The acronym LGBTQIA that has come to represent the over arching idea of “queer” or “queer friendly” is growing, therefore not all of the letters are familiar to everyone. It is for this reason that this lexicon was created. It is important to also explain that the order of the letters can have a political meaning, or the order could be due to the author’s identity. However, in this case it was not the intention of the author of this site to make a political statement, the order of the letters are simply the order the author is accustom to.
Acronym LGBTQIA
- A – Allies: people who support LGBTQ people, their causes, and rights.
- B – Bisexual: people who, simply put, are attracted to either their same-sex or opposite-sex and identify as bisexuals.
- G – Gay: Usually this term is for men that identify with their sexual preference for same-sex partners. Some same-sex identifying women also label themselves gay. Also society will group both same-sex labeled people, despite their gender, as gay.
- I – Inquisitive/Inquiring: people that are curious about LGBTQ people. They may be questioning their own sexual preference or they have friends that identify as LGBTQ and are curious and supportive.
- L – Lesbian: usually a term use for women that identify with their sexual preference for same-sex partners.
- Q – Queer: is a personal and political label that is use by members that fit within the LGBT community. The term queer is also the foundation of Queer Theory which overreaches the purpose of this lexicon. However, it is important to note that many members that identify as L, G, B, T, and even some heterosexual identifying Allies may also identify as Queer.
- T – Transgender or Transsexual: A person that identifies as the opposite gender of their biological makeup. These terms do not necessarily mean the same thing, yet in order to not confuse, the first part of the label means transformation of some sort or that the gender of that person transcends the binary genders of male or female. (Not all people that identify as “Trans” will medically change their gender. Some will dress as the gender they identify as but this is not the same as a transvestite necessarily).