LGBTQ Resources: Educational Resources

It's important to note that, given the ever-evolving nature of culture and human beings, LGBTQ+ terms are often changing. The definitions in these glossaries are not universal. Keep this in mind as you review these glossaries, and remember that it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a term for themselves. Consider asking someone what they mean when they use a term, especially when they use it to describe themselves.

There are a lot of different ways someone can express their gender or sex. Gender identity isn’t an easy topic to understand, and sometimes we need to unlearn some old ideas so we can really get what gender is all about. Most of us were taught that there are only two genders (man/masculine & woman/feminine) and two sexes (male & female). However, there is a lot more to it than that.

Pronouns are linguistic tools that we use to refer to people (i.e. they/them/theirs, she/her/hers, he/him/his). It is important to give people the opportunity to state the pronoun that is correct to use when referring to them. Using someone’s correct pronouns is an important way of affirming someone’s identity and is a fundamental step in being an ally.