The LGBTQ+ community is rather large and sometimes difficult to understand. The full, expanded acronym for the community is LGBTQQIP2SAA, or “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Pansexual, Two-Spirit, Androgynous, and Asexual”. 

Let’s start with the first letter, “L”. The “L” stands for “Lesbian”, referring to a woman, or someone who identifies as female, who feels sexual and romantic attraction towards other women. 

The “G” stands for “Gay”. A person who is gay is a man, or identifies as a male, who feels romantic and sexual attraction to other men. 

The “B” represents those who are “Bisexual”. A person who is bisexual feels an attraction towards both men and women. A bisexual person can be male, female, or neither. 

After “B” comes “T”, which stands for “Transgender”: a person who is transgender whose gender identity does not match the gender assigned to them at birth. 

Next is “Q”. It stands for “Queer”, referring to people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. However, identifying as queer does not mean that a person is gay but rather closer to bisexual.

The next “Q” is “Questioning”. This refers to anyone who doesn’t quite know what they identify as. They may be exploring or trying to understand their identity. 

The “I” stands for “Intersex”. A person who is intersex was born both genders or born with a sexual anatomy that cannot be classified as just female or just male. For example, a seemingly male baby may have a divided scrotum that is formed more closely to a labia. 

Next is “P”, which represents people who identify as “Pansexual”. Pansexual people feel a romantic attraction towards other people regardless of their gender. A similar identification is omnisexual. The difference is those who are pansexual are “gender-blind” whereas those who are omnisexual are attracted to all genders. 

The “2S” stands for “Two-Spirit“. It is an identification based on an indigenous spiritual identification. Two-spirit people are those who believe they have both a masculine and feminine spirit inside their body. 

The first “A” stands for “Androgynous”. A person who is androgynous is both male and female in appearance. A person can also be psychologically androgynous by having personality traits that identify with both sexes. 

The last “A” represents those who identify as “Asexual“. Someone who is asexual feels little to no sexual attraction. Asexual people can still feel other attractions, such as romantic attraction or physical attraction. Similar to an asexual person, there are also demisexual people, who only feel a sexual attraction when they have a deep connection with someone. 

Along with all these identities, there are also terms that relate to people around the community and what people can do in the community. For example, if a person identifies as straight or heterosexual but is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, they are an “ally”. 

Another term is “closeted”. This word is what can be used to describe a person who is not open about their sexual orientation. If they decide to become open to others, they are “coming out”. 

Each person is different and special, that’s why the LGBTQ+ community is so big. Each identification has its own meaning, which is necessary to represent and value everyone.