Why are there two words for being gay
Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ
Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ group organizations and leaders. Watch acknowledgements section.
Additional terms and definitions about gender identity and gender utterance, transgender people, and nonbinary people are available in the Transgender Glossary.
Are we missing a term or is a definition outdated? Email press@glaad.org
*NOTE: Ask people what terms they employ to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the beginning of a sentence.
LGBTQ
Acronym for womxn loving womxn, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media use the acronym. In settings offering help for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of this acronym. The term “gay community” should be avoided, as it does not accuratel
LGBTQIA+ Slurs and Slang
bog queen
Synonyms: Bathsheba (composition between bathroom and Sheba to create a name reminiscent of the Queen of Sheba), Ghost (50s, ghost, because they wander the corridors of the bathroom).
Our glossary
Automatic co-parent recognition: covers when children born to same-sex couples are not facing any barriers in order to be recognised legally from birth to their parents.
Biphobia: the anxiety, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred toward bisexuality and bisexual people.
Bisexual: when a person is emotionally and/or sexually attracted to persons of more than one gender.
Civil union: see Registered partnership.
Cisgender:A term that refers to a person who does not identify as trans.
Cohabitation rights: two persons living together at the identical physical address can, in some European countries (and regions), make a legal agreement on some practical matters (which vary from country to country). The rights emanating out of cohabitation are limited.
Coming-out: the process of revealing the identification of a womxn loving womxn, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex person.
“Conversion therapy”: Any sustained effort to revise a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, based upon the assumption that a person’s sexual orientation, gender culture or gender expression is a mental disorder and should be changed. It’s recommended to use t
Struggling to understand the LGBTQIA+ meaning of the acronym? You’re not alone.
For many people who are new to the LGBTQIA+ community, this acronym can appear confusing or overwhelming.
If you are modern, welcome! We’re so glad you’re here with us today.
And if you aren’t new to the community, but are curious to absorb more about how the community has changed over the years, we’re delighted you’ve joined us today, too.
The way the LGBTQIA+ group interacts – both with each other and with the world around us – is constantly changing. We try to include everyone and to produce everyone feel seen and understood.
What Does LGBTQIA+ Mean?
For many years, the umbrella term “gay” was used to portray the community.
Now, many people worry about how to arrive out, but coming out before the 1970s wasn’t even an option, as many states illegalized what they called “homosexuality” or “sodomy.” There was also no acronym at all, restricting the inclusivity of our community.
Once an acronym appeared, all versions of it began with “L” – for an essential reason.
In the soon days of the gay rights movement, the lesbian group often felt dismissed or
by Jordan Redman
Staff Writer
Do you recognize what the synonyms gay really means?
The word gay dates back to the 12th century and comes from the Old French “gai,” meaning “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Old High German “gahi,” meaning impulsive.
For centuries, gay was used commonly in speech and literature to mean pleased, carefree, bright and showy, and did not take on any sexual sense until the 1600s.
At that time the meaning of queer as carefree evolved to imply that a person was unrestrained by morals and prone to decadence and promiscuity. A prostitute might have been described as a “gay woman” and a womanizer as a “gay man.”
“Gay house” was commonly used to refer to a brothel and, later, “gaiety” was used as a common name for certain places of entertainment.
In the 1890s, the term “gey cat” (a Scottish variant of gay) was used to describe a vagrant who offered sexual services to women or a adolescent traveler who was new to the road and in the company of an older man.
This latter use suggests that the younger man was in a sexually obedient role and may be among the first times that gay was used implying a lesbian relationship.
In 1951, lgbtq+ appeared in the