LGBTQIA+: Meaning, Identities, Sexuality, and Inclusive Language

For example, LGBTQIA+ may include people who are:

• attracted to the same gender;
• attracted to more than one gender;
• transgender or nonbinary;
• intersex;
• asexual or aromantic;
• questioning their identity;
• represented by another identity included in the plus sign.

Simple examples include:

• The organization provides services for LGBTQIA+ students.
• LGBTQIA+ people do not all share the same experiences.
• Some people use several LGBTQIA+ identity labels together.
• The plus sign in LGBTQIA+ includes identities not listed separately.
• Respectful LGBTQIA+ language should follow each person’s chosen terms.

Lesbian

A lesbian is commonly a woman who experiences romantic or sexual attraction toward women. Some nonbinary people may also use the label.

Gay

Gay commonly describes a person attracted to people of the same gender. It may refer especially to men attracted to men, but it is also used more broadly.

Bisexual

Bisexual generally describes attraction to more than one gender. It does not require equal attraction to every gender or attraction at the same time.

Transgender

Transgender describes someone whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgender is about gender identity, not sexual orientation. A transgender person may have any orientation.

Queer or Questioning

Queer is an umbrella identity used by some people whose gender or sexuality does not fit conventional categories.

Because queer was historically used as an insult, it should not be applied to someone who does not use it for themselves.

Questioning describes someone exploring or reconsidering their gender, orientation, or related identity.

Intersex

Intersex describes people born with sex characteristics—such as chromosomes, hormones, reproductiveanatomy, or genitals—that do not fit typical definitions of exclusively male or female bodies.

Intersex concerns sex characteristics and is not automatically a gender identity or sexual orientation.

Asexual, Aromantic, or Agender

Asexual describes someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction, though asexual people may still have relationships or participate in sexual activity.

Aromantic describes someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction.

Agender describes someone who identifies as having no gender, a neutral gender, or limited connection to gender.

The meaning of A may vary among organizations and communities.

The Plus Sign

The + acknowledges additional identities, including:

• pansexual;
• nonbinary;
• genderfluid;
• demisexual;
• two-spirit;
• polysexual;
• graysexual;
• other culturally or personally specific identities.

The plus sign recognizes that no short acronym can list every experience.

• LGBTQIA+ people;
• LGBTQIA+ communities;
• LGBTQIA+ rights;
• LGBTQIA+ healthcare;
• LGBTQIA+ representation.

It may also function as a collective noun:

• The policy was developed in consultation with the LGBTQIA+ community.

Avoid using the acronym as though it represents one uniform group. More precise wording may be better when discussing a specific population, such as transgender patients, bisexual students, or intersex children.

Orientation labels represented within LGBTQIA+ may include:

• lesbian;
• gay;
• bisexual;
• asexual;
• pansexual;
• queer;
• other orientations.

Sexual orientation does not determine gender identity. For example, a transgender woman may be lesbian, straight, bisexual, asexual, or another orientation.

LGBTQIA+ gender identities may include:

• transgender;
• nonbinary;
• genderfluid;
• agender;
• genderqueer;
• bigender;
• other identities.

A person’s gender identity cannot always be determined from clothing, voice, anatomy, or mannerisms.

A person may express themselves in masculine, feminine, androgynous, neutral, or changing ways.

Gender-nonconforming expression does not automatically reveal orientation or gender identity. A feminine man is not necessarily gay, and a masculine woman is not necessarily lesbian.

However, not every intersex person identifies as LGBTQIA+. Some consider intersex primarily a bodily or medical characteristic rather than a community identity.

Respectful language should follow the individual’s preference.

• understand themselves;
• communicate attraction or gender;
• find supportive communities;
• access relevant information;
• describe experiences;
• advocate for recognition and rights.

No person is required to use a label.

Some people prefer a specific term, several overlapping terms, a broad label such as queer, or no label at all.

• using a person’s chosen name and pronouns;
• using the identity terms they select;
• avoiding assumptions about anatomy or relationships;
• not revealing someone’s identity without permission;
• avoiding slurs or unwanted labels;
• correcting mistakes without excessive attention.

It is usually better to ask respectfully than to guess.

They may be:

• single or partnered;
• monogamous or consensually non-monogamous;
• married or unmarried;
• parents or child-free;
• sexually active, abstinent, or asexual;
• part of biological, adoptive, blended, or chosen families.

LGBTQIA+ identity does not determine someone’s values, relationship structure, sexual behavior, or parenting ability.

Consent must be:

• voluntary;
• specific;
• informed;
• continuing;
• reversible.

A person’s orientation, gender identity, clothing, relationship status, or community membership never creates automatic sexual availability.

Privacy is also important. Revealing someone’s LGBTQIA+ identity without permission—often called outing—may expose them to discrimination, rejection, harassment, or danger.

All transgender people are gay.
Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate.

All LGBTQIA+ people have similar relationships.
Their relationships and values are as diverse as those of any population.

Intersex and transgender mean the same thing.
Intersex concerns sex characteristics; transgender concerns gender identity.

The plus sign is unimportant.
It recognizes many identities not separately included in the acronym.

Everyone represented by LGBTQIA+ uses the acronym.
Some people prefer different community terms or do not identify with the umbrella at all.

1. LGBTQIA+ is an umbrella acronym for diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics.
2. LGBTQIA+ commonly includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, and agender people.
3. LGBTQIA+ does not describe one uniform identity or experience.
4. LGBTQIA+ language should respect each person’s chosen labels and pronouns.
5. LGBTQIA+ people may have many different relationship structures and family lives.
6. LGBTQIA+ inclusion requires privacy, safety, equal treatment, and freedom from discrimination.
7. LGBTQIA+ identity never creates automatic sexual consent or availability.
8. LGBTQIA+ terminology continues to develop as communities adopt more precise and inclusive language.

The acronym also includes gender identities and intersex experiences, which are separate from orientation but may affect relationships, body image, healthcare, social treatment, and sexual self-expression.

Accurate sexuality education uses LGBTQIA+ as an inclusive umbrella while recognizing differences among its communities. It supports self-identification, privacy, bodily autonomy, respectful language, equal treatment, and clear consent.