


Definitions: Throughout the following list of definitions I've chosen to use terms and denotations that are commonly accepted by those who identify as LGBTQ. The one exception will be to use the term homosexual, rather than "gay" when referring to people attracted to members of the same sex. (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation considers the term "homosexual" to be offensive and recommends that journalists use the term "gay.")

Gay - Until the mid-twentieth century, the term gay was originally used to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy", though it also added, in the late 17th century, the meaning "addicted to pleasures and dissipations" implying a that a person was uninhibited by moral constraints. In the 1960s, the term began to be used in reference to people attracted to members of the same sex who often found the term "homosexual" to be too clinical or critical. Currently, the term "gay" is used to refer to men attracted to men, though it is also used colloquially as an umbrella term to include all LGBTQ people.

Lesbian - The term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic attraction between females. (The word is derived from the name of the Greek island of Lesbos, home to Sappho (6th century BC), a female poet that proclaimed her love for girls). The term "gay and lesbian" became more popular in 1970s as a way of acknowledging the two broad sexual-political communities that were part of the Gay liberation movement.



Queer - An umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. The term is still controversial, even within the LGBTQ community, because it was once used as a homosexual slur until it was reappropriated in the 1990s. The range of what "queer" includes varies, though in addition to referring to LGBT-identifying people, it can also encompass: pansexual, pomosexual, intersexual, genderqueer, asexual and autosexual people, and even gender normative heterosexuals whose sexual orientations or activities place them outside the heterosexual-defined mainstream, e.g., BDSM practitioners, or polyamorous persons. (In academia, the term "queer" and its verbal use, "queering", indicate the study of literature, academic fields, and other social and cultural areas from a non-heteronormative perspective.)

Variants:  Along with LGBTQ, other letters are sometimes added. Other variants include: An extra Q for "questioning"; "U" for "unsure"; "C" for "curious"; a "I" for "intersex"; another "T" for "transsexual" or "transvestite"; another "T", "TS", or "2" for "Two‐Spirit" persons; an "A" or "SA" for "straight allies"; or an "A" for "asexual"; "P" for "pansexual" or "polyamorous", "H" for "HIV-affected"; and "O" for "other".

Related terms: A term that could be considered an antonym of LGBTQ is "heteronormative." Popularized in the early 1990s in Queer Theory, the term refers to lifestyle norms that hold that people fall into distinct and complementary genders (man and woman) with natural roles in life that may or may not be socially contructed. Heternomativity presumes that heterosexual behavior is the norm for sexual practices and that sexual and marital relations are only fitting between a man and a woman.



The true Christian response to those who are tempted by same-sex desire or suffering from gender identity confusion is to apply a gospel-centric expression of care, concern, and compassion. This requires, first of all, that we tell the truth about mankind and sin, and that we see people as God sees them rather than through their own preferred self-distorting labels and worldview. There are no "LGBTQ" people, only men and women made in the image of God who are suffering from the consequences of the Fall and their own sin. We do our friends, family, and neighbors no favors by "affirming" what God says must be renounced.


Related articles on TGC:

The New Sexual Identity Crisis

What You Should Know About 'Monogamish' Relationships

When Did Idolatry Become Compatible with Christianity?

Note on sources: General information that is not directly cited was likely taken from the Oxford English Dictionary or Wikipedia. Most other generic terms for sexuality were taken from the University of California at Berkeley's Gender Equity Resource Center.


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