Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community

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Understanding and supporting people who are different than us can sometimes be a challenge. The best way to start is through education. Education can help us to better understand people and groups so that we can be more inclusive and supportive of those people. So where to start when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community? Terminology. Being aware of the language used when addressing and discussing the LGBTQ+ community, is the first step at becoming an ally.

Gender Identity: the personal concept of oneself as male, female, both, or neither

Sexual Orientation: person’s identity in regard to the gender or genders one finds themselves sexually attracted to

Ally: typically, a straight or cis-gendered person who supports members of the LGBTQ+ community

Gay: (a) most used when referring to males who are primarily emotionally, physically and/or sexually attracted to the same sex. (b) an umbrella term for the queer community as a whole

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Lesbian: Women who are primarily emotionally, physically and/or sexually attracted to the same sex.

Bi-sexual: a person who is emotionally, physically and/or sexually attracted to both male and female identifying people

Transgender: A person who lives as a member of a gender other than that expected based on anatomical sex.

Queer: used as an umbrella term for those who do not identify as straight

Cisgender: a person whose gender identity and biological sex assigned at birth align

Pansexual: a person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender identities/expressions

Questioning: an individual who or when someone is unsure about or is exploring their own sexual orientation or gender identity

Non-binary: a person whose gender identity does not categorize as exclusively male or female

Asexual: the lack of sexual attraction to others

Gender fluid: a person whose gender identity is not fixed. They may always feel like a mix of the two traditional genders, but may feel more one gender some days, and another gender other days.

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I am proud of you for taking the time to gain knowledge about the LGBTQ+ community. I encourage you to continue educating yourself to become the best ally you can be. Please refer the resources below.

We are all in this together!

Helpful resources: https://www.hrc.org/

Morgan Twidwell

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