The ABC's of LGBT+. Ashley Mardell

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

      ISBN 978-1-63353-408-7

      Dedication

      I dedicate this book to my family,

      To Grace, for being the magnificent, brave prince she is. Without her resilient confidence in my abilities, I’m not sure I would have been able to ward off the many self-doubt-monsters and uncertainty-mongrels, that troubled me as I wrote.

      To Elliot for always warming my lap, walking on my keyboard, knocking over my coffee, and making me laugh as I wrote.

      To Arthur for being fat, cute, and fluffy as I wrote.

      Table of Contents

       A CHEAT SHEET:

       Introduction

       Part 1: Spectrums

       Part 2: Gender

       Intro to sex and gender

       Identities and Terms

       Part 3: Sexual and Romantic Identities

       Sexual and Romantic Orientations: What Are They?

       Identities and Terms

       Conclusion

A CHEAT SHEET:1

The following few pages will act as a condensed version of the many terms and identities found in The ABC’s of LGBT+. I wanted the bulk of the information covered in this book to exist and be mapped out in one easy-to-access place. Each term on the cheat sheet is followed by a brief2 definition and many of these terms can be found in the book’s index. If you find a term or identity you want to learn more about, feel free to locate it in the index to find every page that term is discussed.

If you are an LGBTQIA+ terminology novice, you might consider giving these pages a once over before proceeding. Although we’ll delve into more comprehensive definitions later, many of these words will be referenced right away. Having at least a basic understanding of them would be helpful. Alternatively, even if you are an LGBTQIA+ expert, you may still come across a word you are unfamiliar with before it’s defined. If that’s the case, come back here!

      Abrosexual/romantic: Someone who experiences a fluid and/or changing orientation.

      Ace: An umbrella term for any identity on the asexual spectrum. Also shorthand for “asexual.”

      Ace/aroflux: Someone who experiences varying degrees of attraction.

      Affirm: to support, validate, and/or assert that something is true/correct.

      Agender/genderless: Someone who is without gender, gender neutral, and/or rejects the concept of gender for themselves.

      Ally: Someone who does not identify as LGBTQIA+, but actively supports the community.

      Androgyne: A non-binary gender in which a person is both a man and woman, neither a man nor woman, and/or somewhere in between man and woman.

      Androgynesexual/romantic: Someone who is attracted to androgyny.

      Androgynous: Possessing qualities which are traditionally associated as both masculine and feminine, neither masculine nor feminine, and/or in between masculine and feminine.

      Aporagender: Both a specific gender identity and an umbrella term for being a non-binary gender separate from man, woman, and anything in between while still having a very strong and specific gendered feeling.

      Appropriation: Borrowing or adopting something as one’s own when it did not originate from them or their culture. This type of use occurs without proper understanding, credit, and/or permission. (Example: white people wearing feathered headdresses as costumes during Halloween.)

      Aro: An umbrella term for any identity on the aromantic spectrum. Also shorthand for “aromantic.”

      Aromantic: An umbrella term, or stand-alone identifier, for someone who experiences little or no romantic attraction.

      Asexual: An umbrella term, or stand-alone identifier, for someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction.

      Autosexual/romantic: Being able to elicit a sexual/romantic attraction from yourself by yourself and/or not desiring to partake in sexual activity with others, but still enjoying being sexually