The explanations in this glossary are kept short and simple. They do not claim to be exhaustive and not every definition necessarily applies to everyone. People and identities are different.

Queer: Queer refers to people who deviate from the cis-hetero norm.

LGBTQ*: LGBTQ+ is an acronym for diverse, non-heterosexual or non-cis identities, queer is often used as a synonym for this.

Gay: Term for male homosexuality, i.e. men who feel sexually and romantically attracted to men.

Lesbian: Term for female homosexuality, i.e. women who feel sexually and romantically attracted to women.

Hetero, Heterosexual: The term heterosexual refers to people who feel attracted to the opposite sex (man/woman).

Bi, bisexual: Bisexual refers to people who feel sexually and romantically attracted to two genders.

Trans*, transgender: Trans* refers to people who have a gender other than that assigned to them at birth.

Non-binary: Non-binary refers to people who have a gender identity other than male and/or female.

Cis, cisgender: People who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth are referred to as cis.

Inter*, intersex: Inter* refers to people who were not born with either female or male sexual characteristics.

Gender, gender identity: Gender refers to gender identity independent of biological sex.

Polyamorous, poly*: Polyamorous refers to people who love several people and can be in relationships with several people (in a wide variety of constellations).

Pan, Pansexual: Pansexual refers to people who are attracted to other people regardless of their gender.

Aro/Ace Aromantic/Asexual: Aromantic refers to people who have no romantic feelings; asexual refers to people who have no sexual attraction to others.

Coming out: When coming out, a distinction is made between internal and external coming out. When coming out internally, you become aware of your own identity. When coming out externally, you communicate your identity to the world around you.

The glossary does not claim to be exhaustive. It was compiled by the “Queering Space” project group.