How to Easily Identify and Understand LGBTQ+ Terms

Today, I wanted to talk about how these confusing terms might be a bit more simple than you realized!

For some of these letters, I want to make it a bit easier to understand by breaking them down. Being apart of the LGBTQ+ Community means having a different Sexual, Romantic, or Gender Identity/Orientation than the “norm”. Quite a few of the lesser-known (and VERY confusing) terms in the LGBTQ+ Space becomes a bit easier to understand when you notice they stem from adding prefixes to those three terms.

Sexual Identity/Orientation (or “-sexual“)– Most commonly gay, lesbian, and bi; Sexual Orientation refers the sexual attraction towards other individuals. (Example: bi-sexual meaning attraction towards two genders). Romantic Identity/Orientation (or “-romantic“)– refers to the romantic attraction towards other individuals. Romantic Orientation is often the thought to be the the same as Sexual attraction (and typically most feel this way), but can vary from person to person. (Example: a person can be bisexual, but homo(same sex)romantic. This would mean they find multiple genders attractive but only want a romantic relationship with an individual of the same gender.) Gender Identity (or “-gender“)– the “T” in LGBT; Refers to towards the innate understanding a person’s gender. Gender identity or “Transgender” is an umbrella term for any individuals whose gender identity differs from the one assigned at birth. Trans Males/Females being the most common, there are so many others that fall under this umbrella. (Example: last week we covered Agender meaning little to no gender identity.) And here are just a few of the prefixes used in the LGBTQ+ Spectrum.
“A” or “ace”– Little to no.
“Demi” – Partial.
“Poly” – Many.
“Pan” – All.
“Homo” – Same
“Hetero” – Opposite.
“Cetero” – Other.

Hope this helps you better understand where some of these terms got their name. NOTE: This does not include every term and some terms have been changed throughout the years because of discrimination. Never assume a person’s Sexual/Romantic/Gender identity.

Lastly, I’m looking to create a logo or design for “Operation: Iris”, but I am not super artistic or creative. If anyone wants to be awesome and design one, you’d be da-bomb.com. 💕🌈🌸

Operation: Iris is a project by @meganbound and the original post can be found on https://operationiris.home.blog/