Countering Queerphobic Disinformation in Immigrant & POC Communities
Our community must be a safe and welcoming place for all people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
We stand strong in affirming our support of queer youth and public school teachers providing inclusive education to our kids.
Armenian-American Action Network and The Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity (CoE LGBTQ+ BHE) have created this list of terms and concepts to assist families and individuals with understanding background on and elements of LGBTQ+ experiences. This list is not exhaustive but intends to serve as a short introduction. This resource sheet was produced with information from The Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity (CoE LGBTQ+ BHE) with assistance from the SOGIE Center, and is being translated by Armenian-American Action Network and built into public education.
Ally: A person or organization who uses their resources to support individuals and communities with a specific identity or issue. Here, an individual who openly supports and affirms the rights and dignity of people with diverse SOGIE (sexual orientation gender identity and gender expression) may be considered an ally.
Anti-gay bias: Hatred, discrimination, or aversion to lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people, people perceived to be LGB, or those associated with people who are LGB. Often referred to as “homophobia.”
Anti-transgender bias: Hatred, discrimination, or aversion to transgender, gender variant, or gender diverse people, people perceived to be as such, or those associated with persons who are transgender.
Asexual: A sexual orientation that describes people who experience little or no sexual desire or attraction. Asexual people may or may not experience romantic attraction and/or engage in romantic relationships. This term may be used solely to describe a person’s sexual orientation or serve as a modifier (for example, someone who does not experience sexual attraction but experiences romantic attraction exclusively to women may identify as an asexual lesbian). The term “ace” is often used as shorthand.
Bi+/Bisexual+: An umbrella term that describes people who experience any kind of attraction to more than one gender.
Deadname: As a noun, this word describes the name that a trans person was given at birth that they no longer go by. As a verb, this word describes the act of calling a trans person by a name that they no longer go by.
Drag queen/drag king: A person who dresses and performs as another gender for entertainment purposes, often embodying a theatrical and/or exaggerated version of masculinity or femininity. Performing drag is not necessarily an indication of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Gender expression: The ways in which an individual communicates their gender to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice, etc.; gender expression is not an indication of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Intersectionality: A term coined in 1989 by civil rights activist and legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw that describes the unique types of oppression and discrimination experienced by individuals as a result of multiple, marginalized identities in categories such as gender identity, race, class, ability, or sexual orientation. These overlapping systems of oppression interact and contribute to multiple forms of discrimination and systematic social inequality, and may be interpreted, uplifted and suppressed in different ways in different contexts.
Pansexual: A sexual orientation that describes people who are attracted to others regardless of sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
Queer: A term that describes an individual or a community that falls outside of gender and sexual “norms.” Historically used as a derogatory slang term, it has now been reclaimed and embraced by some people as a symbol of pride. Because of its history, this term should not be used to describe a person unless they give you permission to do so.
Sexual orientation: One’s internal, personal sense of who they are or are not sexually attracted to. Examples of sexual orientations include but are not limited to gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, lesbian, queer, and asexual.
Transition: A term used that describes the process of moving from one sex/gender to another. Transition can include personal, medical, and legal steps like telling one's family, friends, and co-workers; using a new name and new pronouns; dressing differently; changing one's name and/or sex on legal documents; hormone therapy; and possibly (though not always) one or more types of surgery. The exact steps involved in transition are at the discretion of to the person transitioning.
Read our statement here.
Read coverage of our coalition’s efforts in Glendale News Press and The Guardian.
Read GUSD’s fact sheet dispelling myths here.