A-Z of LGBTQ+

A to Z of LGBTQ+ Transcript

A to Z of LGBTQ+ narrated by the Shine Northern Ireland committee

A is for...Asexual - A sexual orientation generally characterized by not feeling sexual attraction or desire toward any gender

B is for...Bisexual - An individual who is physically, romantically and/or emotionally attracted to men and women.

C is for…Coming Out - Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ+ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation or of their gender identity.

D is for...Drag King/Queen - Used by people who present in clothing, name, and/or pronouns that differ from their everyday gender, usually for enjoyment, entertainment, and/or self-expression.

E is for...Equality - Equality is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities. LGBTQ+ people around the world face violence and inequality because of who they love, how they look, or who they are.

F is for...Femme - An individual whose appearance and behaviour are seen as traditionally feminine. Most often a term used to describe a lesbian who exhibits a feminine identity but can describe any individual who identifies as femme.

G is for...Gay - The adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex (e.g. gay man, gay people, gay woman).

H is for...Homophobia - Dislike of or prejudice towards those who identify as homosexual. Transphobia is also commonly used to describe prejudice against those within the transgender community.

I is for...Intersex - People who naturally (that is, without any medical interventions) develop primary and/or secondary sex characteristics that do not fit neatly into society’s definitions of male or female. As of 2021, there are at least 16 different ways to be intersex.

K is for...Kinsey Scale - Alfred Kinsey, a renowned sociologist, described a spectrum on a scale of 0-6 to describe the type of sexual desire within an individual: 0 being completely heterosexual, 6 being completely homosexual.

L is for…Lesbian - A woman whose enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay.

N is for...Non-binary - The idea that there are only two genders is sometimes called a “gender binary,” because binary means “having two parts” (male and female). Therefore, “non-binary” is one term people use to describe genders that don't fall into one of these two categories, male or female.

M is for...Misgendering - To refer to someone using a word (especially a pronoun or form of address) that does not correctly reflect their gender identity.

O is for...Outing - The act of publicly declaring or revealing another person’s sexual orientation or gender identity without that person’s consent. Outing someone can be incredibly dangerous- do not out someone without their explicit consent.

P is for...Pansexual - Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity.

Q is for...Queer - Queer has been appropriated by some LGBTQ+ people as a blanket term to describe themselves and their community. Only use this term if someone self-identifies as queer, as this can sometimes be used as a derogatory term.

R is for…Rainbow Flag - The rainbow flag is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride and LGBTQ+ social movements. The colours reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, as the flag is often used as a symbol of pride during LGBTQ+ rights marches.

S is for...Sexual Orientation - The scientifically accurate term for an individual’s enduring physical, romantic and/or emotional attraction to members of the same and/or opposite sex, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and heterosexual (straight) orientations.

T is for...Transgender - An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

U is for…U=U - ‘Undetectable = Untransmittable' (U=U) is a campaign explaining how the sexual transmission of HIV can be stopped. When HIV cannot be detected via blood test in a previously HIV positive individual, they cannot pass HIV to a sexual partner.

V is for...Virus (HIV) - HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. If HIV is not treated, it can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV can now be treated effectively with medication.

Originally thought to be a disease only associated with gay sex, the global HIV epidemic was linked with negative attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people for many years.

W is for...Womxn - Womxn is a term sometimes used to replace the word women in an attempt to get away from patriarchal language. Womxn is also meant to be inclusive of trans women, and some non-binary people, but it not always accepted.

Z is for...Zie/Zim/Zir - Gender-neutral pronouns are words that don't specify whether the subject of the sentence is female or male. Zie is pronounced like “zee” can also be spelled zie or xe, and replaces she/he/they. These pronouns are particularly important to the gender non-binary community, however these pronouns can also be used by anyone that does not wish to be referred to as a specific gender.

Thank you! Lost in translation? We’re here to help!

If you need help and support on any of the issues raised in this video, or even just have a question you’d like answered, please contact any of the Shine committee members.