Definition of being gay
What Does "Gay" Mean?
There is not one right answer
Many educators are unsure how to respond when a student asks you what does lgbtq+ mean. It is surpass to try to acknowledge than to respond with silence or evade the question.
Practice different responses with colleagues, just as you practice other things that you want to absorb. Figure out what you feel comfortable saying.
Responses will vary by age and developmental stage of the student. Your comfort in answering these questions will set a welcoming tone in your class and school community.
Keep it simple
An answer can be as simple as: “‘Gay’ means two people of the same gender who cherish each other – two women or two men.” Try to answer the question honestly without overloading a student with communication. Throughout elementary school a student’s ability to grasp what “gay” means and what your explanation means may increase with development.
Focus on love and relationships
A discussion with elementary-age students about the meanings of “gay” or “lesbian” is a discussion about treasure and relationships. You can
Glossary of Terms
Many Americans refrain from talking about sexual orientation and gender identity or expression because it feels taboo, or because they’re scared of saying the wrong thing.
This glossary was written to help give people the words and meanings to aid make conversations easier and more cozy. LGBTQ+ people operate a variety of terms to spot themselves, not all of which are included in this glossary. Always eavesdrop for and respect a person’s self identified terminology.
Ally | A term used to describe someone who is actively supportive of Gay people. It encompasses straight and cisgender allies, as adv as those within the LGBTQ+ group who support each other (e.g., a lesbian who is an ally to the bisexual community).
Asexual | Often called “ace” for compact, asexual refers to a complete or partial lack of sexual attraction or lack of interest in sexual task with others. Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and asexual people may encounter no, little or conditional sexual attraction.
Biphobia | The hesitate and hatred of, or discomfort with
Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ
Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ community organizations and leaders. See acknowledgements section.
Additional terms and definitions about gender culture and gender expression, transgender people, and nonbinary people are obtainable in the Transgender Glossary.
Are we missing a term or is a definition outdated? Email press@
*NOTE: Ask people what terms they use to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the start of a sentence.
LGBTQ
Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, gender diverse, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media utilize the acronym. In settings offering support for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of thi
Homosexuality
1. History
As has been frequently noted, the ancient Greeks did not possess terms or concepts that correspond to the contemporary dichotomy of ‘heterosexual’ and ‘homosexual’ (e.g., Foucault, ). There is a wealth of material from ancient Greece pertinent to issues of sexuality, ranging from dialogues of Plato, such as the Symposium, to plays by Aristophanes, and Greek artwork and vases. What follows is a brief description of ancient Greek attitudes, but it is important to remember that there was regional variation. For example, in parts of Ionia there were general strictures against same-sex eros, while in Elis and Boiotia (e.g., Thebes), it was approved of and even acknowledged (cf. Dover, ; Halperin, ).
Probably the most frequent assumption about sexual orientation, at least by ancient Greek authors, is that persons can respond erotically to beauty in either sex. Diogenes Laeurtius, for example, wrote of Alcibiades, the Athenian general and politician of the 5th century B.C., “in his adolescence he drew away the husbands from th