LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. It's a label that includes a wide variety of people of non-straight sexual orientations and non-conforming gender identities. Let's take a closer look at what each of these letters mean.
Sexual Orientation
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight are sexual orientations. All these sexual orientations are perfectly normal. Scientists are not yet sure exactly what causes someone to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight, but recent research shows that there are biological factors in place before birth that influence people's sexual orientation.
Sexual orientation is about who we're attracted to, sexually and romantically. Women who are attracted to other women often call themselves lesbian. Men who are attracted to other men often call themselves gay. People who are attracted to both women and men often called themselves bisexual. And people who are attracted to people of the opposite sex often call themselves straight.
Why do we say "often"? Because some people don't think these labels describe them accurately. Some people don't like the idea of labels at all. And others aren't sure how to label themselves. It can take many years for people to figure out their sexual orientation. "Questioning" means people are not sure of their sexual orientations. This is normal, and it's very common — especially for teenagers.
Gender Identity
The "T" in LGBTQ stands for transgender. Transgender is not a sexual orientation — it's a gender identity. Before we define transgender, let's take a step back and look at some other terms.
- Sex is biological. It includes our genetic makeup, our hormones, and our physical parts (like our sex and reproductive organs).
- Gender refers to society's expectations about how we should look, think, and act as girls and boys, women and men.
- Gender identity is how we feel about our gender and how we convey those feelings through clothing, behavior, speech, and other ways we express ourselves.
For most people, their gender is in sync with their sex. Most people who have female parts, hormones, and genetic makeup feel like girls or women, and most people who have male parts, hormones, and genetic makeup feel like boys or men.
But some people find that their gender identity is not in sync with their sex — for example, someone with a penis might be declared a boy at birth, but grow up feeling, thinking, and acting more like a girl. Many people who feel this way call themselves transgender — also known as trans, TG, or genderqueer.
Transgender can also include people who are simply not satisfied with the strict gender roles society dictates, those who enjoy "playing" the other gender, and those who take hormones and/or have surgery to alter their physical bodies to match their gender identity.
There's Room for Everyone
Queer is an umbrella term that's often used to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people — as well as other people with non-straight or non-conforming sexual orientations or gender identities who don't identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
The term "queer" has a complicated history. It was — and still is — often used in an insulting and attacking way. But many non-straight, non-conforming people have reclaimed the word "queer" as a way of celebrating their identity.
Both "LGBTQ" and "queer" can be useful terms for discussing important issues that are unique to people of non-straight, non-conforming identities, and that's why we've given "LGBTQ" its own section on Teen Talk.
If you'd like more information about LGBTQ issues, OutProud and Advocates for Youth's YouthResource and are two good places to start.
