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LGBTQ+ Health Vocabulary

In this module, we define basic terminology that LGBTQ+ individuals use to refer to themselves and
their identities. Some of you may recognize only a few of these terms. That’s okay. Our aim is to provide
a comprehensive overview of LGBTQ+ vocabulary for any health educator without assuming prior
knowledge. 

Proper use of these terms presents an opportunity to connect with LGBTQ+ patients by treating them
with dignity and respect—a great teaching point to emphasize to your students who are unfamiliar with
this material.

Importantly, we want to preface this section by acknowledging that language is both fluid and deeply
personal—not every member of the LGBTQ+ community uses these terms in the same way, and the
ways in which these terms are used may change over time. The definitions provided in this module
should serve as a starting point for conversations with your students and patients, who are the true
experts about their own identities.1

General Terminology

The acronym LGBTQ+ collectively refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people — a
broad coalition of groups that are diverse with respect to gender and sexual orientation (2). In a
research context, LGBTQ+ people are also often referred to as sexual and gender minority, or SGM,
people (3).

Gender and Sex

What do the terms gender and sex actually mean? 

In health care, we define gender as the socially-constructed set of ways that people understand
and express themselves along the continuum of masculinity, femininity, both, or neither (4).
Gender is distinct from sex (also referred to as someone’s natal sex or sex-assigned-at-birth). 

Sex refers to the biological distinctions that exist between male, female, and intersex people with
respect to reproductive anatomy, sex chromosomes, and/or specific genes.4 Based on these
biological distinctions, most infants are assigned a sex at birth according to the binary-framework
of male or female (5).