Skip to main content
Tritonlytics Tritonlytics
  1. HOME
  2. UC San Diego Surveys
  3. Staff@Work Survey
  4. About Staff@Work
  5. Terminology

Terminology

LGBTQIA Terminology

Sexual Orientations

  • Asexual: A person who does not experience sexual attraction or desire.
  • Bisexual: A person whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same and other genders, or toward people regardless of their gender.
  • Gay: A sexual and affectional orientation toward people of the same gender.
  • Heterosexual/Straight: A sexual orientation in which a person feels physically and emotionally attracted to people of a gender other than their own.
  • Lesbian: A woman whose primary sexual and affectional orientation is toward people of the same gender.

Gender and Gender Identity

  • Gender: The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s assigned sex at birth.  Behavior that is compatible with cultural expectations is referred to as gender-normative; behaviors that are viewed as outside of these expectations constitute gender non-conformity.
  • Gender Identity: The gender(s), if any, with which a person identifies. An individual’s gender is their gender identity, which can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.
  • Gender-Expression: The conscious and unconscious choices we make daily to outwardly express our gender identity. It may or may not align with the sex/gender we were assigned at birth.
  • Cisgender: Denotes or relates to a person whose gender identity corresponds with an ascribed sex.
  • Nonbinary gender: An umbrella term for genders other than woman or man, including genders with aspects of both or neither. Nonbinary people may identify as agender, genderqueer, gender fluid, Two Spirit, bigender, pangender, gender nonconforming or gender variant.
  • Intersex: Intersex is an umbrella term that describes a wide range of natural bodily variations that do not fit typical definitions of male and female bodies. These variations may include but are not limited to, unique chromosome compositions, hormone concentrations, and external and/or internal biology.
  • Transgender or Trans: An umbrella term describing a person whose gender differs from their sex assigned at birth. A trans person may take social, medical, and/or legal steps to transition. A person may identify as trans before/without taking any steps to transition, as gender is self-determined and not based on social, medical or legal recognition.
  • Sexual Orientation: A descriptor for the gender(s) of people with whom a person is interested in a sexual relationship. (Some sexual orientation terms are gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, etc.). It is separate from gender identity and thus transgender persons also have a sexual orientation. Like gender, sexuality is on a spectrum, meaning some people may experience fluidity in their sexuality, and that some people may not experience sexual attraction at all, or low desire for sexual activity.

 

View the Gender Recognition and Lived Name Policy (pages 2-3) for additional terminology.

Source:  http://lgbt.ucsd.edu/education/terminology.html 

 

Definition of "Department”

  • DEPARTMENT may be defined differently for each reporting unit. Clicking on the word in the survey questions will bring up information on how the term is defined for your unit.