Below, you will find a list of commonly used terms that may help you in your role as an Ally.

• Ally – one whose attitude and behavior is anti-heterosexist; a person who combats homophobia and heterosexism on a personal and institutional level.
• Androgyny – a person who identifies as both or neither of the two culturally defined genders; a person who expresses or presents merged culturally/stereotypically feminine and masculine characteristics or mainly neutral characteristics.
• Bisexual – a person who has the ability to be emotionally, physically and sexually attracted to both men and women.
• Butch – identifies a person who expresses or presents culturally/stereotypically masculine characteristics; often a person who self-identifies with the stereotypically masculine end of a gender characteristic spectrum.
• Coming Out – becoming aware of and accepting that one is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender; to publicly declare and affirm one's sexual or gender identity, either as a private conversation with another person or as a public act. It is not a single event but a life-long process. In each new situation, a LGBTQ person must decide whether they will come out.
• Drag – also known as drag king, drag queen and female or male impersonator. Often identified by wearing the clothing of another gender with exaggerated cultural/stereotypical gender characteristics. Drag can also refer to dressing for functional purposes such as entertainment, performance or social gatherings. Drag holds a prominent place in LGBTQ history and the community.
• Dyke – may have been derived from the term ‘dyke-loupers’ from old Scotland. During that era, people would loup, or jump, over the dyke, a low wall, that divided the fields and go over to the other side. The word dyke represents the wall itself – hard, strong, rigid – and the concept of crossing over or partaking of both the masculine and feminine worlds is lost. Recent history has abused the lesbian community with this term. In some portions of the LGBT community, the word has become a source of pride.
• Effeminate – used to identify a person, usually a male, who expresses or presents culturally/stereotypically feminine characteristics. This term is often viewed negatively.
• F2M /FTM (Female to Male) – used to identify a person who was born a female at birth but identifies as male, lives as a man or identifies with masculinity.
• Faggot - according to Webster’s Dictionary, "a bundle of sticks or twigs." Historically, gay men were gathered, tied together and burned at the stake just as witches and heretics were. Today, the term has been salvaged from its painful past and has become a source of pride for some people within the community.
• Family of Choice – persons who form an individual’s social, emotional and practical support network and often fulfill the functions of blood relations.
• Family of Origin – a biological family or the family in which one was raised. These individuals may or may not be a part of a LGBTQ person’s support system.
• Femme – a person who identifies with being a woman, who understands the power and seduction of the feminine spirit and is willing to be powerful as a woman. The term can be used to identify a person who expresses or presents culturally/stereotypically feminine characteristics. The terms is used both positively and negatively.
• Gay – a homosexual person; usually describes males but can also describe females.
• Genderqueer - a person who identifies as being other than man or woman, are both man and woman or are some combination of the two.
• Gender Dysphoria – an intense, continuous discomfort resulting from an individual’s belief in the inappropriateness of their assigned gender at birth and resulting gender role expectations. It also is a clinical psychological diagnosis which offends many people in the transgender community, but is often required in order for a person to receive hormones or surgery.
• Gender Identity - one’s psychological sense of being male or female.
• Gender Roles - the socially constructed and culturally specific behavior and appearance expectations imposed on women and men.
• Heterosexual - a person who is emotionally, physically and sexually attracted to or committed to members of the opposite sex.
• Heterosexism - the assumption or belief that everyone is and should be heterosexual. The systematic oppression of LGBTQ people is directly linked to sexism, including prejudiced attitudes or discriminatory practices against homosexuals.
• Homophobia - a fear of homosexuals, homosexuality or any behavior, belief and attitude of self or others that does not conform to rigid sex-role stereotypes. It is a fear that enforces sexism and heterosexism. The most extreme behavior of homophobia is violence against homosexuals; less extreme and more prevalent is that disapproval and unreasoning fear toward LGBTQ people based on myths and cultural heterosexism.
• Homosexual - a person who is emotionally, physically and sexually attracted to or committed to members of the same sex. It is a clinical term that originated in the late 1800’s. Some avoid using the term because it contains the base word “sex” and believe that using the word "homosexual" devalues the orientation of an individual. The terms “gay, lesbian, and bi” are preferred by the majority of the community.
• Hormone Therapy - (also Hormone Replacement Therapy, HRT) the administration of hormones, possibly a long-term treatment, to initiate the development of secondary sex characteristics of the opposite gender. Androgens, or testosterone, are used for female to males and estrogens are used for male to females.
• Internalized Oppression - the process by which a member of an oppressed group comes to believe and conform to the inaccurate myths and stereotypes applied to their group.
• Intersexed - also known as a hermaphrodite. An individual born with full or partial genitalia of both genders or with underdeveloped or ambiguous genitalia. Surgery is common in infancy, when a singular gender is assigned. Many who have surgery feel that they have lost an essential part of themselves.
• In the Closet - hiding one’s gender or sexual identity in order to survive. Many LGBTQ individuals are “out” in some situations and “closeted” in others.
• Lesbian - a common and acceptable word for female homosexuals only; a name taken from the island of Lesbos where Sappho, the great women-loving poet of 600 B.C., lived. Most women who love women adopt this name with pride.
• M2F/ MTF (Male to Female) - used to identify a person who was born a male but identifies as a female, lives as a woman or identifies as feminine.
• MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) - the term is often used when discussing sexual behavior. It is inclusive of all men who participate in this behavior regardless of their sexual orientation. The acronym MSM is conventionally used in professional literature.
• Outing - disclosing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity to another person without permission.
• Partner or Significant Other - primary domestic partner or spouse. May also be referred to as “girlfriend/ boyfriend,” “lover,” “roommate,” “life partner,” “wife/ husband” or other terms.
• Pre-Op - transsexual individuals who desire sex reassignment surgery and are pursuing it as an option. They may “cross- live” full time or they may take hormone therapy.
• Post-Op - transsexual individuals who have attained sex reassignment surgery and possibly other surgeries in order to change secondary sex characteristics.
• Queer - a pejorative term for gay people, although many LGBTQ people have reclaimed this term as one that describes inclusive, non-heterosexual people.
• Sex Reassignment Surgery - permanent surgical refashioning of genitalia to resemble the genitalia of the desired gender. Often sought to attain congruence between one’s body and one’s gender identity.
• Sexual Orientation - the inclination or capacity to develop intimate, emotional and sexual relationships with people of the same gender (lesbian or gay), the other gender (heterosexual) or either gender (bisexual).
• Straight - a term originating in the gay community describing heterosexuals and meaning “to enter the mainstream” or “to go straight.”
• Transgender - often used to describe a person who defies rigid, bipolar gender constructions by breaking or blurring cultural/ stereotypical gender roles. The term transgender includes: androgynies, cross- dressers, gender- benders, intersexed individuals, transvestites and transsexuals.
• Transsexual - a person who adapts their gender role and body in order to reflect and be congruent with their gender identity; often because of an intense, long-term discomfort resulting from their assigned gender at birth. Transsexual includes cross- living, synthesized sex hormones, surgery and other body modification which can lead to a positive union of a person’s body and gender identity.
• Transvestite - a man or woman who enjoys wearing the clothes of and appearing as the other gender. Reasons for cross-dressing can range from a need to express a feminine or masculine side in order to attain an erotic, sexual or fetish gratification. While many transvestites are heterosexual, the use of transvestitism in the gay “drag” culture is well documented.
• WSW (Women who have Sex with Women) - a term often used when discussing sexual behavior. It is inclusive of all women who participate in this behavior regardless of their sexual orientation. The acronym WSW is conventionally used in professional literature.

Last Modified: May 11, 2007