Heterosexism is prejudice or discrimination against someone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two-Spirit, or other sexual orientation or gender.

Discrimination is an act (such as a practice, comment, or behaviour) that treats someone in a way they don’t want to be treated based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, ancestry, race, age, disability, marital status (such as being married or single), family status, or source of income.

An ally is someone who advocates for (supports) the human rights of sexual- and gender-minority people by challenging discrimination and heterosexism. You might also hear the word ally when people talk about sexual orientation. Intersex isn’t fully male or female and doesn’t fit within the typical definitions of male or female. Intersex may be used when your reproductive, sexual, or genetic biology is not clear. Polyamory is when you have more than one sexual, loving relationship at the same time and all partners agree (consent) to this. Pansexual is when you’re emotionally or sexually attracted to people of any gender or sex. You have the right to self-identify your gender. Some people change what’s listed as their gender and others don’t. You’ll sometimes see “sex” or “gender” on your identity documents. X is sometimes used by people who don’t identify as a female or male or who choose not to share their gender on identity documents. This most often includes female, male or X. Sex may also be on proof of identity documents. Sex is a category that people are assigned at birth based on the genitals they’re born with. This may relate to their spirituality, sexual orientation, and gender identity.Īre there other words I might hear about sex and gender?

Two-Spirit (2S) is a cultural term used by some Indigenous people to describe having a male and female spirit.

Questioning is used for a person who’s exploring or not sure of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

It’s also used as a positive term to describe LGBTQ2S+ communities and social movements.

Queer is used by some people who identify as a sexual or gender-sexual minority.Some people may use other terms to describe themselves. Transgender means your gender identity or gender expression is different from the sex you were given at birth.Lesbian, gay, and bisexual are sexual orientations.This shows there are many more sexual orientations and gender identities than the ones listed in this acronym. You might sometimes see the symbols * or + after the acronym.

It stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual (or bi), transgender, queer/questioning and Two-Spirit (2S). But what‘s thought to be masculine and feminine changes over time and within different cultures. Society often thinks of these cues as being male/masculine and female/feminine. Gender expression includes using facilities (like washrooms and change rooms) that match up with your own sense of gender. Gender expression is how you choose to express your gender identity through your name, pronouns, clothing, hair style, behaviour, voice, or body features. People who are gender queer also may or may not identify as transgender. Gender queer means you identify or express yourself beyond what is often linked to the sex and gender you were assigned at birth.Gender non-conforming, non-binary, and gender fluid means you don’t identify fully as a man or a boy (male, masculine) or a woman or a girl (female, feminine).Agender means you don’t identify with any gender.Transgender means your gender identity doesn’t match up with the sex you were assigned at birth.And some have a gender identity that doesn’t fit into one of these genders.

Some people identify as a man (or a boy) or a woman (or a girl). Gender identity may be the same as the sex you were assigned at birth (cisgender) or not (transgender). Your gender identity isn’t seen by others. Gender identity is your deeply-held inner feelings of whether you’re female or male, both, or neither. Others may self-identify as being transgender, agender, Two-Spirit, gender queer, non-binary, gender fluid or any number of terms (explained below). It’s how your identity relates to society’s idea of what it means to be a woman, man, neither, or a mix of many genders.įor most people, their gender matches up with the cultural expectations of the sex they were assigned at birth.

Non binary vs gender fluid