A gay rights alphabet soup glossary

San Diego gay kiss-in activists. (AP/Sandy Huffaker)

In two previous columns, I tossed around a number of gay-rights-related terms and abbreviations without stopping to explain them, so this column will be an attempt to make amends by enumerating and defining some of the most common elements of the gay rights alphabet soup.

• L = Lesbian.  A woman who is emotionally and physically attracted to other women.  From the island of Lesbos, where ancient Greek poet Sappho lived and wrote love poems to other women.
• G = Gay.  A man who is emotionally and physically attracted to other men.  Also used as an umbrella term for both gay men and lesbian women.
• B = Bisexual or Bi-affectionate.  A person who is emotionally and physically attracted to both men and women.  Contrary to the stereotype of bisexuals, they do not necessarily require more than one partner at a time.
• T = Transgender.  An umbrella term for anyone who crosses the rigid gender lines of our society, from crossdressers (usually straight males who enjoy wearing women's undergarments) to drag performers (usually gay men or lesbians who crossdress for artistic or comedic purposes) to butches and studs (lesbians whose energy and/or appearance are deemed "masculine" by our binary-gender-obsessed culture).  Technically, lesbian, gay and bisexual people are all transgender, since they are "breaking the rules" for their gender's sexual behavior; however, transgender people are not necessarily gay.  Some transsexuals include themselves in the transgender category.
• T = Transsexual.  An individual whose inner gender identity does not match his or her assigned birth gender.  Transsexuals are often described as feeling like they were "born in the wrong body."  They may or may not elect to transition partly or fully to match their gender expression (appearance) to their inner gender identity, whether hormonally, surgically or merely sartorially.  Some transsexuals adopt transgender identities such as MTF (male to female) or transwoman or T-Girl on the one hand, or FTM (female to male), transman or Boi on the other hand; other transsexuals identify entirely as their true (inner) gender.
• Q = Queer.  This is a reclaimed pejorative term that may only be used by people within the community; used to describe LGBTT people individually or as a group.  Just as the "N-word" is off-limits to non-blacks, the word "queer" may still be insulting if used by straight outsiders. 
• Q = Questioning.  Anyone who is exploring his or her sexuality and/or gender identity and does not fit the label "straight."
• I = Intersex.  Anyone who, genetically or anatomically, does not fit the standard medical definition of male or female.  Approximately 1% of live births in the US are intersex (described in greater detail in a previous column).  Intersex people are no more likely than "standard" men or women to be gay, but they are more likely to be transgender or transsexual.  Their main political goal is to eradicate the secrecy, shame and surgical mutilation frequently inflicted upon intersex babies and children.
• T-S = Two-Spirit.  A term used by some Native American Indian tribes to describe gay and/or transgender tribe members, who were once not only accepted, but often revered as shamans before the European cultural invasion.
• S = Straight ally.  A heterosexual, non-transgender, non-intersex individual who supports LGBTTQQIT-S rights.

Enjoy your alphabet soup!  Oh, and in case you were wondering about some of the gay-rights symbols:

• The pink triangle is a painful symbol reclaimed by gay-rights activists in the 1980's as a "never again" reminder of gay oppression by Nazi Germany.  Just as the Nazis forced Jews to wear yellow stars, they forced gay men to wear pink triangles.  Gay concentration camp captives were the only political prisoners not liberated by the Allies at the end of World War II; instead, those wearing pink triangles were transferred to civilian jails.
• The rainbow flag was designed by San Francisco activist Gilbert Baker in 1978, and has since spread around the country and the world as a symbol of gay pride and diversity.  Baker said that the different colors represented different aspects of gay people's lives.