Orientation: A term to describe sexual and/or romantic attractions to others.
Gender Identity: A person’s internal sense of being male or female or anything in between.
Gender Expression: The way people communicate their gender identity to others by the way they dress, act, and/or refer to themselves.
Sex: The labels male, female, or intersex given to someone at birth based on their body parts.
Trans/Transgender: A term for people whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Intersex: A general term used to describe people who are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definitions of female or male anatomy.
Queer: A term used by people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Although, historically used as a put down for people who were perceived to be outside the norm in regards to orientation/attraction or gender identity; for some, it has been reclaimed as a self-identifying term and symbol of pride.
Questioning: A self-identifying term for people who are in the process of exploring or discovering their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Heteronormativity: The assumption that everyone is straight. It may also refer to the oppression experienced by people who are not straight in a society that represents being straight as dominant, normal and superior.
Heterosexism: Attitudes, biases, and discrimination in favor of those who are straight.
Understanding the Guidelines 