Pride Month: Confused why people use she/her, other pronouns in bios? Here’s why 

Hyderabad: With the growing awareness around the queer community, doubts related to the queer-specific terminologies are also rife. Words like gender-fluidity and pronouns like they/them can be difficult to understand. But being an ally and putting efforts to understand the terms can go a long way in creating a gender-inclusive society. Some of the terms […]

Hyderabad: With the growing awareness around the queer community, doubts related to the queer-specific terminologies are also rife. Words like gender-fluidity and pronouns like they/them can be difficult to understand. But being an ally and putting efforts to understand the terms can go a long way in creating a gender-inclusive society.

Some of the terms mentioned below could have been used derogatorily in the past and later reclaimed by the community. Also, since gender identity is intimately personal, these terms may mean different things to different people.

---

LGBTQIA+: The abbreviation stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex, and Asexual. ‘+’ is used to represent other identities across the gender spectrum or allies. Sometimes, Q is also used as ‘Questioning’ for people who are exploring their sexuality and gender identity. It is a blanket term used to represent the homosexual community.

Lesbian: Someone who may identify as a woman and is emotionally, sexually, or intellectually attracted to a person who also identifies as a woman

Gay: Someone who may identify as a man and is emotionally, sexually, or intellectually attracted to a person who also identifies as a man

Bisexual: A person who is emotionally, sexually, or intellectually attracted to both conventional genders, male and female

Pansexual: A person who is emotionally, sexually, or intellectually attracted to people from across the gender spectrum

Intersex: It is a term that may be used by a person when they have both male and female sex characteristics. These characteristics include hormones, sexual and reproductive organs among others.

Asexual: Somebody who does not experience sexual attraction to anyone or, has low or no interest in sexual activity

Gender Identity: A person’s expression of gender which can be the same or different from their birth-assigned sex

Transgender: People whose gender identity differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth

Cisgender: A person whose gender identity matches the sex — female or male — designated at birth 

Queer: Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender

Non-binary: Non-binary or genderqueer is an umbrella term for gender identities that are not solely male or female‍—‌identities that are outside the gender binary

Gender-fluid: A person whose gender identity is not fixed. It can change over time or from day to day. A person who is gender fluid is flexible regarding the sex with which they identify 

Gender non-confirmatory: Exhibiting behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits that do not correspond with the traits typically associated with any gender. Having a gender expression that does not conform to gender norms

Ally/Allies: People who support the LGBTQIA+ community even though they don’t identify within the community itself

She/Her: Pronouns used to refer to someone who might identify as female

He/Him: Pronouns used to refer to someone who might identify as male

They/Their: Pronouns that are considered gender-neutral and used to refer to someone who identifies outside the gender binary