Lesbian: LGBT Is Shorthand For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The "LGB" in This
Lesbian: LGBT Is Shorthand For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The "LGB" in This
Lesbian: LGBT Is Shorthand For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. The "LGB" in This
LGBT is shorthand for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. The “LGB” in this
term refers to sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is defined as an often
enduring pattern of emotional, romantic and/or sexual attractions of men to
women or women to men (heterosexual), of women to women or men to men
(homosexual), or by men or women to both sexes (bisexual). It also refers to an
individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions,
related behaviors and membership in a community of others who share those
attractions and behaviors. Some people who have same-sex attractions or
relationships may identify as “queer,” or, for a range of personal, social or political
reasons, may choose not to self-identify with these or any labels.
The "T" in LGBT stands for transgender or gender non-conforming, and is an
umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression does not
conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at
birth. Some who do not identify as either male or female prefer the term
“genderqueer.” While it is important to understand that sexual orientation and
gender identity are not the same thing, they do both reflect differing forms of
gender norm transgression and share an intertwined social and political history.
Adapted from “Answers to Your Questions for a Better Understanding of Sexual
Orientation and Homosexuality,” “Answers to your Questions About Transgender
People, Gender Identity and Gender Expression” and the APA’s U.S. v.
Windsor amicus brief.
Lesbian
A lesbian woman is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted
to women. Many lesbians prefer to be called lesbian rather than gay.
Gay
A gay man is one who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to
men. The word gay can be used to refer generally to lesbian, gay and bisexual
people but many women prefer to be called lesbian. Most gay people don't like to
be referred to as homosexual because of the negative historical associations with
the word and because the word gay better reflects their identity.
Bisexual
A bisexual person is someone who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally
attracted to people of both sexes.
Transgender or Trans
Is an umbrella term used to describe people whose gender identity (internal
feeling of being male, female or transgender) and/or gender expression, differs
from that usually associated with their birth sex. Not everyone whose appearance
or behaviour is gender-atypical will identify as a transgender person. Many
transgender people live part-time or full-time in another gender. Transgender
people can identify as transsexual, transvestite or another gender identity.
Gender Identity
One's gender identity refers to whether one feels male, female or transgender
(regardless of one's biological sex). Gender expression refers to outwardly
expressing one's gender identity.
Transsexual people live or wish to live full time as members of the gender other
than that assigned at birth. Transsexual people can seek medical interventions,
such as hormones and surgery, to make their bodies fit as much as possible with
their preferred gender. The process of transitioning from one gender to another is
called gender reassignment. Biological females who wish to live and be
recognised as men are called female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals or trans men.
Biological males who wish to live and be recognised as women are called male-to-
female (MTF) transsexuals or trans women.
Gender Reassignment
Gender Reassignment also called transitioning, is the process of changing the way
someone's gender is lived publicly and can be a complex process. People who
wish to transition often start by expressing their gender identity in situations
where they feel safe. They typically work up to living full-time in a different
gender, by making gradual changes to their gender expression. Connecting with
other transgender people through peer support groups and transgender
community organisations is also very helpful for people when they are going
through the transition process. Transitioning typically involves changes in clothing
and grooming, a name change, change of gender on identity documents,
hormonal treatment, and surgery.
Coming Out
Coming Out is the term used by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
people to describe their experience of discovery, self-acceptance, openness and
honesty about their LGBT identity and their decision to disclose, i.e. to share this
with others when and how they choose.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual Orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or
sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes. Sexual orientation also refers to
a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviours, and
membership in a community of others who share those attractions. Three sexual
orientations are commonly recognised - heterosexual, homosexual (gay and
lesbian) and bisexual.
Homophobia
Homophobia refers to fear of or prejudice and discrimination against lesbian, gay
and bisexual people. It is also the dislike of same-sex attraction and love or the
hatred of people who have those feelings. The term was first used in the 1970s
and is more associated with ignorance, prejudice and stereotyping than with the
physiological reactions usually attributed to a ‘phobia'. While homophobic
comments or attitudes are often unintentional, they can cause hurt and offence to
lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Transphobia
Transphobia refers to fear of or prejudice and discrimination against people who
are transgender or who are perceived to transgress norms of gender, gender
identity or gender expression. While transphobic comments or attitudes are often
unintentional, they can cause hurt and offence to transgender people.
Definitions adapted from More Than a Phase (Pobal, 2006), For a Better
Understanding of Sexual Orientation (APA, 2008) and Answers to Your Questions
About Transgender Individuals and Gender Identity (APA, 2006)
LGBT or GLBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use
since the 1990s, the term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which was used to replace
the term gay in reference to the LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s.
[1] Activists believed that the term gay community did not accurately represent all those to
whom it referred.[2]
The initialism has become mainstream as a self-designation; it has been adopted by the
majority of sexuality and gender identity-based community centers and media in the United
States, as well as some other English-speaking countries.[3][4] The term is also used in
dozens of other countries.[5][better source needed]
The initialism LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-
based cultures. It may be used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender,
instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. [2][6] To
recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or
are questioningtheir sexual identity; LGBTQ has been recorded since 1996.[7] Those who
add intersex people to LGBT groups or organizing use an extended initialism LGBTI.[8]
[9] Some people combine the two acronyms and use the term LGBTIQ or LGBTQI. Others
use LGBT+ to encompass spectrums of sexuality and gender.[10]
The phrase “lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community” (or “LGBT community”) refers to a broad
coalition of groups that are diverse with respect to gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and
socioeconomic status. Thus while this report focuses on the community that is encapsulated by the acronym
LGBT, the committee wishes to highlight the importance of recognizing that the various populations
represented by “L,” “G,” “B,” and “T” are distinct groups, each with its own special health-related concerns
and needs. The committee believes it is essential to emphasize these differences at the outset of this report
because in some contemporary scientific discourse, and in the popular media, these groups are routinely
treated as a single population under umbrella terms such as LGBT. At the same time, as discussed further
below, these groups have many experiences in common, key among them being the experience of
stigmatization. (Differences within each of these groups related to, for example, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, geographic location, and age also are addressed later in the chapter.)
Lesbians, gay men, and bisexual men and women are defined according to their sexual orientation, which, as
discussed in Chapter 2, is typically conceptualized in terms of sexual attraction, behavior, identity, or some
combination of these dimensions. They share the fact that their sexual orientation is not exclusively
heterosexual. Yet this grouping of “nonheterosexuals” includes men and women; homosexual and bisexual
individuals; people who label themselves as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, among other terms; and people who do
not adopt such labels but nevertheless experience same-sex attraction or engage in same-sex sexual behavior.
As explained throughout the report, these differences have important health implications for each group.
In contrast to lesbians, gay men, and bisexual men and women, transgender people are defined according to
their gender identity and presentation. This group encompasses individuals whose gender identity differs from
the sex originally assigned to them at birth or whose gender expression varies significantly from what is
traditionally associated with or typical for that sex (i.e., people identified as male at birth who subsequently
identify as female, and people identified as female at birth who later identify as male), as well as other
individuals who vary from or reject traditional cultural conceptualizations of gender in terms of the male–
female dichotomy. The transgender population is diverse in gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation.
Some transgender individuals have undergone medical interventions to alter their sexual anatomy and
physiology, others wish to have such procedures in the future, and still others do not. Transgender people can
be heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual in their sexual orientation. Some lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals
are transgender; most are not. Male-to-female transgender people are known as MtF, transgender females, or
transwomen, while female-to-male transgender people are known as FtM, transgender males, or transmen.
Some transgender people do not fit into either of these binary categories. As one might expect, there are health
differences between transgender and nontransgender people, as well as between transgender females and
transgender males.
Whereas “LGBT” is appropriate and useful for describing the combined populations of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender people, it also can obscure the many differences that distinguish these sexual- and gender-
minority groups. Combining lesbians and gay men under a single rubric, for example, obscures gender
differences in the experiences of homosexual people. Likewise, collapsing together the experiences of
bisexual women and men tends to obscure gender differences. Further, to the extent that lesbian, gay, and
bisexual are understood as identity labels, “LGB” leaves out people whose experience includes same-sex
attractions or behaviors but who do not adopt a nonheterosexual identity. And the transgender population,
which itself encompasses multiple groups, has needs and concerns that are distinct from those of lesbians,
bisexual women and men, and gay men.
As noted above, despite these many differences among the populations that make up the LGBT community,
there are important commonalities as well. The remainder of this section first describes these commonalities
and then some key differences within these populations.