What Do All Those Letters Mean? A Beginner's Guide to the Acronymn

The term LGBTQ+ is an acronym. This quick guide for beginners breaks down each letter and what they signify. Sometimes, you may find a "+" after the acronym since the community is not just exclusive to only those who are LGBTQ, but includes other gender and sexual minorities as well. 

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L

L refers to those who are lesbian. A lesbian refers to a woman who is solely attracted to other women. There are lesbians who prefer butch females which are more masculine ladies, and there are Lesbians who prefer femme females which are more feminine women. Regardless of their preference, if a women is only attracted to women they would consider themselves to be a lesbian.

G

G refers to those who are gay. A gay person is someone who is attracted to only people of their same gender. Gay is commonly used with males who are attracted to other males, though some lesbians may also refer to themselves as gay. A gay couple refers two men in a relationship.

B

B refers to those who are bisexual. Someone who is bisexual is an individual who is attracted to both males and females regardless of their own gender. Some bisexual people are attracted to both genders on different levels but that does not make them any less bisexual. Bisexuality is not just a 50/50 split in most cases, which is a common misconception of bisexual people.

T

T refers to those who are transgender. Unlike the previous letters, this one does not refer to sexuality. A transgender person has a different gender identity from what they were assigned as at birth. Many transgender people have what is called gender dysphoria where one feels distress if their gender does not match the one they were assigned at birth. 

Q

Q stands for those who are queer or questioning. Queer is a hypernym term describing any person who is not cisgender and straight. A questioning individual is someone who is questioning either their gender identity or their sexuality. Questioning people may not use specific terms like bisexual or transgender because they are not sure yet.

+

The + at the end of LGBTQ+ refers to many other sexualities and gender identities as well. There are other sexualities like asexual and pansexual. Additionally, there are other gender identities such as non-binary. Those in the LGBTQ+ community often pride themselves for being inclusive and loving of all--there's room for everyone under the rainbow.