An (incomplete) explanation of queer terms.
Agender (greek prefix “a-”: un- or without) people are individuals who do not have a gender or do not identify with any gender identity.
Agender can fall under the umbrella terms “trans” and “nonbinary.”
A person who advocates for the rights of queer people, supports the community, and works to examine and dismantle their own cisheteronormativity, but is not queer themselves, can be labelled an ‘ally’.
Androgynous (derived from greek “anēr”: man, and “gynē”: woman) is used to describe how a person presents themselves outwardly. Androgynous people cannot be clearly classified as male or female based on their presentation (clothing, hairstyle, etc.).
Note: This does not mean that androgynous people are automatically non-binary. Presentation ≠ gender identity. Androgynous people can have any gender identity.
Aromantic (Greek prefix ‘a-’: un- or without) people feel little or no romantic attraction to other people.
Attention! This does not mean that aromantic and/or asexual people do not have sex or relationships or do not want to.
Asexuals (Greek prefix ‘a-’: un- or without) feel little or no sexual attraction to other people. The differences in the physical closeness in which an asexual person is interested can be very large.
Attention! This does not mean that aromantic and/or asexual people do not have sex or relationships or do not want to.
The asexual / aromantic spectrums encompass sexualities and romantic orientations in which people feel no, little, or only limited sexual / romantic attraction.
These spectrums include, for example, asexual/-romantic, demisexual/-romantic, graysexual/-romantic, and many others.
This acronym refers to agender, trans, inter, and non-binary people and is used to address individuals affected by transphobia, interphobia, and cisnormativity.
There are various versions of the acronym. We use ATIN to avoid confusion and because it does not have feminine connotations.
Please note: Different groups are addressed depending on whether you use FLINTA, “women,” or ATIN. These terms are not interchangeable.
Bisexuality describes people who find two, more or all genders sexually attractive. The term is also heavily debated within the community and is often compared to other terms for multi-gender attraction. Some use the term to describe the fact that attraction to different genders feels different, but this definition is not exclusive. Historically, the term has long been used to describe sexual attraction to all genders and is still used in this way to some extent today. There is some overlap between the definitions of bisexuality, pansexuality and omnisexuality, which means that the orientation partly comes down to personal preference
Attention! Even though the prefix bi- or ambi- means ‘two’, this does not mean that bisexuality is limited to two genders or men and women. Bisexuality is not inherently trans-hostile.
The bisexual, or multisexual, spectrum encompasses sexualities in which a person is attracted to multiple or all genders.
This spectrum includes, for example, bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, etc.
Cis (gender) (fltin prefix “cis-”: on this side) is the opposite of trans (gender). A cis person identifies with the gender assigned to them at birth.
A cis person can be either intersex or endosex.
Cis- and Heteronormativity describe the societal assumption that every person is cisgender or heterosexual. This leads to the marginalization of other gender identities and sexual orientations.
Cisheteronormativity is the combination of the two.
Demiboy, Demigirl, and Demigender (greek prefix “demi-”: half) are gender identities in which a person partially identifies with one gender, male, female, or nonbinary.
These individuals may also partially identify with another gender or with no gender at all.
Demisexual (greek prefix “demi-”: half) people only feel attracted to someone once they have formed a deep connection with that person.
Demisexual/demiromantic people fall on the asexual/aromantic spectrum.
The prefix “demi-” can be used before other labels, e.g., demi-bisexual, to further clarify the person’s sexual orientation.
Endo(sex) (greek prefix “endo-”: inside) is the opposite of inter(sex) and describes people whose gender characteristics conform to the social norm and can be clearly categorized according to it.
This abbreviation includes ‘women (Frauen), lesbians, inter, non-binary, trans and agender’ and is often used nowadays to invite people to events in a more inclusive way or to create a safe space specifically for these minorities.
Attention! Different groups are addressed depending on whether you use FLINTA, women or ATIN. These terms are not synonymous.
The word gay refers to male homosexuality, yet it is very often used as a synonym for “homosexual.” It is appearing more and more frequently in public speech and written language; in some dictionaries, it is marked as colloquial and as a self-identification term. Especially in the past, it was also used to refer to female homosexuality, though today the adjective “lesbian” is used for that purpose. Modern definitions also include phrases such as “non-women who love non-women” to be more inclusive of non-binary identities, but these definitions are not exclusive.
Graysexual people are only sometimes attracted to others, or under certain conditions.
Graysexual/demiromantic people fall on the asexual/aromantic spectrum.
The prefix “gray-” can be used before other labels, e.g., gray-bisexual, to further clarify the person’s sexual orientation.
Gender describes the perceived or social gender as opposed to the biological gender (sex). For most people, their perceived gender corresponds to their biological gender. For example, a person who is biologically defined as male also feels male and presents himself as such in his social environment. For some people, there are discrepancies between their gender and their biological sex and they sometimes strive for their social environment to perceive them as they feel. There are also people who feel neither ‘male’ nor ‘female’, but have a gender in between, outside, or no perceived gender.
Heterosexuality (greek prefix “hetero”: different) is a sexual orientation in which romance and sexual desire are felt exclusively for people of the opposite sex. The adjective heterosexual is also applied to sexual acts with opposite-sex partners if the participants are not predominantly heterosexual.
An intersex (‘inter-’: between, ‘sexus’: gender) person is genetically, anatomically or hormonally not clearly physically female or physically male.
In Germany, many children who are born intersex are operated on at an early age so that they can be assigned to one of the two binary gender categories. These people are too young to give their consent.
However, many intersex people suffer from the consequences of the operations later in life and the intersex movement has been campaigning for many years for operations performed on children for purely aesthetic reasons to be banned in Germany.
The adjective lesbian usually refers to homosexual women. The scientific term ‘homosexual’ is rejected by many same-sex orientated women due to the reduction of their feelings to sexuality, as a lesbian lifestyle also includes or can include emotional affection and the desire for a partnership in addition to sexuality. Modern definitions also use phrases such as ‘non-male loving non-male’ to be more inclusive of non-binary identities, but these definitions are not exclusive.
The acronym comes from the English and includes ‘lesbian, gay/gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning, inter, asexual’ and the ‘+’ indicates that identities and orientations not explicitly mentioned are also included. The term is slightly controversial within the community, as variations are repeatedly created that explicitly exclude certain identities or orientations.
Monogamy (greek “mónos”: alone or only and “gamos”: marriage) is the opposite of polyamory. Monogamy is a type of relationship in which the people involved have only one partner.
The umbrella term non-binary describes all people whose gender identity lies between or outside the gender binary of man or woman or whose identity cannot be described exclusively with the binary. Non-binary identities usually belong under the trans* umbrella term.
Attention! Presentation != Gender. Just because a person presents as androgynous or gendernonconforming does not mean that this person is necessarily non-binary.
People who identify as omnisexual experience sexual attraction to all genders. The term is the subject of intense debate within the community and is often compared to other terms for multigender attraction. Some use the term to describe how their attraction varies across genders, but this definition is not exclusive. There is some overlap between the definitions of bisexuality, pansexuality, and omnisexuality, which means that orientation is sometimes a matter of personal preference.
People who describe themselves as pansexual experience sexual attraction to more than one gender. The term is also heavily debated within the community and is often compared to other terms for multi-gender attraction. Some use the term to describe that their attraction feels the same for all genders or that they feel the attraction regardless of gender, but this definition is not exclusive. There is some overlap between the definitions of bisexuality, pansexuality and omnisexuality, which means that the orientation partly comes down to personal preference.
Caution! Even though the prefix pan- means all, this does not mean that the definition of attraction to all genders is exclusive.
Polyamory (greek polýs: many or several and latin “amor”: “love”) is the opposite of monogamy. Polyamory is a relationship model in which the people involved can, by mutual agreement, have multiple partners. A person’s partners may or may not be in a relationship with each other.
Polyamory can be divided into several forms.
Queer [‘kwɪə(ɹ)] is a term from the English language and is used as an adjective to describe things, actions or people that deviate from the norm. Originally, it usually expressed a negative attitude towards the deviation or the deviant (connotation).
Queer is the generic term that includes all sexual orientations and gender identities that are not heterosexual and/or cisgender. The term can be used as a group description or as a label to describe the affiliation without having to go into detail.
Trans* (Latin prefix “trans-”: beyond or across) is the opposite of cis(gender). A trans person does not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. It does not matter whether or not the person identifies with a binary gender.
A trans person can be either intersex or cisgender.
Some define Tunte as a non-binary, political variant of the drag queen, which includes, among other things, the mostly exaggerated or excessive representation of a gender.