The vocabulary
LGBTQIA+, explained gently
The acronym grew because people kept finding words for experiences that had always existed. No one needs to memorise it. It's a way of saying everyone here belongs.
The letters
Lesbian
A woman attracted to women.
Gay
A man attracted to men. Also used broadly by anyone attracted to the same gender.
Bisexual
Attracted to more than one gender, not necessarily equally or at the same time.
Transgender
Someone whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. About who you are, not whom you love.
Queer or questioning
Queer is a reclaimed umbrella word. Questioning means still exploring, which is completely okay.
Intersex
Born with sex characteristics that don't fit typical male or female definitions. A natural biological variation.
Asexual and aromantic
Little or no sexual attraction (asexual) or romantic attraction (aromantic). Some read A as ally too.
And more
Pansexual, non-binary, genderfluid, demisexual and others. The plus means the list stays open.
Four separate dials
Not one switch
The most common confusion is mixing up four different things. Drag the dials. Moving one never moves the others.
Not a Western import
India's own gender traditions
Gender diversity is not a foreign idea. South Asia has some of the world's oldest communities of people outside the man-woman binary.
Hijra and Kinnar
Centuries-old communities with their own social structures and the guru-chela tradition, recorded in Mughal courts and earlier.
Aravani and Thirunangai
Tamil identities. The annual Koovagam festival celebrates Aravan from the Mahabharata.
Jogti and Jogappa
Gender-diverse devotees of the goddess Yellamma in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Epics and temples
Shikhandi in the Mahabharata, Ardhanarishvara, the half-Shiva half-Parvati form, and the carvings of Khajuraho.
Glossary
Words, plainly
Thirty-two terms in everyday language. Search for any word.
Someone who isn't LGBTQIA+ but actively supports queer people.
Experiencing little or no romantic attraction.
Experiencing little or no sexual attraction. Asexual people may still want romance and partnership.
The sex a doctor records when a baby is born, usually based on visible anatomy.
Prejudice against bisexual people, including claims that they're confused or greedy.
Someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Not open about one's orientation or gender identity, often for safety.
Sharing one's identity with others. A lifelong process, not a single moment.
Discredited attempts to change orientation or gender identity. Professional misconduct for doctors in India since 2022.
A trans person's birth name that they no longer use. Using it on purpose is hurtful.
Feeling sexual attraction only after forming a deep emotional bond.
Distress some trans people feel when their body or social role doesn't match their gender identity.
How someone presents their gender through clothing, voice and behaviour.
A person's inner sense of being a man, woman, both, neither, or something else.
A gender identity that shifts over time.
The assumption that everyone is straight and that being straight is the default.
A South Asian community of trans and gender-diverse people with a long cultural history.
Fear, hatred or discrimination against gay and lesbian people.
Negative beliefs about queerness that queer people absorb from society and turn on themselves.
A marriage of convenience, often between a gay man and a lesbian, to hide their orientations.
The extra, chronic stress queer people face from stigma, discrimination and hiding.
Referring to someone with the wrong gender, pronouns or name.
A gender identity outside the categories of man or woman.
Revealing someone's identity without their consent. It can put them in danger.
Attraction regardless of gender.
Celebration of queer identity and the movement for equal rights. India's first pride walk was in Kolkata, 1999.
Words like he, she or they used to refer to someone.
A reclaimed umbrella term for anyone who isn't straight or cisgender.
The colonial-era law that criminalised same-sex relations in India until 2018.
Steps some trans people take to live as their gender: social, legal or medical. Every path is valid.
Prejudice or discrimination against transgender people.
A term used by some Indigenous North American people for gender-diverse identities.