Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression

ASSIGNED SEX GENDER IDENTITY

Female Cisgender (Man & Woman)
Male Transgender
Intersex Gender Fluid

GENDER EXPRESSION ATTRACTION

Masculine Heterosexual
Feminine Lesbian
Androgynous Gay
Transvestite Bisexual
Asexual
Pansexual
Demisexual

UMBRELLA TERMS
Questioning
Queer
Two-Spirit
GENDER is the diversity of characteristics, nature, role and identity which is constructed socially based on the masculinity or femininity that is unfixed and can
change depending on the time, group and society where the individual lives

ATTRACTION GENDER EXPRESSION GENDER IDENTITY ASSIGNED SEX UMBRELLA TERMS

STRAIGHT FEMININE CISGENDER MALE QUESTIONING
Attracted to people of the A word to describe a A person whose gender identity One who may be
“opposite” sex (see below); also behaviour, trait, or style of corresponds with what is socially unsure of,
sometimes generally used to refer expression that has cultural expected based on their sex reconsidering, or
to people whose sexualities are associations with ‘being a assigned at birth (e.g. a person chooses to hold off
societally normative. Alternately woman’. These associations who was assigned male at birth identifying their sexual
referred to as “heterosexual.” change over time, between and identifies as a man). identity or gender
cultures, and from person to expression or identity.
person.
LESBIAN MASCULINE
A woman who is attracted to A word to describe a
women. Sometimes also or behaviour, trait, or style of
alternately “same-gender-loving expression that has cultural
woman” or “woman loving woman.” associations with ‘being a
GAY man’. These associations TRANS FEMALE QUEER
Generally refers to a man who is change over time, between A person whose gender identity It can be used to
attracted to men. Sometimes cultures, and from person to does not correspond with what is encompass a broad
refers to all people who are person. socially expected based on their spectrum of identities
attracted to people of the same sex assigned at birth. It can be related to sex, gender,
sex; sometimes “homosexual” is used as an umbrella term to refer and attraction or by an
used for this also, although this to a range of gender identities and individual to reflect the
term is seen by many today as a experiences. interrelatedness of
medicalized term that should be these aspects of their
retired from common use. identity.
BISEXUAL ANDROGYNOUS
Attracted to people of one’s own A word to describe a
gender and people of other behaviour, trait, or style of
gender(s). Two common expression that either blends
misconceptions are that bisexual both masculine and feminine
people are attracted to everyone forms of expression, or is
and anyone, or that they just culturally read as gender-
haven’t “decided.” neutral.
ASEXUAL INTERSEX TWO SPIRIT (2S)
Not sexually attracted to anyone A person whose An English umbrella
and/or no desire to act on chromosomal, term to reflect and
attraction to anyone. Does not hormonal, or restore Indigenous
necessarily mean sexless. Asexual anatomical sex traditions forcefully
people sometimes do experience characteristics suppressed by
affectional (romantic) attraction. fall outside of the colonization, honouring
PANSEXUAL TRANSVESTITE GENDERQUEER/GENDERFLUID conventional the fluid and diverse
Attracted to people regardless of Is an individual who wears These terms are used by people classifications of nature of gender and
gender. Sometimes also or clothes of the opposite sex who identify as being between male or female. attraction and its
alternately “omnisexual” or for various reasons and do and/or other than male or female. connection to
“polysexual.” not haveany intention of They may feel they are neither, a community and
DEMISEXUAL changing or making any little bit of both, or they may spirituality. It is used by
A person who experiences sexual modifications to their bodies. simply feel restricted by gender some Indigenous
attraction to someone only after labels People rather than, or
having an emotional attraction to in addition to identifying
them. as LGBTQ/

SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Describes to whom a person is sexually attracted. The emotional, romantic, and/ or sexual attraction someone feels towards the opposite sex
(heterosexual), the same sex (homosexual), or both (bisexual); others are attracted to people of more than one gender. Some are not attracted to
anyone.

Gender identity refers to a person’s understanding and experience of their own gender. Everyone has a gender identity; for some people, it
corresponds with the gender assigned at birth, and for some others, it does not. Gender identities are expansive and do not need to be confined
within one collectively agreed-upon term. There is no one authority that dictates the boundaries of gender, except the individual concerned.
Gender expression refers to the ways in which a person chooses to present their gender to the world around them. This can include clothing,
mannerisms, pronouns, names, etc. However, it is important to note that while things like names, clothing, and others can be an intentional part of a
person’s gender expression, these things also do not necessarily need to have a gender attached to them. This is to say that a person’s gender
identity can sometimes inform a person’s gender expression, but a person’s perceived gender expression does not dictate their gender identity.

OTHER COMMONLY USED TERMS

Biphobia - Aversion of and/or prejudice toward the idea that people can be attracted to more than one gender, and/or bisexuals as a group or as
individuals, often based on negative stereotypes of bisexuality and the invisibility of bisexual people.
Coming Out – The process of acknowledging one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression to oneself or other people.
Transition is the process of an individual’s gender presentation to match their gender identity. For a transgender, this could include sex adjustment
surgeries, but not all transgender do this.

Gender Binary - A system of classifying sex and gender into two distinct and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine. It can be referred to as
a social construct or a social boundary that discourages people from crossing or mixing gender roles, or from creating other third (or more) forms of
gender expression. It can also represent some of the prejudices which stigmatize people who identify as intersex and transgender.

Heterosexism - The presumption that everyone is straight and/or the belief that heterosexuality is a superior expression of sexuality. Often includes
the use of power of the majority (heterosexuals) to reinforce this belief and forgetting the privileges of being straight in our society.

Heteronormative refers to the social and cultural practices where men and women are made to believe that that heterosexuality is the only sexuality
that may exist. This implies that heterosexuality is the only way to be ‘normal’ and as the main source of social status .

Homophobia - Negative attitudes and feelings toward people with homosexual sexualities; dislike of, or discomfort with, which leads to bias,
accusations, and discrimination against homosexuals.

Transphobia- is the irrational fear of transgender or of those who do not fit the norm of traditional gender

Internalized Oppression - In reference to LGBTQ people, internalized oppression is the belief that straight and non-transgender people are “normal”
or better than LGBTQ people, as well as the often-unconscious belief that negative stereotypes about LGBTQ people are true.
LGBTQ - An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. This is currently one of the most popular ways in U.S. society to refer to all
people who are marginalized due to sexual orientation and/or gender identity, although other letters are often included as well to represent identities
described above.
Gender dysphoria- is a medical term used to describe the condition where an individual experiences disconnectedness between the gender they
have and the gender they want.

Conversion therapy- known as reparative therapy, is an action/ effort of a homophobic which aims to change the sexual orientation of a
homosexual or bisexual into a heterosexual through certain types of therapy.

Gender identity also includes personal feelings regarding the body which can also, if freely chosen, involve the modification of bodily appearance or
functions through medical means (such as hormone therapy), surgery, and other means. A transgender who has undergone sex change surgery (or
is going to and is in the process of physical change) in order to match their gender identity is called a transsexual