Lesson 1 (LGBTQ+)

• LGBTQ+


  Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or sometimes questioning), and others. The "plus" represents other sexual identities including pansexual and Two-Spirit.
• The acronym LGBTQ+ is used to represent a diverse range of sexualities and gender-identities, referring to anyone who is transgender and/or same/similar gender attracted.
• Lesbian


  A woman/woman-aligned person who is attracted to only people of the same/similar gender.
• Gay


  Usually a term used to refer to men/men-aligned individuals who are only attracted to people of the same/similar gender. Lesbians can also be referred to as gay.
• Bisexual


  Indicates an attraction to all genders. Bisexuality has included transgender, binary and nonbinary individuals since the release of the "Bisexual Manifesto" in 1990.
• Transgender


  A term that indicates that a person's gender identity is different from the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Queer


  Though queer may be used by people as a specific identity, it is often considered an umbrella term for anyone who is non-cisgender or heterosexual. But it is also a slur.
• Questioning


  Refers to people who may be unsure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
• Plus


  Signifies all of the gender identities and sexual orientations that are not specifically covered by the other five initials. An example is Two-Spirit, a pan-Indigenous American identity.
• The original LGBTQ+ acronym has gained more letters designed to help better represent other identities related to sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Bisexuality, as defined by Sigmund Freud, originally meant a person was both a man and a woman. Being both a man and a woman is now referred to as bigender (under the transgender umbrella), and bisexuality is attraction to multiple/all genders.
• The addition of the "plus" in LGBTQ+ is important and should not be overlooked as it better captures the diversity of the community.
• Asexual


  Refers to someone who has little or no sexual attraction; they may, however, experience romantic attraction.
• Cisgender


  Refers to individuals whose gender identity corresponds to the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Intersex


  A term to describe individuals who are born with variations of sex characteristics that do not fit with binary definitions of male or female bodies.
• Nonbinary


  A person whose gender identity is neither exclusively woman or man.
• Gender nonconforming


  An individual whose gender identity or expression is outside or beyond the traditional masculine/feminine and woman/man norms.
• Gender identity is a person's internal sense of gender, whether that is woman, man, or a nonbinary gender. Gender identity does not necessarily correspond to their sex assigned at birth or with their gender expression.
• Sex is biological, while gender is influenced by social, cultural, and environmental factors.
• The LGBTQ+ acronym serves an important purpose - it is designed to be more inclusive and represents the self-identities of people who are transgender and/or similar gender attracted.
• Terms such as queer are sometimes used, but not all members of the community are comfortable with it as it is still a slur.
• What matters is that people have choice in self-identification and that others acknowledge that identity.
• In October 2016, newspapers reported that the Speaker of the House of Representatives was intending to draft a bill to legalize same-sex unions, but other legislators had already expressed refusal to support it.
• Reasons given for refusing to support the same-sex initiative included that seeing two men kiss is unsightly, that there is something "irregular" about belonging to the LGBTQ+ community, and that two people of the same sex being together is unnatural.
• Natural


  Can refer to an intuition that something is true, what is common in a person's environment, or something instinctual or corporeal without being directed by reason.
• Thomas Aquinas emphasizes the capacity for reason as what is essential in our human nature, which becomes the basis of the natural law theory.