Lex's Queer Terms Glossary - A Guide to LGBTQ+ Language

Connecting with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community for the first time, whether as someone who’s newly exploring their identity or an ally, can be intimidating for some. It might feel like there are so many words, acronyms, and slang you can’t begin to guess the meaning of. We don’t believe in gatekeeping, so we’re building the ultimate glossary of LGBT terminology: welcome to Lex’s Lexicon.

We’ve put together this Lexicon to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of queer identities and lingo. We recognize LGBTQ+ identities and terms change every second, and these common definitions might not apply to everyone.

Download Lex and find friends and LGBTQ+ community who get it!

LGBTQ+ Acronyms and Abbreviations

ISO Acronym for In Search Of

QTBIPOC Acronym for Queer, Transgender, Black, Indigenous People of Color

Cishet Abbreviation for someone who is both cisgender and heterosexual

TGNC Acronym for Transgender and Gender Non-conforming

Enby Abbreviation for nonbinary, not to be confused with NB (non-Black)

T4T (Trans for trans) Transgender folks who are primarily/only interested in connections with other transgender folks

MOC/FOC (Masc of center/Fem of center) Queer folks who feel a core sense of masculinity or femininity and may have any gender identity. Someone could be a masculine of center woman, a feminine of center non-binary person, etc.

Ace abbreviation for asexual

Aro abbreviation for aromantic

AGAB/AFAB/AMAB Acronym for Assigned Gender/Female/Male At Birth. Some people choose to self-identify with their assigned gender while many people find it a way to alienate transgender people through bioessentialism

TERF Acronym for Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism, which is a type of feminism that excludes transgender women

QPP/QPR Acronym for Queer platonic partner or queer platonic relationship

LDR acronym for long distance relationship

Queer identity terms

Gender dysphoria Refers to psychological distress that can result from misalignment between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity

Gender euphoria A condition characterized by the feeling of comfort/joy when thinking about one’s true gender identity

Genderfluid Often used to mean that a person’s gender expression or gender identity (their internal sense of self) changes frequently

Two-spirit A culturally distinct gender identity that describes Indigenous North Americans who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles. Found traditionally among many Native Americans and Canadian First Nations indigenous groups

Dead name The birth name of someone who has since changed their name, either legally or not. The act of dead-naming is transphobic and should be avoided at all costs. Asking someone what their name “used to be” is a form of dead-naming.

Transmasc A self-descriptor for transgender folks who are masculine-identified

Transfemme A self-descriptor for transgender folks who are feminine-identified

Stud A self-descriptor used by some Black masculine-identifying lesbians

Bicurious In the LGBTQ+ community, refers to someone who has show interest in the same sex and may have experimented

Queer sex terms

Service Top A top who acts according to what pleases their bottom, often in sex

Service Bottom A bottom who acts according to what pleases their top, often in sex

Pillow princess A person who strictly prefers or tends to prefer to receive during sex

Switch Someone who enjoys both top and bottom roles during sex

Stone Someone who has strict boundaries surrounding sex, particularly in relation to nudity and touch (often refers to stone butch tops but not exclusively)

Queer slang

U-Haul When queer, often referred to in the context of lesbian relationships, couples become emotionally invested in a relationship very quickly, sometimes involves moving in together

Lesbian Bed Death The stereotype that a relationship between two queer women will eventually lead to a no or little sex

Gold Star A lesbian who has never had sex with a man

Lipstick Lesbian A feminine lesbian

High Femme A queer woman who presents extremely feminine

Soft Butch In the LGBTQ+ community, often refers to a person who presents mostly masculine, but has some feminine traits

Stone Butch In the LGBTQ+ community, often refers to someone who presents extremely masculine. A stone butch might or might not identify as transgender

Baby Gay Refers to someone who recently came out as a lesbian, gay or queer

Celesbian A famous lesbian (think Sarah Paulson)

Queer coded The subtextual coding of a character in media as queer, though the character’s sexual or gender identity may not be explicitly confirmed

Daddy Often used in gay male culture, refers to a man who is sexually attracted to younger men, or where a significant age-gap exists in a same-sex relationship

Twink Commonly used in LGBTQ+ spaces to refer to young, or young-looking, skinny effeminate gay men

Bear In gay male culture, a Bear often refers to a hairy, bearded, brawny-to-bulky gay man, usually displaying aspects of traditional masculinity

‍

Need us to define some other terms? Email us at support@lex.lgbt with your requests!

If it's queer, It's here. Download Lex