The ABC's of LGBT+. Ashley Mardell
on the same spectrum, three options of how they could look, might be like the following:
Example explanations:
Asexual: “This is where I fall on the spectrum, right on the end.”
Graysexual: “I used a point because my graysexuality is pretty fixed. I experience low amounts of attraction.”
Aceflux: “I used a bracket to show how my aceflux identity exists between experiencing little to medium amounts of attraction.”
Person who does not experience high amounts of attraction: “I simply plotted where I fall on the spectrum, just above the midpoint. I definitely experience some sexual attraction, but not a ton.”
Zedsexual: “I fall on the far end of the spectrum. No part of me is asexual.”
Example explanations:
Asexual: “I’m not totally at the end of spectrum. I do experience minimal amounts of attraction, but I still consider myself asexual.”
Aceflux: “Dynamic arrows help show how intensely my attractions vary! Also, they range anywhere from zero attraction to some. I never feel more than some attraction.”
Graysexual: “I can’t simply plot my graysexuality with a single point. A bracket shows where my attractions exist, in a section towards the middle of the spectrum.”
Person who does not experience high amounts of attraction: “I experience a bit of attraction, but sometimes I feel like it’s not as much as most people. I plotted it with a point on the spectrum.”
Zedsexual: “I don’t think I experience attraction as much as everyone else I know, but I do experience it, and I still feel like I’m zedsexual.”
Example explanations:
Asexual: “The amount of attraction I experience can vary sometimes. I never experience more than minimal amounts though, so I bracketed off the left end of the spectrum to represent my identity.”
Aceflux: “I only experience two levels of attraction, and I fluctuate between them. I drew arrows pointing to those levels on the spectrum.”
Graysexual: “I’m not always totally sure how much attraction I feel, but it’s somewhere in the bracket I drew on the spectrum.”
Person who experiences some attraction: “This dot is where I fall on the spectrum of experiencing sexual attraction.”
Zedsexual: “My identity is pretty simple. I experience lots of sexual attraction so I’d plot myself on the far right.”
Linear models like the ones we’ve been discussing so far do have some limitations however. Usually, they are too one dimensional to accurately portray all the complexities of an identity. Consider gender for instance. If you did a quick internet search of “gender identity spectrum,” you would likely find hundreds of linear models with “man” and “woman” endpoints. This is because our society sees gender through a binary33 lens and seldom recognizes identities beyond man or woman.
Society is missing out though! An abundance of genders exist that have nothing to do with being either a man or a woman, so it’s easy to see how plotting an identity like that on a linear spectrum would be inaccurate. After all, placing a person between “man” and “woman” endpoints when they feel like their identity has zero relationship with either of those genders wouldn’t make much sense.
An alternative to the linear spectrum model is a color wheel. Different sections of this visual represent different identities, and the merging of colors is where these identities blend. An example of just a few genders plotted on this diagram, might look like this:34
If a single point doesn’t feel right, a person can instead mark multiple points, highlight whole areas, draw arrows, or do whatever they feel best represents them. For example, if someone feels they move between genders, or that they have connections to multiple genders, their color wheel might look like the following:
Another amazing spectrum the Trans Student Educational Resources kindly gave me permission to include in this book is the Gender Unicorn. It looks like this:
To give you an idea of how a person might utilize a spectrum like this, I’ve plotted my identity on the Gender Unicorn on the next page.
Explanation:
My gender is fluid. Sometimes I feel partially like a woman sometimes I feel partially agender, and sometimes I feel like a simultaneous combination of both these genders.
I express femininely, masculinely, and androgynously in that order for least to greatest.
I was assigned female at birth.
I am physically attracted to many genders. However, I typically find woman attractive most often, followed by non-binary people, followed by men.
I am most often emotionally attracted to woman and non-binary people. Although it does not occur as often, I am capable of being emotionally attracted to men.
What’s so cool about this spectrum is it allows you to plot multiple aspects of your identity on one visual. These different identity aspects include gender identity, gender expression, sex, who you’re physically attracted to, and who you’re emotionally attracted to. Some other concepts spectrums can model are:
The conditions required for you to feel attraction
The intensity which you experience certain identities
The intensity you experience certain attractions. These attractions might include, but are not limited to: sexual, romantic, sensual, platonic, aesthetic, and alterous attractions.35
Polyamory
And much more!
If neither a line, wheel, nor unicorn are your jam though, don’t fret! You can always make your own spectral diagram that perfectly represents your sexual, romantic, gender, and any other identity in a totally custom way! Tons of people out there take this route, and some get fabulously creative. I’ve seen identity representations in the form of 3D spheres, planets, scatter plots, bar graphs,36 Venn diagrams, treasure maps, and my friend, Charlie, even drew their gender as a galaxy! Check it out on the next pages.37
Charlie’s gender galaxy explanation
I never felt like my gender fit into the strict male or female binary that society had shown me growing up. After doing some research, I found that many people described gender as existing beyond the binary. They described it as a linear spectrum where you can be male, female, or anywhere