What Is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Or Transgender Person?
The term lgbt refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. However, these four letters do not capture all of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Despite advances in the understanding of sexuality and gender identity, many members of the LGBT community face a host of health risks associated with social stigma. This is especially true for young people who identify as LGBTQ.
Lesbian
A lesbian or gay person is someone who experiences sexual, romantic or emotional attraction to people of the same sex. This term is usually used to describe a woman, but some nonbinary people also identify as lesbian or gay.
Despite the negative stigmas associated with being a lesbian or gay, research has shown that being positively open about one’s sexual orientation can improve one’s health and well-being. In addition, coming out can help to foster social support and increase access to resources and services for LGBT people.
Being a lesbian or gay is not a permanent state; a person’s sexual orientation may change over time. This is called fluidity and it’s completely normal!
Often, a person’s sexual orientation begins to develop early in life. This is referred to as “crush” or a “first sexual experience.” It’s not uncommon for a person’s desires and attractions to shift over time, as they grow older and experience new things.
Gay
People who are gay or bisexual have a sexual orientation that includes attraction to both sexes. This can be a complex issue for many people, as their orientation can change over time and they may not identify with the same gender identity they did in high school.
Although scientists don’t know for sure why some people have a certain sexual orientation, they believe that a combination of genetics, hormones and developmental factors play a role. Therapy or persuasion won’t change a person’s orientation, but it can help them understand their sexuality and make it easier for them to come out as LGBTQ.
Despite the advances in the law and public perceptions, there are still many barriers and discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. This can be especially true for young people, who may not have the resources to support themselves. Prejudice, bias and discrimination can affect their ability to access services, employment opportunities, housing and health care.
Bisexual
Bisexuals are attracted to people of their own gender and those of the opposite sex. In some definitions, they’re attracted to both male and female people — but most bisexuals are attracted to cisgender women and men.
In literature, bisexuality often features characters who switch their genders without a second thought. Virginia Woolf, for example, wrote Orlando: A Biography (1928), about a man who transforms into a woman.
However, bisexuality isn’t a gay or straight offshoot; it’s a unique identity of its own. As a result, it’s time to release the outdated definitions of this term and shed the stigma behind them.
While coming out as bisexual can be a challenging process, it’s a big step towards accepting and celebrating yourself. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you come out successfully. And there’s no shame in being a little nervous and uncertain about how your family and friends will react! Thankfully, you’ll find yourself much happier once you accept your bisexuality!
Transgender
Transgender refers to a wide range of identities and experiences for people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from conventional expectations based on their assigned sex at birth. It is a term that is often used as an umbrella for many other identities related to gender nonconformity, such as intersex and nonbinary.
Gender is a complex concept that includes a person’s innate sense of their own gender, whether male, female or something else (see non-binary below). It can also be influenced by factors outside of a person’s physical anatomy, such as their chromosomes, genes, hormones, reproductive organs and secondary sex characteristics.
A person who undergoes gender reassignment (changing name, pronouns and/or dressing differently). This can be done through medical procedures or through social changes such as changing sex designation on their identity documents and using hormone therapy treatment.
Views about transgender issues vary widely across demographic and partisan lines. For example, among Democrats younger than 30, about seven-in-ten say someone can be a man or a woman even if that’s different from the sex they were assigned at birth. A smaller majority of Democrats 30 and older says society hasn’t gone far enough in accepting people who are transgender.