I’ve spoken before about what being “pansexual” means to me – negating the concept that gender is binary – but I understand that this doesn’t really translate well to most people. For most, gender is either male or female. And if given the opportunity to consider anyone in between, these individuals are usually seen as confused or deformed, by the medical community as much as society at large. I think it’s high time we explore gender and sexuality, and start getting these words out into common usage. I’ve seen this acronym LGBTQQI2SAA being thrown around a lot lately, and I think that unless it is fully explained, it serves to be more confusing for those existing in a vacuum where gender is still black and white…. so here it goes.

We are all fairly familiar with the term “LGBT”, and with the definition of at least the first three letters in this acronym, but let’s start here anyway for clarity’s sake.

L – lesbians are women who are only sexually attracted to other women.

G – gay, while it is often used to refer to both men and women, in this case, it’s defining men who are only sexually attracted to other men.

B – bisexuals are often thought of as “fence sitters”, lesbians or gays who can’t “make up their minds”, but the word itself simply refers to someone who is attracted to both of the standard typical genders, male and female.

These first three terms are really the only ones in this acronym that are about sexuality and sexual preference. So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty gender definitions. Many of these terms overlap in some capacity, but each has its own particular connotations and community.

T – transgender individuals are those who’s “assigned gender” (male, female or intersexed) do not match the gender they feel; whether that be one of the three mentioned above, or something entirely new, and yet defined.

Q – queer individuals are those who’s gender and sexuality tend to defy definition, sometimes encompassing “pansexuality”, as a desire for all genders and sexualities; other times playing out in non-traditional lesbian, gay or heterosexual relationships.

Q – questioning means just what it says – people who are questioning, are still unsure about their gender or sexuality, and exploring their options. They have yet to accept a label and claim it as their own.

I – intersexed individuals are those born with “ambiguous genitalia”. In other words, showing some physical traits of each binary gender due to developmental or chromosomal “anomalies”. Many are still given elective cosmetic surgery at birth to “decide” which gender they will become, though the practice is less common now than in the recent past.

2S – two-spirited is a translation of an Ojibwe word meant to describe a person who houses both masculine and feminine traits, or spirits, inside one body, and who generally performs tasks based on a mix of traditional gender roles. This gender identification is integral to the culture of every type of native community known on this continent, in more than 130 identified tribes.

A – androgynous is a word most people will recognize as meaning “without gender characteristics”, though the literal meaning of the word comes from the Greek for “man” (andro) and “woman” (gyne) combined. Unlike two-spirited, this word describes an air of ambiguity. Gender which is perhaps in a constant state of flux, or simply unable to define as either man or woman.

That brings us to our final letter in this extensive description of alternative gender/sex community members – friends, family and supportive folks alike, fill the final spot.

A – allies are the rest of us, if we are the supportive and accepting human beings I hope we can all one day strive to be. We are friends, lovers, activists, and conscious individuals who try to encourage a wider understanding of sexuality and gender in the world.

Do you identify with any of the words that described this large and growing community of sexually open and expressive individuals? Where on this gorgeous rainbow do you fall? Can you pick out one colour that is all you, or do you fall somewhere in the fuzzy bits in between? If you don’t see yourself in any of the alternative gender or sexual identities, do remember, even the most vanilla heterosexual man or woman can strive to be “Straight, but not narrow”…