Language is constantly changing, constantly evolving, and the language for sex and sexuality is no exception. Language, like gender, is fluid and can accommodate everyone who wishes for better identifiers. As this list proves, there are many labels beyond the binary we’re all familiar with. This list focuses specifically on different gender identifiers, sexual orientations, and personal labels instead of an entire dictionary for all things sex-related. So, my advice, bookmark this page, share it with your aunts and grandparents and those new to the vast world of gender terms, and, ultimately, have it handy whenever someone whats to question your language.
These terms and their accompanying definitions came from Chloe O. Davis’ The Queens English: A LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases and YouTuber Ashely Mardell’s The ABCs of LBTQ+. As these two sources stress, not all of these terms are used by all LGBTQIA+ people, and, most importantly, some of these terms are not appropriate for people not in the LGBTQIA+ community to use. There are invaluable resources, like The Queens English, that go far more in-depth than I was capable of doing here. Please check them out too.
Ace: An umbrella term for any identity on the asexual spectrum. Also shorthand for “asexual”; someone who experiences varying degrees of attraction.
Agender/genderless: Someone who is without gender, gender-neutral, and/or rejects the concept of gender for themselves; terms like “nongender” or “genderless” can also be used.
Androgyne: A non-binary gender in which a person is both man and woman, neither a man nor a woman, and/or somewhere in between man and woman.
Androgynesexual/romantic: Someone who is attracted to androgyny.
Androgynous: Possessing qualities that are traditionally associated as both masculine and feminine, neither masculine nor feminine, and/or in between while still having a very strong and specific gendered feeling.
Aproagender: Both a specific gender identity and an umbrella term for being a non-binary gender separate from man, woman, and anything in between while still having a very strong and specific gendered feeling.
Aromantic: An umbrella term, or stand-alone identifier, for someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction; sometimes shortened to “Aro”
Asexual: An umbrella term, or stand-alone identifier, for someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction.
Autosexual/romantic: Using self-stimulation to satiate sexual desires; an auto-sexual person may prefer solo sexual play or may be unable to be aroused by others.
Bicurious: Someone curious about having sexual/romantic attractions and/or experiences with more than one gender.
Bigender: Someone who has/experiences two genders.
Bisexual/romantic: Being attracted to two or more genders.
Butch: Denoting the vast and dynamic representation of masculine characteristics, regardless of gender. Though has been reclaimed by many, not all LGBTQIA+ approve of this term.
Cisgender: A person whose gender identity is the same as their sex and/or gender assigned at birth; sometimes shortened to “cis” where “cishet” is also used to mean “cisgender heterosexual.
Demiboy: Gender identity label for people who only partially identify with the terms “boy,” “man,” or “male.” They may or may not identify with another gender in addition to feeling partly male.
Demigender: Someone who has/experiences a partial connection to one or more genders.
Demigirl: Gender identity label for people who only partially indenfitfy with the terms “girl,” “woman,” or “female.” They may or may not identify with another gender in addition to feeling partly female.
Demisexual: Experiencing sexual attraction only when a strong emotional connection is present.
DFAB/DMAB: Acronym for “designated female at birth” or “designated male at birth”; other acronyms exist like AFAB/AMAB, or “assigned female/male at birth” and FAAB/MAAB or “female/male assigned at birth.”
Diamoric: “In terms of personal identity, a non-binary person may identify as diamoric to emphasize their own non-binary identity and their attraction to/relationship(s) with other non-binary people. In terms of a relationship, a diamoric relationship or attraction is one that involves at least one non-binary person.
Enby: The phonetic pronunciation of the abbreviation for nonbinary, or “nb”; some may find this term offensive as “nb” was once a common reference for a “non-Black person.”
Female to Female/FTF: Someone whose sex and/or gender was assigned male at birth, but who rejects that their gender was ever male.
Femme: Denoting the vast and dynamic representation of feminine characteristics, regardless of gender.
Gay: “This label can refer specifically to men who are attracted to men; it can refer to people who are primarily attracted to the same or similar gender as their own; or it can be an umbrella term for anyone who is not straight.
Gender: “In the context of the individual self, gender is the state of being a man, a woman, both, neither, somewhere in between, or something entirely different. In the context of society, gender is a system of classification rooted in social ideas about masculinity and femininity.
Genderfluid: Having a gender that changes.
Genderflux: Someone whose experience with gender changes or fluctuates with intensity.
Genderqueer: Someone whose gender exists outside of/or beyond society’s binary concept of gender.
Graysexual/romantic: “People who experience very low amounts of attraction; people who experience attraction rarely or only under certain conditions; and/or people who are not sure whether they experience attraction.”
Heterosexual: Being attracted to the other binary gender.
Hijra: A third gender specifically identified in the country of India; a person whose identity is neither male nor female or is transitioning to another gender.
Homosexual: Being attracted to the same or similar gender(s) as their own.
Intergender: A person who identifies between or as a mix of the binary genders.
Intersex: A sex category that includes people whose anatomy does not completely fit into either of society’s typical definitions of male and female.
Leather Community: A community dedicated to a particular lifestyle denoted by leather garments and unorthodox sexual expression.
Lesbian: Women (as well as non-binary and genderqueer people who feel a connection to womanhood) who are attracted to other women.
LGBTQIA+: Stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and all other identities that are not straight and/or not cisgender.
Lipstick Lesbian: A super-feminine lesbian.
Male to Male/MTM: Someone whose sex and/or gender was assigned female at birth but rejects that their gender was ever female.
Masexuality: Attraction to men and/or masculinity; also referred to as androsexuality.
Maverique: Someone who has an autonomous gender that exists entirely independent of the binary genders mand and woman.
Maxigender: Someone who experiences many, and sometimes all available genders to them.
Monosexuality: Attraction to a single gender.
Neutrois: Someone whose gender is neutral or null.
Nomasexual: Someone who is attracted to anyone who isn’t a man.
Non-binary: Existing or identifying outside the sex/gender binary, being neither man nor woman, or being only partially a combination of these things.
Novosexual: A person whose attractions change based on the gender(s) they are experiencing.
Nowomasexual: Someone who is attracted to anyone who isn’t a woman.
Omnisexual: A sexual orientation where a person is attracted to all types of humans and has no distinct preference based on sexuality or gender.
Pansexual: A person who identifies with all genders without distinguishing one from another; A sexual orientation where a person is attracted to people of all genders and sexualities.
Polyamory: The practice or desire of relationships involving more than two people.
Polysexual: Someone who experiences attraction to multiple, but not necessarily all, genders.
Queer: An umbrella term or identity taken on by some LGBTQIA+ people to describe a sexual and/or gender identity that falls outside societal norms. This term has a history of being used as a slur and though many LGBTQIA+ people have reclaimed the word, not everyone is comfortable using it. It can be used as a noun to describe a queer person, or a verb ot make something queer meaning to analyze, deconstruct, and/or challenge heteronormativity.
Questioning: Being unsure of one’s sexual/romantic orientation or gender identity.
Recipsexuality: Experiencing attraction to someone only after knowing that they are attracted to you.
Same Gender Loving/SGL: Having an attraction to people of the same gender.
Sex: “A socially constructed classification system based on a persona’ biology. Society typically recognizes only two sex categories, male and female, each with specific biological requirements.”
Skoliosexual: Being attracted to people of non-binary genders; also referred to as “ceterosexual.”
Trans Man: Someone who was assigned female at birth and is a man.
Trans Woman: Someone who was assigned male at birth and is a woman.
Transfeminine: A term used to describe someone who was assigned male aat birth, and who has a predominantly feminine gender and/or expresses themselves in a way that they describe as feminine.
Transgender: An umbrella term for anyone whose gender identity does not match their sex and/or gender assigned at birth; sometimes shortened to “Trans”
Transitioning: The process of accepting oneself and/or pursuing changes in order to affirm one’s gender and/or alleviate dysphoria.
Transmasculine: A term used to describe someone who was assigned female at birth, and who has a predominantly masculine gender and/or expresses themselves in a way they describe as masculine.
Trigender: Someone who has/experiences three genders.
Trisexual: Someone who experiences attractions to three genders.
Trysexual: Someone who is sexually and/or romantically open to experimenting.
Two-Spirit: An umbrella term used to identify the history of gender and sexuality diversity celebrated in Indigenous Native American culture, that a third gender role is identified and commonly expressed within that culture.
Womasexuality: Attraction to women and/or femininity; sometimes called “gynesexuality.”
Zedsexual: A person who experiences sexual/romantic attraction; someone who is not on the ace spectrum; also called “allosexual.”
By Shelby Lueders