Orientations
Words people use to describe who they are attracted to, sexually and romantically, and the social ideas that surround those words.
49 entries
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- AllosexualDescribes a person who experiences sexual attraction, used as the counterpart to asexual.
- AllyA person who supports and stands up for a group they do not belong to, such as a straight or cisgender person supporting LGBTQ+ people.
- AndrosexualDescribes attraction to men or masculinity, without saying anything about the gender of the person who is attracted.
- AroaceDescribes a person who is both aromantic and asexual, experiencing little or no romantic or sexual attraction.
- AromanticDescribes a person who experiences little or no romantic attraction. Aromantic people may still value close friendships, family and sometimes sexual relationships.
- AsexualDescribes a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others. Asexual people may still want romance, closeness or relationships.
- Asexual spectrumThe range of identities for people who experience sexual attraction rarely, weakly, conditionally or not at all.
- Bi-curiousDescribes someone, often identifying as straight or gay, who is curious about attraction to or experiences with more than one gender.
- Bi erasureThe tendency to ignore, doubt or explain away bisexuality, for example by labelling people as gay or straight based on their current partner.
- BiphobiaPrejudice or discrimination against bisexual and other bi+ people, including the belief that bisexuality is not real, a phase or a sign of untrustworthiness.
- BiromanticDescribes romantic attraction to more than one gender, used especially when someone's romantic and sexual orientations differ.
- BisexualDescribes a person attracted to more than one gender. It does not require equal attraction to each, or attraction to every gender.
- Chosen familyClose friends and community members who take on the role of family, often especially important for LGBTQ+ people.
- ClosetedDescribes someone who has not shared their sexual orientation or gender identity with others, or only with a few people.
- Coming outThe process of recognising one's own sexual orientation or gender identity and choosing to share it with others.
- Compulsory heterosexualityThe idea that society pressures people, especially women, into assuming they are straight and pursuing relationships with men.
- Conversion therapyPractices that try to change, suppress or "cure" someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. Major health bodies say they do not work and can cause serious harm.
- DemisexualDescribes a person who only experiences sexual attraction after forming a strong emotional bond with someone.
- GayDescribes a person attracted to people of the same gender. It is most often used by men, but many women and non-binary people also call themselves gay.
- GraysexualDescribes a person on the asexual spectrum who experiences sexual attraction rarely, weakly or only in particular circumstances.
- GynesexualDescribes attraction to women or femininity, without saying anything about the gender of the person who is attracted.
- HeteroflexibleDescribes a person who is mainly heterosexual but occasionally experiences attraction to, or openness towards, people of the same gender.
- HeteronormativityThe assumption that heterosexuality is the normal or default orientation, and that relationships follow a man-woman pattern.
- HeterosexualDescribes a person who is mainly or only attracted to people of a different gender, most often used for men attracted to women and women attracted to men.
- HomoflexibleDescribes a person who is mainly attracted to the same gender but occasionally experiences attraction to, or openness towards, other genders.
- HomophobiaPrejudice, hostility or discrimination against people who are, or are thought to be, gay, lesbian or otherwise attracted to the same gender.
- HomosexualAn older, clinical term for being attracted to people of the same gender. Most people now prefer "gay" or "lesbian" in everyday use.
- Internalised homophobiaNegative beliefs and feelings about LGBTQ+ people that someone has absorbed from society and turned towards themselves.
- Kinsey scaleA seven-point scale from exclusively heterosexual (0) to exclusively homosexual (6), introduced by researcher Alfred Kinsey in 1948.
- Lavender marriageA marriage, typically between a man and a woman, entered into partly to hide one or both partners' same-gender attraction.
- LesbianDescribes a woman, or a non-binary person with a connection to womanhood, who is attracted to women.
- LGBTQ+An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning people, with the plus standing for further identities.
- MonosexualDescribes people who are attracted to only one gender, such as most straight, gay and lesbian people.
- MSM (men who have sex with men)A public-health term for men who have sex with men, regardless of how they identify. It describes behaviour, not identity.
- OmnisexualDescribes a person attracted to people of all genders, where gender may still influence the attraction.
- On the down-lowSlang for keeping something secret, and specifically for men who have sex with men while presenting publicly as straight.
- OutingDisclosing someone's sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status to others without their consent.
- PansexualDescribes a person whose attraction is not limited by gender, who may be attracted to people of any gender identity.
- PolysexualDescribes a person attracted to many, but not necessarily all, genders.
- PrideCelebration of LGBTQ+ identities and community, and the marches and events, often held in June, that mark it.
- QueerAn umbrella word for sexual orientations and gender identities outside heterosexual and cisgender norms, reclaimed from its earlier use as an insult.
- QuestioningDescribes someone who is exploring or unsure about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Romantic orientationThe pattern of whom a person feels romantic attraction towards, such as wanting to date, fall in love or build a partnership, as distinct from sexual attraction.
- Same-gender lovingA term created within Black communities in the United States for people attracted to the same gender, as an alternative to labels seen as rooted in white-led movements.
- SapiosexualDescribes someone who finds intelligence the most attractive quality in a person. It is usually a stated preference rather than an orientation.
- Sexual fluidityThe observation that some people's attractions change over time or depend on circumstances, rather than staying fixed throughout life.
- Sexual orientationA lasting pattern of sexual attraction, or lack of it, towards people of particular genders. It is part of who someone is, not a choice of behaviour.
- Split attraction modelThe idea that different kinds of attraction, especially sexual and romantic, can point in different directions and can be described with separate labels.
- WSW (women who have sex with women)A public-health term for women who have sex with women, regardless of how they identify.