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Cisgender: A person whose gender identity or expression is aligned with their sex assigned at birth (often shortened to ‘cis’)

Nonbinary: A person who does not identify within the gender binary of male or female (sometimes shortened to ‘enby’)

Lesbian:  A woman who experiences emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to other women. 

Pansexual: A person who experiences romantic, sexual, and/or emotional attraction to people regardless of gender. (often shortened to ‘pan’)

Straight/Heterosexual: A person who experiences romantic, sexual, and/or emotional attraction to people of a different gender than themselves.

Queer: An umbrella term for the LGBTQ2SIA+ community

Two-Spirit: An umbrella word for any of the culturally specific third gender or gender non-binary identities that exist in different indigenous North American tribes. (This can vary tribe to tribe)

Outing: The unauthorized disclosure by one person of another’s gender identity or sexual orientation. 

Deadnaming: Intentionally or unintentionally using the birth or other former name of a transgender or non-binary person without their consent.

Sex Assigned at Birth: The designation of male, female, or intersex that a person is given at birth, often based upon the appearance of their genitalia.

Transgender: An adjective describing a person whose gender identity is not aligned with their sex assigned at birth (often shortened to ‘trans’)

Gay: A person who experience sexual, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to a person of the same gender as themselves

Bisexual: A person who experiences romantic, sexual, and/or emotional attraction to two or more genders (often shortened to ‘bi’)

Asexual: A person who experiences little to no sexual attraction to others. (often shortened to ‘ace’)

Aromantic: A person who experiences little to no romantic attraction to other people. (often shortened to ‘aro’)

Intersex: A person born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not conform exclusively to typical definitions of male or female in terms of physiological sex characteristics such as variations of genetics, reproductive structures, or hormones.

Coming Out: The process of disclosing one’s sexual orientation or gender identity to others. Coming out is not a discrete event but a lifelong process.

Misgendering: The act of referring to someone as a gender with which they do not identify. Misgendering can include using the wrong pronouns, honorifics, name, etc. It can also include making other gender-related comments.

Gender Expression: An individual’s physical characteristics, behaviors, and presentation that intentionally or unintentionally serve as social markers of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny. Forms of gender expression include appearance, dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions.