The rainbow ribbon is used to support awareness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual and/or Ally (LGBTQIA) awareness.
LGBTQIA Acronym Meaning
- Lesbian – A woman who is sexually attracted to another woman. Same sex attraction is known as homosexual.
- Gay – A man who is sexually attracted to another man. Same sex attraction is known as homosexual.
- Bisexual – A person who is sexually attracted to both their same gender and opposite gender.
- Transgender – A person who identifies with the opposite gender from their biological birth gender. A person born male who idenifies as female and is a transgender female. A person born female who identifies as male is a transgender male. This is the opposite of someone who is cisgender.
- Queer – A person who does not identify with traditional sexuality terms (hetero- or homo- sexual) and/or gender assignment.
- Questioning – A person who is exploring gender and/or sexual identity.
- Intersex – A person who has a biologically mixed gender for physically does not have a specific male or female genitalia and/or mixed hormones. An intersex person may choose to identify as male, female, or queer due to their intersex gender.
- Asexual – A person who has a low or no sexual interest choices. An asexual person may engage in emotionally with others. Term also known as ace. An asexual person can identify with any sexuality or gender of their choice.
- Ally – A person who is cisgender and/or heterosexual but supports gender and sexual equality for all persons.
Other Sexuality Awareness Terms
- Heterosexual – A person who is attracted to the opposite sex. Term also known as straight. This is the opposite of homosexual.
- Homosexual – A person who is attracted to the same sex with gender terms of lesbian or gay. This is the opposite of heterosexual.
- Cisgender – A person who identifies with their biological gender. This is the opposite of person who is transgender.
