Lesbian

Someone who identifies as female and is sexually and/or romantically attracted to other females. Some people prefer to use the term gay or use both lesbian and gay interchangeably.

Gay

A person who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to someone of the same gender. For example someone who identifies as male who is attracted to another male.

Bisexual

Someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people of more than one gender. For example someone who identifies as male who is attracted to other males as well as females and/or other gender identities.

Bisexual can be used as an umbrella term meaning it is inclusive of other similar identities or as a stand alone identity.

Other bisexual/multigender attraction identities include:

Pansexual

Someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people regardless of gender. Gender doesn’t usually play a role in the attraction.

Omnisexual

Someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people of all genders and orientations. The definition of Omnisexual may sound very similar to the definition of Pansexual, however they are two very different orientations. An Omnisexual person feels attraction to all genders however, gender still plays a part in this attraction.

Transgender

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity doesn’t align with their sex/gender assigned at birth. For example a person who was assigned female at birth who identifies as a male.

For some people the traditional genders male and female don’t fit their gender identity. These people can identify as non-binary or genderfluid.

Non-Binary

A non Binary person is someone whose gender identity doesn’t fit either the traditional male or female roles. This can mean that they feel they are neither male or female, a little bit of both, their gender changes depending on the day or environment (genderfluid) or something else entirely

Brotherboy & Sistergirl

Being transgender or gender diverse is not a new concept. First Nations people throughout the world have always recognised and integrated rich and diverse concepts of gender. Here in Australia the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use the words Brotherboy and Sistergirl to refer to people who are gender diverse within their communities. You may hear First Nations people talk about Brotherboys and Sistergirls on television and on social media.

Queer

The meaning of ‘Queer’ has changed substantially over the past few decades. It has journeyed from its dictionary definition, to being used as a slur, to being reclaimed by some LGBTQIA+ people and being rejected by others. The term Queer is today commonly used as an umbrella term for anyone who identifies as being in the LGBTQIA+ community. Simply put someone who is queer identifies as being non-heterosexual and/or gender diverse.

Questioning

The Q in LGBTQIA+ also stands for those who may be questioning their sexuality and/or gender identity. Questioning is a completely normal part of life and you are just as much a part of this diverse community as anyone else.

Intersex

People who are Intersex are born with natural variations in their body that differ from what we might expect to be ‘typically’ male/female. For example, a person may appear to have a male body but have mixed or mostly female reproductive organs, or genitals. Intersex people are assigned a sex at birth like everyone else. In some cases, an intersex variation may be visible at birth. At other times, it may be discovered at puberty or later.

Asexual

Someone who is Asexual experiences little to no sexual attraction or has no desire to have a physical relationship with another person.

Aromantic

As the name suggests a Aromantic person feels little to no romantic attraction towards others or has no desire to have a romantic relationship with another person.

The Asexual and Aromantic community is very extensive and diverse with many different sexual orientations to identify with. Unfortunately we can not cover them all on this page, however we highly encourage you to do your own research regarding this community. The following resource assisted Bryce while he was questioning his identity. It gives a brief outline of the Asexual and Aromantic identities.

Plus

The plus sign in LGBTQIA+ stands for any other sexual orientation and gender identity that isn’t mentioned above. Sexuality and gender can be very complex and there are so many identities that it isn’t possible to represent them all in the LGBTQIA+ acronym.