Terminology
This page will serve as a resource to help situate those who are unfamiliar with the ever changing terms that are used to describe and identify folks of varying sexual and gender identities.
LGBTQ+ An initialism that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer. The plus represents the myriad of other self-identifying gender and sexual identities that are currently not listed. The plus is an attempt to be as inclusive as possible.1
Queer- Originally a derogatory label to describe homosexuals and lesbians, it has been reclaimed among scholars and activists since the 1990s as an umbrella term for those who are not heterosexual or cis-gender. Queer will be used to indicate non-straight/anti-straight identity and behavior. For this project, the term queer men will be synonymous with gay and homosexual while queer women will be interchangeable with lesbian. 2
Cis-gender- A synonym for "nontransgender." The prefix cis refers to "on the same side as" in opposite to trans which means "across." For example, a woman is considered cis-gender if she was assigned female at birth and has continually identified as a woman. 3
Transgender- This term will refer to any individual who moves away from the gender they were assigned at birth because they strongly felt they belonged to another gender. According to one prominent historian on gender and sexuality, Susan Stryker, transgender men and women "cross over (trans-) the boundaries constructed by their culture to define and contain that gender." Additionally, terms like gender-nonconforming and genderqueer will be synonyms for transgender throughout this project.4
Transgender woman/Trans woman/Transwoman- An individual who was assigned male at birth, but now considers themselves a woman. Furthermore, a transwoman will present and live socially as a woman. Transgender women adopt feminine pronouns and feminine names and/or wear feminine clothes. Undergoing hormone treatment or sex reassignment surgery is not a requirement for living or identifying as a trans woman. 5
Lesbian- A female identifying individual who is romantically and sexually attracted towards other female identifying individuals.6
Homosexual/Gay- A male identifying individual who is romantically and sexually attracted towards other male identifying individuals.7
Heterosexual- An individual, identifying as either cis-gender male or female, who is sexually attracted towards someone of the opposite sex. 8
Heteronormativity- The culturally constructed and enforced concept that the male/female gender binary is natural and fixed. Heterosexuality is also presumed to be innate in all cis-gender men and women and that wanting to present as additional gender(s) or preferring sexual and romantic relations of individuals of the same sex ought to be suppressed. 9
Notes
[1] Chris Purcell, " LGBTQI--What Do All the Letters Mean?" Office of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Life, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, accessed April 2, 2022. https://www.vumc.org/health-wellness/news-resource-articles/lgbtqi-what-do-all-letters-mean.
[2] Susan K. Freeman and Leila J. Rupp, "The Ins and Outs of U.S. History," in Understanding and Teaching U.S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History, eds. Susan K. Freeman and Leila J. Rupp (Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2014), 9.
[3] Susan Stryker, Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution (New York: Seal Press, 2017), 1.
[4] Stryker, Transgender History, 13.
[5] Stryker, Transgender History, 33.
[6] Stryker, Transgender History, 33.
[7] Stryker, Transgender History, 33.
[8] Stryker, Transgender History, 36.
[9] Cheryl Chase, "Hermaphrodites with Attitude: Mapping the Emergence of Intersex Political Activism," in Transgender Studies Reader, eds. Susan Stryker and Stephen Whittle (New York: Routledge, 2006), 301.