LGBTIQ+ communities use a lot of terms. Here are some of them

There are many words you'll hear used with regards to LGBTIQA+ communities including 'pronouns' and 'misgendering'.

Pronouns are words that describe someone's gender like he/him/his, she/her/hers and they/them/theirs.

Misgendering is when a person uses language to talk to or describe a person that doesn't match their gender identity.

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Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer (GLLO) Inspector Alison Brennan said misgendering was harmful and one way to prevent that was to use the right pronoun.

"Gender diversity is an emerging concept that a lot of people aren't familiar with," Ms Brennan said.

"It is confronting to a lot of people because it's unknown to them, so using the correct pronouns, for example, is a very simple thing.

"You'll find that most people who are gender diverse won't be offended if you make a mistake in the first instance because you're not aware of their pronouns.

"They'll tell you what their pronouns are or you can ask them."

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LGBTIQA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual and/or allies.

Do you know what they mean as well as some of these other common terms used in those communities?

Lesbian: People who identify as female and are attracted to other females in a romantic, emotional, physical and/or sexual way.

Gay: People who identify as male and are attracted to other males in a romantic, emotional, physical and/or sexual way.

Bisexual: A person of any gender who has a romantic, sexual relationship with or is attracted to people from more than one gender.

Transgender: People whose assigned sex at birth does not match their internal gender identity.

Intersex: A person born with chromosomes, reproductive organs or genitals which don't fit the anatomy of a male or female.

Queer: A term used to describe a range of sexual orientations and gender identities.

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Asexual: The lack of sexual attraction to others, or a low interest in sexual activity. Some people consider it as their sexual orientation and others as an absence of sexual orientation. They may identify as any gender.

Ally: A person who stands up for, supports and encourages the people in those communities.

Pansexual: A person who is attracted to another person of any gender.

Sapiosexual: A person attracted to highly intelligent people no matter what gender or sexuality they identify with.

Non-binary: A person who doesn't identify as male or female.

Sex: It can refer to biological sex or sex characteristics. A person's sex is made up of anatomical, chromosomal and hormonal characteristics. Sex is classified as either male or female at birth.

Gender: The socially constructed and hierarchical categories assigned to individuals on the basis of their apparent sex at birth.

Cisgender: A person who identifies as the sex they were assigned with at birth.

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