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| Glossary of terms |
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Common terms related to the LGBT Community.
| Ally |
Any heterosexual person whose attitudes and behaviors demonstrate a positive and welcoming regard for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. An ally works toward combating heterosexism and homophobia on the individual and institutional level. |
| Bisexuality |
A sexual orientation in which a person feels physically and emotionally attracted to people of either sex or gender. |
| Butch |
Possessing masculine traits or behaving in a masculine manner. (slang) |
| Coming out |
Also, “coming out of the closet” or “being out”, this term refers to the process in which a person acknowledges, accepts, and in many cases appreciates her or his lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identity. This often involves sharing of this information with others. It is not a single event, but instead a lifelong process. Each new situation poses the decision of whether or not to come out. |
| Commitment Ceremony |
An alternative to a wedding for a gay, lesbian and bisexual couple. During the ceremony, the same sex couple publicly affirms and celebrates their love and dedication to one another. Commitment Ceremonies are often referred to as unions as well. These ceremonies are necessary since same sex marriages are not legal in most states. |
| Drag |
The term for the affectation of a style, clothing, and hair that is not really your own, usually that of the other gender. Most often used to refer to female and male impersonators (ie. drag queens & drag kings), but could also refer to other styles (ie. biker, leather, cowboy, etc.). |
| Femme |
Behaving in a feminine manner or possessing feminine traits. (slang) |
| Gay |
A sexual orientation for any same-sex loving person. |
| Gay Bashing |
Physical or verbal assault directed toward LGBTA community members because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. |
| Gaydar |
The instinctual ability to ascertain that another person is gay. (slang) |
| Gender-bending |
Transgressing traditional gender roles or sex role expectations. |
| Heterosexism |
The assumption that all people are or should be heterosexual. Heterosexist attitudes ignore the needs, concerns, and life experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, while it gives advantages to heterosexual people. It is often a subtle form of oppression that silences the LGBT community. |
| Heterosexual privilege |
The right of non-gay persons to present unedited versions of their sexuality, gender identity, gender expression, and associated lived experiences. |
| Heterosexuality |
A sexual orientation in which a person feels emotionally or physically attracted to people of the opposite sex or gender. |
| Homophobia |
The fear, dislike, or hatred of LGBT individuals or their relationships. Homophobia includes prejudice, discrimination, harassment, or acts of violence brought on by fear or hatred. It occurs on personal, institutional, and societal levels. |
| Homosexual |
An outdated clinical term used to refer to a person who is emotionally and physically attracted or committed to members of the same sex. See Gay. |
| In the Closet |
To be “in the closet” means to hide one’s identity in order to keep a job, a housing situation, friends, family members, or in some other way to survive. Many individuals are “out” in some situations and “closeted” in others. |
| Internalized homophobia |
The fear and self-hate of one’s own sexual orientation that occurs for many individuals who have learned negative ideas about the LGBT community. |
| Lesbian |
A sexual orientation in which a woman feels emotionally or physically attracted or committed to members of the same sex or gender. |
| Outing |
The unwanted exposure of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity by another person or the media. Outing can either occur through public declaration or by coercing someone into a situation that would expose their sexuality or gender identity. |
| Pansexual |
A sexual orientation in which an individual is emotionally or physically attracted to other people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. |
| Passing |
To perform oneself in a way that aligns with societal expectations for sex roles or gender presentations. LGBT individuals can be “out” in one situation but “pass” as heterosexual in others. |
| Queer |
Often an umbrella term for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and questioning individuals, this descriptor applies to individuals who identify as non-heterosexual. May be considered offensive. |
| Sex |
Refers to biological differences; gender refers to cultural or social differences. |
| Sexual Minority |
A person who identifies as a member of the LGBT community. |
| Sexual orientation |
A person’s emotional and physical attraction and the expression of that attraction. |
| Transgender |
A person whose identity does not conform to conventional notions of gender. |
| Transsexual |
One whose sex has been changed by surgery. |
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| Symbols of Pride |
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Listed below are some symbols that have been adopted by the LGBT community and their allies along with the significance of each. See the complete article.
Stonewall & Pride Celebrations
On June 28, 1969, a routine raid on the Stonewall Bar on Christopher Street in New York City turned into a riot when patrons resisted. The patrons barricaded themselves inside the bar. The riot escalated until reinforcements arrived. The riots continued for several evenings. This rebellion, begun by drag queens and bar patrons, marked the beginning of the modern gay and lesbian movement. Each June, Pride marches, rallies, and celebrations are held throughout the nation commemorating Stonewall.
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Double Woman's Symbol
Also known as ''the mirror of Venus.” This symbol represents the planet Venus, metal, copper and femininity. The double woman's symbol represents woman loving woman.
Double Man's Symbol
Derived from the astrological symbol of Mars. Mars was the Greek God of War and patron of warriors. The arrow is a phallic symbol. A double man’s symbol represents man loving man. |
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The Pink Triangle
When the Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps, the horrors they discovered shocked a disbelieving world. That millions had been systematically tortured and murdered seemed beyond human capacity for violence and hate. The Holocaust forever changed our understanding of the potential of evil.
Concentration camp prisoners were classified by a set of colored triangles; pink was reserved for homosexuals. When liberation came in the mid 1940's, most of the survivors were set free. Homosexuals, however, were taken by U.S. Army personnel from concentration camps to allied prisons.
Since the 1940's, the pink triangle has become one of the most recognizable and powerful symbols for gay people and the oppression they have faced throughout Western History. The pink triangle was a commonly used insignia throughout the early gay liberation movements. It appears in photographs and film footage of the early marches and demonstrations. The pink triangle was ubiquitous at the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987. It is a reminder and is often accompanied by the statement: "Never again!" |
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The Rainbow Flag
The Rainbow Flag has been adopted by the gay and lesbian community as its own design. It depicts not the shape of the rainbow but its colors in horizontal stripes.
Created in 1978 for San Francisco's Gay Freedom Celebration by local artist, Gilbert Baker, it was inspired by the "Flag of the Races", which had five stripes one each for the colors of humankind's skin, flown at the 1960 college campus demonstrations.
Major gay and lesbian parades in New York, Houston, Vancouver, and Toronto began to fly the six stripe Rainbow Flag. It is prominently displayed at all homosexual events. In New York, the Rainbow Flag drapes coffins of LGBT people who have died of AIDS, and is frequently displayed on hospital doors. The AIDS ward of a Sydney, Australia hospital flies the Rainbow Flag as a symbol of hope. The flag has spread worldwide to represent a movement. Its success is not due to any official recognition but to the widespread spontaneous adoption by members of the community it represents. |
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The Labrys
The double-bladed ax comes from a myth as the scepter of the goddess Demeter (Artemis). It may have originally been used in battle by female Scythian warriors. The labrys appears in ancient Cretan art and has become a symbol of lesbianism. |
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The Lambda
Chosen by the Gay Activist Alliance in 1970 as the symbol of the gay movement, the lambda is the Greek letter "L". A battle flag with the lambda was carried by a regiment of ancient Greek warriors who were accompanied in battle by their young male lovers and noted for their fierceness and willingness to fight to the death. |
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| NEXT: What is homophobia? |
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| Outline & Purpose - Who are we - Defining a common language - What is homophobia? |
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