Queer identities
The LGBTQ+ acronym encompasses a range of both sexual identities and gender experiences that exist and expand beyond dominant social norms around sexuality and gender.
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Sexuality
Sexual orientation, identity, or sexuality refers to who we are romantically or sexually attracted to. Some examples include:
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Pansexual
Queer
Asexual or ace
Heterosexual
Gender
Gender identity, on the other hand, is about a person’s innate/internal feeling or experience of gender.
Gender can be any or a combination of the following:
Woman
Man
Non-binary
Genderfluid
Genderqueer, and many more
A person can be cisgender or transgender.
Cis, short for cisgender (pronounced sis-gender, or just sis), is a term that means whatever gender you are now is the same as what was presumed for you at birth.
Trans and gender diverse describes people whose gender differs from what was presumed for them at birth (sometimes referred to as “assigned at birth”). It may sound complex, but really it’s that simple.
Read more: https://www.transhub.org.au/101/what-is-trans
Gender diversity in different cultures
While cis and trans is a common way of understanding gender in Western societies, it is by no means a universal definition. There are so many different and diverse ways in which gender is understood and expressed in different cultural contexts.
Sistergirls and brotherboys throughout Indigenous cultures in Australia are just one example of genders that exist outside the Western cisgenderist binary (you can learn more about them here). Other examples include two-spirit peoples throughout North American Indigenous cultures, Hijira in South Asia, Kathoey in Thailand, and many more across the world and throughout history. While colonialism imposed binary gender roles across much of the world, it is important to recognise that Indigenous cultures resisted and survived this imposition, as did European trans people for hundreds of years.
You can read more about the history of trans people in TransHub’s "Is being trans a new thing?" page, or in the “Trans Culture Gallery."
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Sex
Sex is a distinct concept from gender, and is often talked about as a biological fact – a binary category of either male or female.
In reality, sex, just like gender, exists on spectrum. Humans are born with a whole range of anatomical, hormonal and chromosomal characteristics that don’t always neatly line up with binary categories.
Identities can be fluid
It is important to remember that LGBTQ+ people’s sexual identities, gender identity and gender expressions can be fluid and change over time. Gender identity and sexuality are not static – they can constantly evolve over the course of our lives. We may discover that over time our sexual preferences change. Sometimes, when people begin to explore gender identities, their sexuality or sexual preferences shift. For some, exploring our sexuality can also spark an exploration of our gender!
It is completely valid and healthy to try out different identities or ways of identifying to see if they feel right for you!
Coming out and inviting in
Coming out is about telling people, whether this is your family, friends, colleagues, or everyone you know, about your sexuality or gender identity. This can be a liberating experience and important milestone in a person’s life as they share a part of their identity with others. It can also be a daunting and painful process for those who are met with negativity, homophobia, or transphobia from those we are sharing with.
Coming out publicly may not be possible or culturally safe for everyone. In some migrant and multicultural spaces including extended families, religious, or cultural community groups can be less understanding and accepting of LGBTQ+ people and identities.
Another way of thinking about sharing our sexual or gender identity is inviting in. ‘Inviting in’ is where an LGBTQ+ person gradually, and in their own time, aligns their identities by inviting in trusted friends and family members to know and celebrate all aspects of their identity.
Just because we share our LGBTQ+ experiences with selected people we trust does not mean we can still continue to be proud of who we are!
