1
Chapter
1
Understanding sexuality
Chapter 1: Understanding sexuality
ISSUES
: Sexuality and Gender
LGBT rights
Frequently asked questions.
What does ‘LGBT’
mean?
LGBT stands for ‘lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender’. While
these terms have increasing global
resonance, in different cultures
other terms may be used to
describe people who form same-
sex relationships and those who
exhibit non-binary gender identities
(such as hijra, meti, lala, skesana,
motsoalle, mithli, kuchu, kawein,
travesty, muxé, fa’afafine, fakaleiti,
hamjensgara and Two-Spirit). In
a human rights context, lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender
people face both common and
distinct
challenges.
Intersex
people (those born with atypical
sex characteristics) suffer many
of the same kinds of human rights
violations as LGBT people, as
indicated below.
What is ‘sexual
orientation’?
Sexual orientation refers to a
person’s physical, romantic and/
or emotional attraction towards
other people. Everyone has a
sexual orientation, which is integral
to a person’s identity. Gay men
and lesbian women are attracted
to individuals of the same sex as
themselves. Heterosexual people
(sometimes known as ‘straight’)
are attracted to individuals of a
different sex from themselves.
Bisexual people may be attracted to
individuals of the same or different
sex. Sexual orientation is not related
to gender identity.
What is ‘gender
identity’?
Gender identity reflects a deeply
felt and experienced sense of one’s
own gender. A person’s gender
identity is typically consistent with
the sex assigned to them at birth.
For transgender people, there is
an inconsistency between their
sense of their own gender and the
sex they were assigned at birth. In
some cases, their appearance and
mannerisms and other outwards
characteristics may conflict with
society’s expectations of gender-
normative behaviour.
What does
transgender mean?
Transgender (sometimes shortened
to “trans”) is an umbrella term
used to describe a wide range of
identities – including transsexual
people, cross-dressers (sometimes
referred to as “transvestites”),
people who identify as third gender,
and others whose appearance
and characteristics are perceived
as gender atypical. Transwomen
identify as women but were
classified as males when they were
born. Transmen identify as men
but were classified female when
they were born. Some transgender
L G
B T
