mean exactly? And how can some letters define an entire community? Considerrecent survey of theGay Alliance & Lesbian against defamation (GLAAD) found that 12% of the population identifies as LGBTQIA +, it is more crucial than ever to understand the terminology around this growing community.

Until recently, changes in the term "gay community" were used to encompass the entire group we are now referring to LGBTQIA +. According toMs. MagazineThe first acronym to be taken in the 1990s was "GLBT" used to describe those identified as gays, lesbians, bisexual or transgender. "LGBT" finally replaced "GLBT" in the mid-2000s, while lesbian activists fought for more visibility.

The activists and the members of the bizarre community have since been together to form the current acronym "LGBTQAIA +." This denotation includes a space for those who identify as lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, bizarre (and in some cases, "interrogation"), intersexual, asexual (and sometimes "ally"), and the "+" is for a plethora other orientations and identities.

With this new acronym new enough, theLGBTQIA + Community Has been able to further encompass a group of people who are barely a decade, were obstacles to society. But with this inclusiveness, there was also some confusion. So, if you scratched your head on this influx of complicated and delicate terminology, we divided it in the simplest of the terms.

THELesbians

Today, the term "lesbian" is used to describe "people identified by a woman attracted romantically, erotic and / or emotionally to other people identified by a woman," explains theUniversity of Illinois, Sex of Springfield and Sexuality Services.

The word "lesbien" emerged during the feminist movements of the 1960s and 70s. Previously, the term "gay" was used to designate men and women, although it is more closely associated with men.

"Lesbian" is derived from the name of Greek Island Lesbos, according to theOxford Dictionary. Lesbos were the house of the famous poet BC of the 6th century before our eraSappho, who expressed the affection of women in his poetry (hence the term "sapphique").

It is important to note that all women who do not correspond to the aforementioned description identifies as lesbians. As always, it is better to ask a member of the LGBTQIA + community how they identify before making assumptions.

g: Gay

Before the second half of the nineteenth century, the word "gay" simply referred to someone who was "carefree", "gay", "or" bright and seeing ", according toThe Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words. In the 40s and the 50's, the word began to be used as underground slang referring to men and women who were attracted by the same sex. Since then, the word "gay" has completely replaced the term "homosexual", which many have been judged too clinical and have been screened with stigma.

According to the University of Illinois, "Gay" is still used to describe a number of things, including the LGBTQIA + community as a whole, a single person who does not identify themselves as the right and men who are attracted to Other men in a "romantic, erotic and / or emotional sense."

B: Bisexual

A bisexual person is typically defined as a person attracted by people of their sex and other sexes, even if even experts in the LGBTQIA + community offer a range of definitions.

TheBisexual Resource Center, for example, hesitating to define bisexuality as being attracted by men or women, because it perpetuates the binary of the genre. A more expansive definition of bisexuality is a person who is drawn toall Genders, although some other than others sometimes. (And, although it can go without saying, the idea that identifies as bisexual is a "medium station" from right to gay isan inaccurate and injured stereotype.)

T: Transgender

The word "transgender" is an umbrella term used for "people whose gender identity and / or gender expression differs from what is usually associated with the sex they have been attributed to birth", according toGlaad. The term was invented for the first time by the psychiatristJohn F. Oliven from the University of Columbia in his work of 1965Hygiene and Sexual Pathology. He noted that the word "transsexual", which had been used until then, was obsolete and misleading.

Today, you probably often hear the abbreviated version of "Transgender", which is "trans". A common misconception is that the transvestites (namely, the queens of trail) are trans. But people who trade are often not transgent to say that they do not recognize each other than the one they are born with.

Q: Queer or questioning

The "Q" in the acronym LGBTQIA + has two meanings: "strange" and "interrogation". But the first is the most common.

Before the 1980s, when activists submitted this word, "Queer" wasconnection used against members of the LGBTQIA + community. As a result, some people LGBTQIA + still hesitate to use the word to represent themselves. Often, "Queer" is used as a generic term to define "sexual preferences, guidance and habits of the majority not exclusively heterosexual and monogamous", according to the University of Illinois. You will hear a person using the word to describe itself and also to describe the community in general.

As for the "questioning" subset of the LGBTQIA + community, this term refers to non-heterosexual persons who are still "questioning" their place within the strange community if it means that they are still uncertain of their orientation. sexual or gender identity, according to theWelcome Rainbow Initiative.

I: intersex

The term "intersex" is used to describe the people who are born with sexual or reproductive anatomy that does not correspond to the typical definitions of men and women, according to theIntersex company in North America. And, just as there is a series of sexual orientations and gender identities within the LGBTQIA + community, there is also an array of biological characteristics that exist between those that are intersexed.

For example, someone may be born with a significantly large clitoris, but without vaginal opening; Or with a scrotum that is divided so that it appears more like Labia. Due to these characteristics, the bodies of intersex people (and, in many cases, their gender identity) stringers the two sexes. (In addition, it is important to note that the intersex is completely different from transgender.)

A: Asexuée or Ally

Here is another letter that has more sense: "asexual" or "ally".

According toLGBTQIA + experts in Williams College, Asexual people are simply defined as those who do not feel sexual attraction for others. This term is not to be confused with "aromantic", which refers to people who feel little or no romantic attraction to others. Asexual people can often be romantically attracted by someone, but sexual attraction does not play a role in the relationship.

Asexuals are not confusing with single people (who choose not to engage in sex), those with mental disorders or hormonal imbalances that limit their libido, or those who are afraid of physical intimacy .

The LGBTQIA + "A" can also refer to the term "ally", which is used to define someone who "confronts heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, heterosexual, and Genderstraight privilege in themselves and others, "according to the University of Illinois. You can find out more aboutbe an active ally here.

+: Other non-heterosexual people

The "+" in the acronym LGBTQIA + is used to symbolize and explain a number of different gender identities and sexual orientation that are not already present in the acronym Lettered.

panSexuality falls under the "+" and is probably a term that you will hear more often in the coming years. According toPride.com, Pansexuals are people who may feel a sexual, romantic and emotional attraction to a person, regardless of their gender or orientation identity. This means that people can sansexual be attracted Cisgenre, transgender, intersex, and androgyns, like typical genre binaries do not count for them. It is different from bisexuality in that pansexuals have no preference for a certain sex more: they are connected to people for whom they are.

Genderqueer is another popular term that exists under the "+". This term is used to define those whose sexual identity is outside the masculine and female strict binary. People will either Genderqueer have qualities of both sexes or choose not to identify as sex or other. In the same direction, "non-binary" is used to describe people who do not recognize themselves as a man or woman, and consume themselves existed outside the binary kind.

Of course, the "+" can also refer to everything a person wants-and it gives way to the LGBTQIA + community to grow. And if you want to know more about thisnotto say about the LGBTQIA + community, consult our guide11 stereotypes People should stop believing about the LGBTQ community .

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