Derogatory terms for gay
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Parents and medical professionals usually assign intersex infants a sex and perform surgical operations to conform the infant’s body to that assignment. See also 3.1.1 LGBTQIA+ Communities and History, "chosen family."
bulldyke
bulldagger
The diagnosis is frequently given to children who don’t conform to expected gender norms in terms of dress, play or behavior. Publicly identifying one’s orientation may or may not be part of coming out.
Down Low - Pop-culture term used to describe men who identify as heterosexual but engage in sexual activity with other men.
See also "bottom" and "switch."
Term has been reclaimed by some lesbians communities, and is sometimes used affirmingly within communities. Also straight.
Homosexual - (see Offensive Terms to Avoid) Outdated clinical term considered derogatory and offensive by many gay and lesbian people. Transgender people may be straight, lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Widely used, but should be enclosed in quotation marks and contextualised if needed in archival description. Gay
- Avoid: “homosexual” (n. In LGBT campaigns, the words we choose can either build understanding and acceptance or perpetuate stigma and discrimination. gender neutral bathrooms).
Zie is subjective (replaces he or she) and Hir is possessive and objective (replaces his or her).
Transgender Glossary of Terms
General terminology
Gender Identity - One’s internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman (or a boy or a girl). Not to be confused with the term "swinging" on its own, which can indicate non-monogamous practices.
Cross-dressers are usually comfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth and do not wish to change it. Use more measured terms to create empathy and highlight the impact of negative attitudes on LGBT people.
Religious Extremists vs. While some transsexual people still prefer to use the term to describe themselves, many transgender people prefer the term transgender to transsexual.
Use “equal protection” or “fairness and equality” to emphasize the universal right to be treated fairly.
Hate vs.
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Terms like “pre-op” or “post-op” unnecessarily emphasize a person’s anatomy.
Special Rights vs. Usually used (fondly) by trans people to recognise when aspects of someone's personality or behavior remind them of gender-related aspects of themselves before they realized they were trans. Cannot corroborate from other sources.
Only use if someone self-describes in this way, and place in quotation marks to indicate this.