Shaker GSA | Glossary

Terms are alphabetized and written for clarity. Click each letter to expand and view definitions.

A

Agender: Someone who does not identify with any gender or identifies outside the gender binary entirely.
Ally: A person who supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ people, using their privilege to challenge discrimination and prejudice.
Androgynous: Having a gender expression or appearance that blends masculine and feminine characteristics, or doesn't fit neatly into either category.
Aromantic: Someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction. Romantic orientation is separate from sexual orientation and identity.
Asexual (ace): Someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others. Asexual people may still experience romantic attraction and form relationships.
Assigned sex at birth (ASAB): The sex designation (usually male or female) given to someone at birth, often based on physical anatomy.
Aspec: An umbrella term for people on the asexual and aromantic spectrums, including demisexual and demiromantic people.

B

Bigender: Someone who identifies as two genders, either simultaneously or moving between them at different times.
Bi / Bisexual: Someone who is attracted to more than one gender. Attraction may vary in degree and can look different for different people.
Biphobia: Prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed toward bisexual people, including disbelief in their identity.
Bottom: A person who typically takes a receiving role during sexual activity; used in both queer and heterosexual contexts.
Butch: A lesbian or gender non-conforming person with a more masculine gender expression, identity, or presentation.

C

Chosen family: Supportive friends and community members people deliberately choose as family when biological family is unsupportive, absent, or unsafe.
Cisgender (cis): A person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Cishet: Short for cisgender and heterosexual; someone who is both cisgender and straight, typically having the most social privilege.
Cissexism: Prejudice or discrimination based on the assumption that cisgender identities are more valid, normal, or natural than transgender ones.
Closeted: Someone who has not publicly shared their sexual orientation or gender identity; privacy level is personal and may be for safety reasons.
Coming out: The process of sharing one's sexual orientation or gender identity with others. Coming out is personal and may not be safe for everyone at every time.
Compulsory heterosexuality: Social pressure and cultural norms that assume everyone is heterosexual and should be interested in opposite-gender relationships; often called "comp het."
Conversion therapy: Harmful and discredited attempts to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity through psychological or religious interventions.

D

Deadnaming: Using a transgender person's former name without their consent. It's disrespectful and can be emotionally harmful.
Demiboy / Demigirl: Someone who partially identifies with a boy or girl identity, but not completely; they may also identify with another gender alongside.
Demiromantic: Someone who only experiences romantic attraction after developing a strong emotional bond with another person.
Demisexual: Someone who only experiences sexual attraction after developing a strong emotional bond with another person.
Drag: Performance art where people dress in clothing and styling stereotypically associated with a different gender; it's performance-based, not identity-based.
Dyadic: A person who is not intersex; having typical male or female biological sex characteristics at birth.
Dysphoria: A state of discomfort or distress someone may experience with their body, gender identity, or both (often called "gender dysphoria").

E

Euphoria: A state of joy or comfort someone experiences with their body, gender identity, or expression (often called "gender euphoria").
Exorsexism: Prejudice or discrimination based on someone's sex characteristics, reproductive capacity, or reproductive choices.

F

Feminine of center: A person who identifies with femininity as a primary aspect of their gender expression, but may not identify exclusively as a woman.
Femme: A lesbian or gender non-conforming person with a more feminine gender expression, identity, or presentation.
FTM / AFAB: Abbreviations for female-to-male (FTM) or assigned female at birth (AFAB); used by transgender men and transmasculine people.
Flex / Flexible: Someone whose sexual or romantic orientation can vary or shift, such as someone who is heteroflexible or homoflexible.

G

Gay: Typically refers to men who are attracted to men; also used broadly for people who are attracted to the same gender.
Gender expression: How a person presents gender through clothing, hairstyle, behavior, voice, and appearance. Expression doesn't determine identity.
Gender-expansive: Someone with a wider, more flexible range of gender identity or expression that goes beyond traditional, binary categories.
Gender fluid: Someone whose gender identity shifts or flows between different genders over time, whether gradually or frequently.
Gender identity: A person's internal sense of being male, female, both, neither, or another gender entirely—separate from sex assigned at birth.
Gender nonconforming: An umbrella term for people whose gender expression differs from societal expectations tied to their assigned sex.
Genderqueer / Non-binary: People whose gender identity isn't exclusively male or female. Many non-binary people use they/them pronouns or other gender-neutral pronouns.
Gray-ace / Graysexual: Someone who experiences sexual attraction rarely, only under specific circumstances, or at varying intensities; on the asexual spectrum.
Gynesexual: Someone who is sexually attracted to femininity or feminine-presenting people, regardless of their gender.

H

Heteronormativity: The societal assumption that heterosexual relationships and cisgender, binary genders are the default or "normal" way of being.
Heterosexual / Straight: Someone who is attracted to people of a gender different from their own.
Homoflexible: Someone who is primarily attracted to the same gender but occasionally experiences attraction to other genders.
Homophobia: Prejudice, discrimination, fear, or hostility directed toward gay, lesbian, or LGBTQ+ people.
Homosexual: An older clinical term for someone attracted to people of the same gender; many prefer "gay" or "lesbian" today.
Hypermasculine / Hyperfeminine: Gender expression that emphasizes or exaggerates traditionally masculine or feminine traits and characteristics.

I

Intersectionality: How different aspects of a person's identity (race, gender, class, ability, sexuality, religion, etc.) overlap to shape their lived experiences of privilege and oppression.
Internalized oppression: When people from marginalized groups accept and believe the negative stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination directed at them.
Intersex: A person born with biological sex characteristics that don't fit typical male or female categories. Intersex is about anatomy, not gender identity.
Inversion: An outdated and sometimes offensive term from early sexology; modern LGBTQ+ people reject this term as it was used to pathologize non-heterosexual orientations.

L

Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women, romantically and/or sexually.
LGBTQ+: An inclusive umbrella acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, and other sexual and gender minority identities.
Lithosexual / Lithoromantic: Someone who experiences sexual or romantic attraction but doesn't want that attraction to be reciprocated; may feel uncomfortable if attraction is returned.

M

Masculine of center: A person who identifies with masculinity as a primary aspect of their gender expression, but may not identify exclusively as a man.
Misgender: To address or refer to someone using a gender that does not match or reflect their gender identity.
Misgendering: Referring to someone using language (pronouns, titles, or terms) that doesn't correctly reflect their gender identity.
MTF / AMAB: Abbreviations for male-to-female (MTF) or assigned male at birth (AMAB); used by transgender women and transfeminine people.
Multigender: Someone who identifies with multiple genders, either simultaneously or at different times; similar to bigender but can include more than two genders.

N

Neopronouns: Gender-neutral pronouns beyond they/them, such as ze/zir, ey/em, or other pronouns created to be more personally affirming.
Neutrois: Someone who is neutral in gender; they may have no gender, a neutral gender, or a gender that is between or outside of the binary.
Non-binary: See Genderqueer / Non-binary. An umbrella term for gender identities outside the male/female binary.
Nonconforming: See Gender nonconforming. Someone whose gender expression differs from societal expectations.

O

Omnisexual: Someone attracted to people of all genders, with gender playing some role in their attraction (similar to pansexual).
Outing: Revealing someone's LGBTQ+ identity without their explicit permission. This can be dangerous and violate their privacy and safety.
Out / Out and proud: Someone who has publicly shared their sexual orientation or gender identity; being "out" is a personal choice and may not be safe for everyone.

P

Pansexual: Someone attracted to people regardless of gender; attraction is based on the individual person rather than their gender identity.
Panromantic: Someone who experiences romantic attraction to people of any gender; similar to pansexual but specifically about romance.
Passing: When someone is perceived by others as a particular gender, sexual orientation, or identity, whether or not it matches their actual identity.
Polyamory / Polyamorous: A practice or orientation involving romantic or sexual relationships with multiple partners, with everyone's knowledge and consent.
Pride: A celebration of LGBTQ+ identities, history, and resilience. Pride events remember the movement's origins and affirm community members.
Pronouns: Words people use to refer to someone (she/her, he/him, they/them, or neopronouns). Always ask and respect others' pronouns.

Q

Queer: A reclaimed umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities. Some use it positively and broadly; others prefer more specific labels.
Queerphobia: Prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed toward people who identify as queer or non-heterosexual/non-cisgender.
Questioning: Exploring one's sexual orientation, gender identity, or both; it's a normal and healthy part of many people's identity journeys.
Quoiromantic / Quoisexual: Someone who experiences difficulty distinguishing between romantic, sexual, platonic, or other forms of attraction.

R

Respectful language: Using people's chosen names, pronouns, and terms they identify with; avoiding slurs, assumptions, and outdated terminology.
Romantic orientation: Who someone is emotionally or romantically attracted to, which can differ from and is separate from sexual orientation.
Reclaimed language / Reclaimed slurs: Slurs or offensive terms that marginalized groups have reappropriated and used within their communities to build solidarity and pride.

S–T

Safe space: A place (physical or online) where people can be themselves without fear of discrimination, harassment, or judgment.
Sapiosexual: Someone who is primarily attracted to intelligence or intellectual capacity in potential partners.
Sexual orientation: Who someone is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to (e.g., straight, gay, bi, ace, pan).
Skoliosexual: Someone who is primarily attracted to non-cisgender people (trans, non-binary, genderqueer, etc.).
Stealth / Stealth transgender: A transgender person who lives and is recognized as their actual gender without disclosing their transgender identity; it's a personal choice.
Stone butch / Stone femme: A lesbian who does not want to be touched sexually or romantically in certain ways; boundaries are personal and always should be respected.
Straight / Heterosexual: Someone who is attracted to people of a gender different from their own.
Trans woman / Trans man: A trans woman is a woman whose sex assigned at birth was male; a trans man is a man whose sex assigned at birth was female.
Transgender (trans): Someone whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Transgender spectrum: The range of gender identities and expressions beyond the binary of strictly male or female.
Transmasculine / Transfeminine: Someone whose gender identity is more masculine or feminine than the female or male they were assigned at birth, but may not identify as fully man or woman.
Transition: The process some transgender people take to live in the gender that matches their identity; can include social, legal, and/or medical steps.
Transphobia: Prejudice, discrimination, fear, or hostility directed toward transgender and gender non-conforming people.
Transphobic: Describing actions, language, policies, or attitudes that express or promote transphobia.
Two-Spirit: A term used by some Indigenous North American peoples to describe gender-variant or spiritually distinct roles; it's not interchangeable with "LGBTQ+" and is specific to certain Indigenous cultures.
Top: A person who typically takes an insertive role during sexual activity; used in both queer and heterosexual contexts.
Verse / Versatile: A person who is comfortable taking either a top or bottom role during sexual activity, or alternates between roles.

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Glossary of Terms

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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S–T

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