Whats the difference between transgender and gay
Glossary of Terms
Many Americans refrain from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity or phrase because it feels taboo, or because they’re nervous of saying the erroneous thing.
This glossary was written to help give people the words and meanings to help make conversations easier and more content. LGBTQ+ people use a variety of terms to identify themselves, not all of which are included in this glossary. Always listen for and respect a person’s self identified terminology.
Ally | A legal title used to describe someone who is actively supportive of LGBTQ+ people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as well as those within the Diverse community who support each other (e.g., a woman loving woman who is an ally to the bisexual community).
Asexual | Often called “ace” for short, asexual refers to a complete or partial lack of sexual attraction or lack of interest in sexual action with others. Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and asexual people may life no, little or conditional sexual attraction.
Biphobia | The fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, people who love and are sexually attracted to more than one gender.
Bisexual | An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people. Note: an individual’s sexual orientation is independent of their gender identity. One's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can be the same or other from their sex assigned at birth. External appearance of one's gender self, usually expressed through deed, clothing, body characteristics or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically linked with being either masculine or feminine. An umbrella word for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation. Therefore, gender nonconforming people may identify as straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual person, etc. The process by which some people struggle to more closely While transgendered individuals are now often lumped in with male lover folk under the “LGBT” umbrella (lesbian, gay, pansexual and transgender), there are certain differences in trial that are important to understand. Historically the G&L community was accepting of trans folk, and over the years became more inclusive of them, but there are important differences. Nope! It’s easy to get this confused, particularly because T is included in the LGBTQ+ acronym (T standing for “Transgender”). The key is to remember that transgender is referring to someone’s gender identity and not their sexuality orientation. Transgender people can be gay, straight, pansexual, gender non-conforming, asexual, or any other sexual orientation (just appreciate cisgender people!). Our Foundational Curriculum is a designed to create a Safe Zone 101 overview workshop. We recommend this workshop for all audiences – same-sex attracted, straight, queer, allied, and anywhere in between (or outside) those categories. While some of it may be old information for some, we believe that everyone, no matter their knowledge level, will procure something out of the experience. We do have exercises that can be used for more advanced/specific workshops. Just check out the explore activities tab and search under the “201” levels for more advanced activities! Yes! One of our goals for this project is to turn it into the go-to resou .
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions
Sexual orientation
Gender identity
Gender expression
Transgender
Gender transition
The differences between the Gender nonconforming and the Gay/Lesbian experience.
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