For too long, people have questioned who they really are without really having options or terms to define how they feel and what represents them as a person.
Today, society is expanding its lexicon and it's easier for some to find their way around.
On the other hand, where some are finally finding themselves, others are not able to keep up with all the new terms that define the gender identity and sexual orientation of each and everyone.
That's why we've decided to help you today with a little summary of the LGBTQI2SNBA+ lexicon.
Gender identity
Gender identity refers to the gender with which a person identifies, regardless of the sex assigned at birth, and is a deep and intimate feeling. For this reason, only the individual can assert his or her identity and engage, if appropriate, in a transitional journey that is appropriate for him or her.
Cisgender: refers to a person whose sex assigned at birth corresponds to their gender identity.
Non-binary: refers to a person who does not identify with the norms of gender binarity as male or female, but who moves along that continuum.
Transgender: refers to a person whose gender identity or biological sex is outside the binarity, who does not identify with their sex assigned at birth.
It is important to understand that gender is a continuum of self-identification generally understood as having two poles, one male and one female, but that all nuances in between or outside these two poles are also possible and legitimate.
Sexual orientation
Asexual: refers to a person who does not feel sexual attraction or rarely does.
Autosexual: refers to a person who gets more sexual pleasure from self-stimulation than from penetration, fellatio or other means.
Allosexual: refers to a person who has romantic attractions, practices or sexual orientation other than strict heterosexuality, asexuality or autosexuality
Bisexual: refers to a person who is sexually attracted to both men and women.
Semi-sexual: refers to a person who does not feel sexual attraction to another person until they have established a close emotional bond with the other person
Heterosexual: A person who is attracted to a person of the opposite sex.
Homosexual: refers to a person who is attracted to a person of the same sex
Grisasexual: refers to a person who experiences sexual desire between queer and asexual
Pansexual: refers to a person who is sexually attracted to people regardless of their gender.
But where do the terms two-spirited, intersex and queer fit in?
Two-spiritedness: This is a First Nations concept that indicates both an Aboriginal identity and a membership in sexual and gender diversity. The characteristics of Two-Spiritedness, in terms of gender identity and sexual orientation, vary by community. Thus, it cannot be reduced to a single category. In some North American Aboriginal communities, the term refers to a person who embodies characteristics and qualities that are considered both masculine and feminine.
Intersex: Refers to a person whose biological or birth-assigned sex naturally displays characteristics that are not strictly male or female. It is a term conventionally used by the medical profession to refer to people who were previously referred to as hermaphrodites.
Queer: A queer person is someone who chooses this term to affirm their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. The reappropriation of this term, once considered pejorative, is a form of empowerment. It is a way of making it a symbol of self-determination and liberation rather than an insult. A queer person refers to any idea, practice, person or identity that goes against the norms that structure the heteronormative social model.
Romantic and love orientations
This orientation refers to romantic attraction to men or women, or to people who fall outside the gender binary. This axis is often superimposed on the sexual orientation axis, but not necessarily. This is why we think it is important to point out the difference between the two.
Alloromantic: designates a person who experiences a romantic attraction called "typical" according to social norms.
Aromantic: refers to a person who experiences no or very limited romantic attraction.
Semi-romantic: refers to a person who does not experience romantic attraction to one person until they have formed a close emotional bond with the other.
Grisromantic: refers to a person who experiences romantic attraction in the "gray area" between aromantic and alloromantic.
In conclusion
Diversity related to sex, gender and sexual orientation has always existed in all civilizations. But as the Turkish poet Ilhan Berk said so well: "What is not named does not exist". It is then that words come to be vehicles of mutual understanding and respect.
No matter where one falls on the spectrum of sex, gender and sexual orientation diversity, we are human beings and we all deserve respect for our dignity and basic human rights.
