The fear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred toward bisexuality and bisexual people (see “bisexual”). The phobia may exist among heterosexuals, gay men, lesbians or bisexuals themselves and is often related to multiple negative stereotypes of bisexuals centred on a belief that bisexuality does not exist and on the generalization that bisexuals are promiscuous. (ILGA)
Bisexual:
Refers to a person who is emotionally and/or sexually attracted to persons of more than one sex.
Cisgender:
A term referring to persons whose gender identity and gender expression match the sex they were assigned at birth and the social expectations related to their gender. (ILGA)
Gay man:
A person who identifies as a man and has a romantic and/or sexual attraction to other men. (RFSL)
Gender:
Refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men. These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context- and time-specific and changeable. Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman or a man in a given context. In most societies there are differences and inequalities between women and men in responsibilities assigned, activities undertaken, access to and control over resources, as well as decision-making opportunities. Gender is part of the broader socio-cultural context. Other important criteria for socio-cultural analysis include class, race, poverty level, ethnic group and age. (Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women-OSAGI)
Gender expression:
The way a person communicates masculinity and/or femininity externally through their physical appearance (for example, through their clothing, hair style, use of cosmetics, mannerisms, way of speaking and behavioural patterns). (TRANSIT)
Gender-based violence:
An umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially-ascribed (gender) differences between males and females. (MSMIT)
Gender binary:
a classification system consisting of two genders, male and female.
Gender identity:
A person’s internal, deeply-felt sense of being male, female, an alternative gender or a combination of genders. A person’s gender identity may or may not correspond with her or his sex assigned at birth. (TRANSIT)
Hate crime:
Willful act that seeks to cause harm or death to the victim, based on the rejection, intolerance, contempt, hate and/or discrimination towards the LGBTI population or other group in a situation of vulnerability (CEJIL, Hate crimes as a working concept)
Heterosexism:
Refers to the imposition of heterosexuality as the only normal and acceptable expression of sexuality, resulting in prejudice or discrimination against people who are not heterosexual or who are perceived to not be heterosexual. (MSMIT)
HIV:
Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
Homophobia:
An irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against persons known or assumed to be homosexual, or against homosexual behaviour or cultures. (MSMIT)
Homosexual:
A sexual orientation classification based on the gender of the individual and the gender of her or his sexual partner(s). When the partner’s gender is the same as the individual’s, then the person is categorized as homosexual. It is recommended to use the terms lesbians and gay men instead of homosexuals. The terms lesbian and gay are being considered neutral and positive and the focus is on the person’s identity rather than their sexuality. Lastly, the term homosexual has, for many, a historical connotation of pathology. (ILGA)
Intersex:
Intersex people are born with physical sex characteristics that do not fit medical norms for female or male bodies. (OII Australia)
Key Populations:
Key populations, or key populations at higher risk, are groups of people who are more likely to be exposed to HIV or to transmit it and whose engagement is critical to a successful HIV response. In all countries, key populations include people living with HIV. In most settings, men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who inject drugs and sex workers and their clients are at higher risk of exposure to HIV than other groups. However, as discussed in the Gap report from UNAIDS, each country should define the specific populations that are key to their epidemic and response based on the epidemiological and social context. (UNAIDS)
Lesbian:
A woman who is sexually and emotionally attracted to women. (ILGA)
Lesbophobia:
The rejection of, or hate towards, lesbianism in any of its expressions, produced by the conviction that heterosexuality is the only valid option of sexuality. (June Fernández and Andrea Momoitio, Viento Sur, Number 146, June 2016)
LGBTI:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex.
NHRI:
National human rights institution.
‘Men who have sex with men’:
(and the corresponding acronym, MSM) refer to all men who engage in sexual and/or romantic relations with other men or who experience sexual attraction towards the same sex. As used in this publication, the term is inclusive both of a variety of patterns of sexual behaviour by males with members of the same sex and of diverse self-determined sexual identities and forms of sexual and social associations (“communities”). ‘Men who have sex with men’ can include men who identify as gay or bisexual, transgender men who have sex with men and men who identify as heterosexual. Some men who have sex with men also form relationships with, or are married to, women. Some men sell sex to other men, regardless of their sexual identity. Some men who have sex with men do not associate themselves with any particular identity, community or terminology. (MSMIT)
OHCHR:
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA):
Parliamentarians for Global Action is an international, cross-party, non-governmental network of parliamentarians that informs and mobilizes legislators to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democracy, human security, non-discrimination and gender equality.
Queer:
This has become an academic term that is inclusive of people who are not heterosexual – includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people. Queer theory is challenging heteronormative social norms concerning gender and sexuality and claims that gender roles are social constructions. For many LGBTI persons, the term ‘queer’ has negative connotations as it was traditionally an abusive term. However many LGBTI persons are now comfortable with the term and have reclaimed it as a symbol of pride. (ILGA)
SDGs:
Sustainable Development Goals.
Sex characteristics:
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads and chromosome patterns) that do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies. Because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatized and subjected to multiple human rights violations, including violations of their rights to health and physical integrity, to be free from torture and ill-treatment and to equality and non-discrimination. (OHCHR)
Sexual orientation:
Sexual orientation is understood to refer to each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. (The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender)
SOGIE:
Sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
SOGIESC:
Sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
Transgender:
As used in this publication, transgender describes persons whose gender identity (their internal sense of their gender) is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender is an umbrella term that describes a wide variety of cross-gender behaviours and identities. It is not a diagnostic term and does not imply a medical or psychological condition. This term should be avoided as a noun: a person is not ’a transgender;’ they may be a transgender person. It is important to understand that not all people who are considered transgender from an outsider’s perspective in fact identify as transgender, nor will they necessarily use this term to describe themselves. In many countries there are indigenous terms that describe similar cross-gender identities. (TRANSIT)
Transphobia:
Prejudice directed at transgender people because of their actual or perceived gender identity or expression. Transphobia can be structural, i.e. manifested in policies, laws and socioeconomic arrangements that discriminate against transgender people. It can also be societal, when transgender people are rejected or mistreated by others. Additionally, transphobia can be internalized when transgender people accept and reflect such prejudicial attitudes about themselves or other transgender people. (TRANSIT)
Transvestite/cross-dresser:
Refers to people who enjoy wearing the clothing of another gender for certain periods of time. Their sense of identification with another gender can range from being very strong and indeed their primary gender, to being a less critical part of their identity. Some transvestite or cross-dressing people may seek medical assistance to transition and live permanently in their preferred gender at some point in their life. Others are happy to continue cross-dressing part-time for the rest of their lives. (ILGA)
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