We All Have LGBT Friends But Do We Know The meaning of LGBTQ+ or LGBTTQQIAAP?
5 Mins Read
The pride month of June is here, and we all are celebrating the cause of the LGBT community by putting #loveislove #happypride in our Instagram posts. We all have LGBT friends but do we really know what does LGBTQ+ mean or what does LGBTQ+ stand for? While it is amazing to have LGBTQ+ friends and embrace the diversity and inclusion of our society, it is also important to understand the meaning of LGBTQ+ community and what does LGBT stand for. So come now, let us decode the LGBTQ+ or LGBTTQQIAAP meaning and identify which one do you belong to.
Also Read: Know What Pride Month Stands For?
LGBTTQQIAAP Meaning: Meaning of LGBTQ+ And What Does LGBTQ+ Stand For?
Before we understand the meaning of LGBTQ+ and what does LGBTQ+ stand for, we need to decode the plus + first.
Decoding The ‘+’
A lot of people wonder what does + symbol in the LGBTQ+ stand for. It denotes two main aspects of the LGBT community:
- The + sign denotes a spectrum of sexual identities apart from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and signifies other sexual identities such as transsexual, intersex, non-binary, questioning, asexual, etc. It also includes all the allies who support and advocated the cause of the LGBTQ community.
- The + sign also denotes that everyone is welcome to join the LGBT community regardless of gender identity they conform to, gender expression or sexual orientation. Everyone can join the LGBTQ community.
LGBTTQQIAAP is an inclusive term and denotes the full form of the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTTQQIAAP term covers the different ways in which people define their gender identity and sexuality, but this list is not exhaustive. Some of you may also identify with more than one of these identities.
1. L- LESBIAN
A woman who is primarily attracted to another woman.
2. G-GAY
A man who is primarily attracted to another male.
It is also a broad term that represents a person attracted to the same sex or same gender. They are also called homosexuals.
3. B-BISEXUAL
A person attracted to their own and the opposite gender. In another way, it means a person attracted to both males and females. In gay parlance, they are said to ‘swing in both ways’.
4. T-TRANSGENDER
A person who acts and lives in a gender opposite to what has been assigned to him at birth. Transgenders often crossdress and behave as the opposite sex in their normal lives as they believe that they feel opposite to their assigned birth sex. For example, a person born as a man may feel like a woman trapped inside a man’s body and vice-versa.
5. T-TRANSSEXUAL
A person who has permanently changed his or her gender identity by the means of surgery and the use of hormones. They modify or transition their bodies and change their sexual organs with the help of medical science. A transsexual person may be transgender initially, but after transitioning medically they become transsexual.
6. Q-QUEER
People generally refer the gays and lesbians as queer but it is an umbrella term to be more inclusive of many identities that make up the LGBTQ+ community. In other words, a queer is not someone who is heterosexual or identifies himself as straight.
7. Q-QUESTIONING
A person who is still exploring or discovering his sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
8. I-INTERSEX
A person born with sexual or reproductive anatomy that doesn’t fit the definition ‘female’ or ‘male. Intersex people have both male and female biological characteristics. Some people have both male and female sex organs. Some males have a penis, but they also have female organs like the vagina or uterus.
9. A-ASEXUAL
A person who does not feel any sexual desire or attraction for any gender or has a very low interest in sexual activity. But this doesn’t mean that such people do not enter into a relationship, they do. It’s just they do not indulge in sexual acts.
10. A-ALLY
An ally is a non-queer person who supports, cheers, and advocates the cause of the LGBTQ+ community. An ally doesn’t belong to the LGBTQ+ community but whosoever supports the LGBT+ community is an ally.
11. P-PANSEXUAL
A person who is attracted emotionally and/or physically to any gender. This also includes people who do not identify with any of the genders. In other words, a pansexual person gets attracted to any person regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, or identity. A pansexual person can get attracted to anyone male, female, transgender, transsexual, intersex, queer, non-binary, etc.
Like asexuals, pansexuals get attracted to personalities. But the main difference is that an asexual never gets attracted sexually while a pansexual does.
So this is the full LGBTTQQIAAP meaning but this spectrum is broader than this. LGBTQ+ doesn’t end here. There are other forms of gender expressions and orientations as well which fall under the purview of LGBTQ+ community. Let us understand these terms as well
12. CURIOUS
A person who is not necessarily bisexual, but he or she still has some curiosity or interest in other men or women. They are still exploring and curious and it is rather tough to categorize them.
13. GENDER FLUID
Gender fluid people are the people whose gender changes over time. A gender fluid person may identify as a woman one day and as a man the very next day. They also do not have a fixed gender identity and are oscillate between the two genders.
14. GENDER NONCONFORMING
A person who doesn’t conform to a gender expression and expectation set by his society. For example, in many societies, men are not supposed to shave their chest and legs, not be vulnerable and show emotions and tenderness, etc. While women are expected to shave their legs, keep clean, show tenderness. But many a time we do not conform to these pre-defined roles. Most of us don’t fully conform to those gender expectations all of the time. It’s a matter of one’s own preference.
15. NON-BINARY
A person who is identified as the third gender and doesn’t fit in the traditional binary -male or female identity. It is a term people use to describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories of male or female.
16. ANDROGYNOUS
An androgynous is a person who owns both masculinity and femininity. Such a person is partly male and partly female in appearance and is often of indeterminate sex. Such people identify as being mentally between male and female or entirely as genderless.
17. CISGENDER
A person whose personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex. Cisgender and straight are two different terms. Cisgender is a word that describes gender identity. Straight, on the other hand, describes sexual orientation. A person can be cisgender and be straight or he can be cisgender and be gay.
To seek more clarity let us consider an example that if you were born with a penis and identify as a man, you’re a cisgender man. Similarly, if you were born with a vagina and identify as a woman, you’re a cisgender woman. While if you don’t identify with the gender you were assigned at birth, you may find that you’re transgender, nonbinary, or gender non-conforming.
These are the other forms of gender orientations that don’t fall under LGBTTQQIAAP. These people may not necessarily fall specifically, in the LGBTTQQIAAP community, but they are still a part of the LGBTQ+ community. And everyone is welcome here.
If you like this post read our LGBTQIA Blog for more posts on issues related to sexuality, coming out, and being gay. You may also engage with our LGBTQ+ Forum and connect with like-minded people. Here you can ask and share your problems and learn from other like-minded individuals who have gone through the same. Also before logging off, do not forget to check our Youtube Studio for crisp, engaging, and life inspiring content.
Originally published at https://theeasywisdom.com on June 11, 2021.
