A Guide to LGBTQA Identifications

Unless you have been living under a rock since the 1960s, you are at least vaguely aware of the LGBTQA+ Community and have probably heard endless terms that you have no clue the meaning of. It is hard to understand a community when you can't even understand what they are talking about in the first place, so here is a list of the most common and basic identifications in the LGBTQA+ Community.

Lesbian - Refers to a woman who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation toward women.

Butch Lesbian - A more masculine-like lesbian with its associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on.

Femme Lesbian (aka Lipstick Lesbian) - A feminine-like identity with its associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on.

Them Lesbian (Non-Binary Lesbian) - A They/Them (Non-Binary/Enby) who identifies with being lesbian.

Gay - Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. Usually in reference to men.

Twinks - A young man in his late teens to early twenties whose traits may include: general physical attractiveness; little to no body or facial hair; a slim to average build; and a youthful appearance.

Bears - often a larger, hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity.

Non-Binary Gay - A They/Them (Non-Binary/Enby) who identifies with being gay.

Bisexual - Romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one sex or gender.

Pansexual - Romantic or sexual attraction to people of any sex or gender identity.

Trans - Denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

Transgender - A gender identity or gender expression that differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth.

Transexual - Medically assisted transition from one sex to another.

Queer - An umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender.

Questioning - The Questioning of one's sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender, or all three is a process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, or concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons.

Asexual - Lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. Also an umbrella term for other asexual sub-identities.

Demisexual - Demisexual people only feel sexually attracted to someone when they have an emotional bond with the person.

Aceflux - Fluctuates but generally stays on the asexual spectrum.

Aromantic - Having no interest in or desire for romantic relationships.

Demiromantic - Someone who only develops romantic feelings for another person when they have a strong emotional connection to them.

Aroflux - Fluctuates but generally stays on the aromantic spectrum.

Allosexual - Anyone who feels sexual attraction for other people.

Non-Binary (Enby/Genderqueer) - A spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍—‌identities that are outside the gender binary. Uses They/Them pronouns.

Cisgender - A term for people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth

Again these are only the most basic of the terms available within the community and does not cover anything in-depth. There are many more terms and identifications available.

'Labels' or Identifications are something that has become a topic for debate in which there are those that believe that labels are restricting and they put you into a box that you cannot break out of later on. Versus the other side that use identifications as a way to understand themselves, to tell others how they feel about sex and romance without any word vomit speeches in attempts to explain, and to find communities of like-minded people that they can relate to.