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Still Complicated > Glossary

Report Chapters
  1. Acknowledgements
  2. Foreword
  3. Introduction
  4. Methodology
  5. How we define bi+
  6. Demographics
  7. Key findings
  8. Community and belonging
  9. Belonging to the LGBT+ community
  10. Belonging to a bi+ community
  11. Belonging to a ‘straight community’
  12. Summary (Community and belonging)
  13. Bi+ experiences in LGBTI+ services
  14. Biphobia in LGBTI+ spaces
  15. Other barriers to participation in LGBTI+ spaces
  16. Mainstream public services and the bi+ experience
  17. NHS services
  18. Sexual health services
  19. Police services
  20. Religious services
  21. Other services
  22. Summary (Mainstream public services and the bi+ experience)
  23. Bi+ intersectionality
  24. Employment
  25. Covid-19 pandemic and the bi+ experience
  26. Covid-19 related healthcare
  27. Social challenges
  28. Financial hardships
  29. Bi+ community groups
  30. Summary (Covid-19 pandemic and the bi+ experience)
  31. Good practice
  32. Recommendations
  33. Increased knowledge and understanding
  34. Avoiding assumptions and generalising
  35. Dealing with discrimination
  36. Bi+ specific support and inclusion
  37. Increase representation of bi+ people
  38. Resources and further reading
  39. Bibliography
  40. Glossary

Glossary

Allosexual person
A person who experiences sexual attraction. It is the word for anyone who is not asexual.
Asexual person
A person who does not experience sexual attraction.
Biphobia / biphobic
A discriminatory or prejudiced action related to someone’s actual or perceived bisexual orientation.
Bisexual person / bi person
A person who is emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of more than one gender or regardless of gender.
Cisgender / cis
A person who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth. Cisgender is the word for anyone who is not transgender.
Demisexual
A person who can only experience sexual attraction after an emotional bond has been formed. This bond does not have to be romantic in nature.
Gay
A person who is emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of the same gender.
Genderfluid
See Non-binary person.
Genderqueer
See Non-binary person.
Intersectionality
Identities, experiences or approaches to equality work that fall into more than one equality strand at the same time.
Lesbian
A woman who is emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to other women.
LGBTIQ+
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer
Non-binary person
A person identifying as either having a gender which is in-between or beyond the two categories ‘man’ and ‘woman’, as fluctuating between ‘man’ and ‘woman’, or as having no gender, either permanently or some of the time. Other terms non-binary people use to describe their identity include ‘genderfluid’ and ‘genderqueer’.
Pansexual person
A person who is emotionally, romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of more than one gender or regardless of gender. Some people use the term pansexual rather than bisexual in order to be more explicitly inclusive of non-binary gender identities.
Polyamory
Relationships which involve more than two intimate partners, with the knowledge and consent of all involved.
Protected characteristics
A set of characteristics that are protected from discrimination according to the Equality Act 2010.
Queer
An umbrella term sometimes used for diverse sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, and/or gender-binary. It may be used to challenge the idea of labels and categories such as lesbian, gay and bisexual. It is important to note that the word queer is an in-group term (i.e. used by queer people about themselves), and is a word that can be considered offensive by some people, depending on their generation, geographic location, and relationship with the word.
Transgender / trans
Inclusive umbrella terms for anyone whose gender identity or gender expression does not fully correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth. We use trans to refer to trans men and trans women, non-binary people, and cross-dressing people.

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