Welcome to Pride month 2019. Whether you've been celebrating for years or have stumbled across this post by coincidence, please, stick around. We still have a long way to go before we achieve true equality in relation to sexual identity and, here at Bijoux Indiscrets, we are keen to do our part.

In the world in general and the erotic sector specifically, heteronormativity takes precedence. Hetero-what, sorry? Heteronormativity. You know, that unwritten law (or maybe written, but pulled out of thin air) which assumes that all human beings are or should be heterosexual, asserting that this is the only natural way to be and that anything else is wrong. Well, in addition to the above words and concepts, we've got a few more up our sleeves in our 'Dictionary of diversity'. After all, knowledge sets us free. So, which ones do you already know?

A

Ally:  (n) Someone who does not identify as LGBTI but supports the equality of LGBTI people.

 

Androgynous: (adj) Someone whose gender expression combines characteristics traditionally associated with each of the binary genders.

 

Androgyny: (n) Rejection of the binary model and defence of potential gender dynamism or fluidity. Many people feel that gender stereotypes are forced upon us from childhood and, as a result, we conform to behaviour patterns associated with the gender we are seen to belong to.See "binary".

 

Asexual: (adj) Someone whose sexual orientation is asexuality.

See "asexuality".

Asexuality: (n) Sexual orientation of someone who does not feel any erotic attraction towards others. They may form romantic and sentimental relationships, however, and being asexual does not necessarily imply the absence of libido or mean that they remain abstinent or cannot become aroused.

B

Biological sex: (n) Reference to sexed bodies or the genetic, hormonal, anatomical and physiological characteristics according to which people are classified as male or female at birth and referred to as boys or girls (and then men or women), respectively.

Biphobia: (n) Rejection, discrimination, invisibilisation, mocking and other forms of prejudice-based violence and stigmas towards bisexuals or people who appear to be bisexual.

Biphobic: (adj) A person, behaviour, comment or act that is motivated by or carried out with biphobia.

See "biphobia".

Binary: (adj) Someone who conforms to binarism.

See "binarism".

Binarism: (n) A model of gender representation and division which assumes that all human beings are exclusively male or female.

Bisexual: (adj) Someone whose sexual orientation is bisexuality.

See "bisexuality".

Bisexuality: (n) Ability to feel romantic, emotional and/or sexual attraction towards people of more than one gender, and not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, to the same degree or with the same intensity.

C

Cisgender: (adj) Term denoting someone whose gender identity matches the gender they were assigned at birth. The prefix "cis-" comes from the Latin, meaning "on this side of" or "corresponding to", and is the opposite of the prefix "trans-", meaning "on the other side of".

See "transsexual"; "transgender".

Cisnormativity: (n) Assumption, belief or stereotype asserting that all human beings are cisgender, or that this is the only normal or acceptable way to be.

D

Diversity: (n) Approach to equality that seeks to celebrate people's differences.

See "equality".

G

Gay: (adj) Man whose sexual orientation is homosexuality.

See "homosexual"; "homosexuality".

Gender: (n) 1. Attributes which have socially, historically, culturally, economically, politically and geographically, among others, been assigned to men and women. 2. Used to refer to characteristics which, socially and culturally, have been identified as "masculine" or "feminine", covering anything from the roles traditionally assigned to one sex or the other (providing vs. nurturing), the traits generally attributed to them (rationality, strength, assertiveness vs. emotiveness, solidarity, patience), to the ways in which people dress, walk, speak, think, feel and relate.

Gender dysphoria: (n) Medical term used to refer to transsexuality as a psychiatric disorder. It relates to the feelings of discomfort and distress that some people experience due to a mismatch between the gender they were assigned at birth and their sexual identity.

See "transsexual"; "transgender"; "cisgender".

Gender expression: (n) The way in which people manifest their gender identity. This encompasses their behaviour, clothing and way of speaking or walking, either taking into account or rejecting the binary model.

See "sexual identity".

Gender identity: (n) Internal and individual sense of one's own gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.

Genderqueer: (adj) Alternative term denoting someone who rejects the binary model and social construction of gender.

See "androgynous".

H

Heteronormativity: (n) Assumption, belief or stereotype asserting that all human beings are or should be heterosexual, or that this is the only natural, normal and acceptable way to be. In other words, that only heterosexual erotic and emotional attraction and heterosexual people, or those who appear to be heterosexual, have an ethically, legitimately, socially and culturally valid sexuality.

Heterosexism: (n) Ideology and system of cultural organisation of sociosexual and sentimental relationships which considers monogamous and reproductive heterosexuality to be the only natural and ethically, legitimately, socially and culturally acceptable sexuality, disparaging, discriminating against and attacking other sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities.

Heterosexual: (adj) Someone whose sexual orientation is heterosexuality.

See "heterosexuality".

Heterosexuality: (n) Ability to be erotically and emotionally attracted to people of a different gender than themselves, as well as to maintain intimate and sexual relationships with them.

Homophobia: (n) Rejection, discrimination, invisibilisation, mocking and other forms of prejudice-based violence and stigmas towards homosexuality, homosexuals or people who appear to be homosexual.

Homosexual: (adj) Someone whose sexual orientation is homosexuality.

See "homosexuality".

Homosexuality: (n) Ability to be erotically and emotionally attracted to people of the same gender, as well as to maintain intimate and sexual relationships with them.

I

Intersexphobia: (n) Rejection, discrimination, invisibilisation, mocking and other forms of prejudice-based violence and stigmas towards a wide range of sexual characteristics which transcend the idea of gender binarism with regard to how men and women's bodies should be, stemming from hegemonic cultural conceptions.

Intersexual: (adj) Someone who is born with and develops characteristics of intersexuality.

See "intersexuality".

Intersexuality: (n) All situations in which someone's anatomy or sexual physiology does not fully correspond to the standards defined for the binary sexes, which have been culturally assigned as male and female.

L

Lesbian: (adj) Woman who feels emotionally, sentimentally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of the same gender.

See "homosexuality".

Lesbophobia: (n) Rejection, discrimination, invisibilisation, mocking and other forms of prejudice-based violence, stereotypes and stigmas towards lesbians, women who appear to be lesbians, their sexual identities or social practices deemed to be lesbian.

LGTBI: (n) (adj) Acronym to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersexual individuals.

See "QQIA".

LGTBIphobia: (n) Discrimination, harassment, rejection and irrational hatred of lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and intersexual people. This term also includes discriminatory attitudes towards LGTBI people's family members, anyone who appears to be LGTBI and those defending their struggle.

See "LGBTI"; "QQIA".

O

Orientation: (n) Ability to be erotically and emotionally attracted to people of the same or a different gender, to more than one gender or to more than one gender identity, as well as to maintain intimate and sexual relationships with them.

Q

QQIA: (n) (adj) Queer Questioning Intersex Asexual.

See "asexual"; "intersexual"; "queer".

Queer: (adj) Term denoting people who do not want to be labelled according to their sexual orientation and identity. Queerness deconstructs normative sexuality and transgresses the socially acceptable, i.e. heterosexual life, monogamy or being with someone of a similar age or social class.

S

Sexuality: (n) Sexuality is central to being human and is present throughout our lives. It encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is conditioned by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors.

Sexual identity: (n) Sexual identity comprises gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and biological sex.

See "gender identity"; "gender expression"; "sexual orientation"; "biological sex".

Stereotype: (n) 1. Notion or fixed image of a person or group, based on the excessive simplification of their observed behaviours or traits. In general, stereotypes are negative. 2. Preconceptions, often formed subconsciously, about the attributes, characteristics or roles assigned to people based solely on the fact that they belong to a certain group, without taking into account their individual skills, needs, desires and circumstances.

T

Transgender: (adj) Gender identity denoting people who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth but who do not require any form of hormonal or surgical intervention.

Transformist: (adj) Someone who wears clothes commonly associated with the opposite gender for artistic purposes.

Transphobia: (n) Rejection, discrimination, invisibilisation, mocking and non-recognition of someone's gender identity and/or expression and other forms of prejudice-based violence, stereotypes and stigmas towards people with trans identities, expressions and experiences, or those who appear to be trans.

Transsexual: (adj) Gender identity denoting people who identify with the opposite gender to the one assigned to them at birth and who require a hormonal, though not necessarily surgical, intervention.

Transvestite: (adj) Someone who wears clothing associated with the opposite sex, without necessarily identifying with that gender.

V

Visibility: (adj) Someone's ability to be "seen" by others and to reveal their sexual identity or gender expression without fear of LGTBIphobic behaviours that repress their very existence. It is considered the main tool of the LGTBI movement, seeking to rid the world of prejudice and achieve social acceptance.

 

LIKE THIS POST? SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER AND GET 20% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE: