- LGBT
- An umbrella term; "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender" (see each term below)
Sometimes expressed as "GLBT", or "GLBTQ" (which adds "Questioning")
The words "Gay" or "homosexual" are often used as umbrella terms, as well, but "gay" sometimes means just gay men, and "homosexual" has at least two problems:
it is unpopular in some circles because it raises the specter of "sex", and it really doesn't apply accurately to "bisexual" or, much of the time, to "transgender".
- Lesbian
- Pretty straightforward - a female who is attracted to other females. Derived from stories associated with the island of Lesbos, in Greece. "Gay women" is less common, but is reasonable.
- Gay
- A male who is attracted to other males, or anyone who is attracted to members of the same sex. See "LGBT"
- Bisexual
- Someone who has both same-gender and opposite gender attraction. The dominance of one orientation or the other varies from individual to individual, and, in some cases, can change over time.
- Transgender / Transsexual
- people who cross one or more lines of gender expectation, particularly in their sexual identity.
Sexuality is expressed by behavior (e.g. macho or nurturing), sexual appearance (male or female / masculine or feminine), sexual orientation (attraction toward males or females), and sexual identity (am I male or female?).
A cross-dresser typically likes dressing up in a style typical of the opposite sex, but doesn't have strong feelings of identity with the other sex.
"Transsexual" refers to someone who has resolved an identity/expression conflict by changing his or her "full time" physical appearance (through dress, hormones, and possibly surgery)
See Gender 101 on the Transfamily web site for an excellent description of transgender information.
- Questioning
- A lot of people haven't quite figured out what their sexual orientation is, whether because it is ambiguous (as with bisexuals) or because they are just coming to grips with it. So "Questioning" is a legitimate sexual orientation. The umbrella term "LGBT" is sometimes expressed as "LGBTQ"
- Homophobia
- The term "homophobia" is not actually constructed with the proper Latin root like most "phobias", but it has come to mean "unreasonable fear or aversion to homosexuals". That phrase is probably an accurate definition of most anti-gay sentiment, but still "homophobia" is considered a pretty loaded word, and tends to put homophobic people on the defensive. On the other hand, it may be fair to say that many anti-gay sentiments are really just "understandable, if somewhat exaggerated fear of the unknown."
- Heterosexism !?
- An attitude of bias toward heterosexuality, or the assumption that people are and should be heterosexual. A classic example of heterosexism is the standard question, "So, do you have a boyfriend (or girlfriend)?" as opposed to "So, are you dating anyone regularly".
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