Heterosexuality is a couch. Nobody even bats an eye if you keep it in the living room for everyone to see–it’s simply expected. I mean, where the hell else would you keep it? Hidden in a bedroom? No, that would be weird.
Homosexuality is a bed. Having a bed in a public room is considered weird and gross–you’re expected to keep it in private bedroom you close the door to before anyone else comes over. Because even though there are a million and one things someone can do sitting on a bed
that aren’t sexual (and plenty of ways to have sex on a couch), the first and foremost thing anyone associates beds with is sex.
Bisexuality is a Western-style futon. Sometimes it functions like a couch, sometimes it functions like a bed, but whichever position it’s in at the moment, it’s still a goddamn futon. People who want to use it as a couch give you shit for not having a real
couch; people who want to use it as a bed give you shit for not having a
real bed. It’s acceptable in your living room, but only if you make extra certain to put it in couch position and hide the sheets before company comes over. Otherwise, you’d better hide it in a guest room.
Asexuality is a table. No matter how many times you tell people it’s not meant to be sat on, dickheads with no manners will try to park their nasty asses on it anyway.
Heterosexual: Male-identifying individual sexually attracted to a female-identifying individual, and vice-versa.
Homosexual: Someone attracted to someone of the same gender as themselves.
Bisexual: Sexually attracted to two or more genders.
Polysexual: Sexually attracted to many genders, but not all.
Pansexual: Sexually attracted to all genders. (this and bisexual, and sometimes polysexual, are often considered to be the same thing and different people may simply identify as any one of them due to their own personal reasons)
Demisexual: Sexually attracted to people only after forming a bond with them first.
Asexual: Having no /sexual attraction/ to others; having no desire to have sex.
Heteroromantic: Male-identifying individual romantically attracted to female-identifying individuals, and vice-versa.
Homoromantic: Attracted romantically to the same gender.
Biromantic: Attracted romantically to two or more genders
Polyromantic: Attracted to many genders (but not all)
Panromantic: Attracted romantically to all genders
Demiromantic: Romantically attracted to people only after forming a bond with them first.
Aromantic: Having no /romantic attraction/ to others; having no desire to be in a romantic relationship.
Polyamorous: Someone who is attracted to, and is comfortable with being in a relationship with more than one person at a time.
Akoiromantic/Lithromantic: Someone who experiences romantic attraction, but doesn’t wish to act upon it or for it to be reciprocated.
Transexual/Transgender (Term depending on generation and location): An individual who identifies as a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth to be. Often shortened to trans
Cisgender: Someone who identifies as the gender that they were assigned as at birth. (ex. matches their birth certificate) Often shortened to cis
Intersex: Someone who has ambiguous genitalia that doesn’t fit into our strict dichotomy of uterus or testes. Often forced into surgery to correct their genitals at a very young age, causing psychological and physical harm later in life
Nonbinary: Outside of the gender binary of male and female. (Can be used as an umbrella term or as its own identity)
Genderqueer: Outside of the gender binary. (**This is not an umbrella term like the post said before I edited it! Do not use this as an umbrella term for nonbinary individuals, simply use ‘nonbinary’. Queer is considered a slur and not everyone likes to be associated with the word)
Agender: Someone who feels gender neutral, or someone who experiences a ‘lack’ of gender.
Bigender: Someone who identifies as two separate genders.
Trigender: Someone who identifies as three separate genders.
Genderfluid: A gender that changes, or is ‘fluid’.
Demigirl: Identifying partially as a woman, but not wholly.
Demiboy/guy: Identifying partially as a man, but not wholly.
Dmab: Designated Male at Birth.
Dfab: Designated Female at Birth.
Amab/Afab: Same as dmab/dmab, except with ‘assigned’ instead of ‘designated’.
Camab/Cafab: Same as previous, except prefixed by ‘coercively’, to highlight the lack of choice.
Reblog to inform! And if there’s any I missed or anything that should be clarified, please message me! Always looking to expand the proper vocab. 🙂
**I edited this post because it used some archaic and incorrect terms/definitions, and needed more terms added to it. -Vivian Mareepe
Hears conversation between a mom and daughter who is like 6.
Mom: Looking at news article on phone about Sam Smith**
Girl: Mommy why is Sam Smith kissing a boy?
Mom: it’s because he’s gay honey.
Girl: Mommy what does gay mean?
Mom: Like girls like boys, it’s when boys like boys.
Girl: Oh….well why can’t girls like girls?
Mom: They can they’re called lesbians.
Girl: lessions?
Mom: No, Les-Bee-Ens.
Girl: Oh Okay,….can I be lesbian?
Mom: Sure, only if you feel that way, why?
Girl: Cuz there’s this girl name Katey and she’s really really pretty like prettier then Elsa.
Mom: PRETTIER THAN ELSA?!?!
Girl: Yeah, I want her to be my girlfriend.
Mom: Okay, wait…what about that other kid you liked, that boy named Jimmy.
Girl: I don’t like Jimmy anymore, I only said that cause I thought I didn’t have anymore options but boys.
Mom: *starts dying laughing*
Me *starts dying laughing*
Posted on
Ultimately, your child is going to live into their identity one way or the other, and I hope it will be a luxuriantly long life they get to enjoy and not the kind tragically clipped short by despair. You can’t change your kid, no matter what kinds of fears you have. What you’re choosing now is whether you get to be the parent of “my folks were really supportive,” or whether you’re five years, ten at the most, away from “my parents and I don’t really talk.” Your children might turn out to be transsexual or transgender or genderqueer. Or they might be gay or lesbian or the other kind of queer or something else festive and new in the world of gender and/or sexual orientation. That part is not up to you. It wasn’t up to you before they came out and it isn’t up to you now, either. I know that’s hard news, but it’s the truth.
I also understand that it might seem like making them hide and pretend and lie is the right answer because they’ll get less static in the world. It might seem safer in the short run. It might seem like a way of protecting your kid. But really, if you don’t hear anything else, please hear this: that’s how you make a kid ashamed of themselves. That’s how kids get the message that their parents are ashamed of them and regret that they were born. A kid who gets bullied or taunted at school but feels loved and cherished at home (and gets to see positive images of other trans/gender-independent kids, of which there are many) will grow into a well and whole adult so much more often than a kid who fits in with peers at school but lives every minute feeling like they’re an awful secret. That’s also the truth. That’s also the choice you’re making right now. Please, please, choose well.
S. Bear Bergman, “Dear Parents Who Have Written to Me” in Blood, Marriage, Wine and Glitter. (via nicejewishqueer)
