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June is celebrated as Pride Month among LGBT communities across the globe. The acronym LGBT generally refers to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. However, it has grown to be the LGBTQIA+ community, where the “Q” stands for either queer or questioning. The “I” represents persons of the intersex gender which means people born with reproductive organs that fit neither category and “A” stands for asexual. The “+” in the end is meant to represent anybody who hasn’t been included.
Acknowledging LGBTQI+ identities and diverse sexualities fosters inclusion, respect, and mental well-being. Recognising different sexual orientations promotes equality and embracing this diversity challenges discrimination, supports human rights, and creates a more understanding, compassionate society. This Pride Month, if you're still confused or unaware about different sexualites, let this quick and simple guide come in handy for you.
Here are 15 types of sexualities you should know about
Being gay means that a person is romantically, sexually and emotionally attracted to another person of the same gender. However, sometimes, women prefer to be identified as lesbians. Gay is another word for homosexual, which can be considered offensive if you're using it as a slang.
Lesbians are women who are romantically, physically and emotionally attracted to other women. As mentioned above, some women could prefer to just be identified as gay.
A person who is romantically and emotionally attracted to both men and women can be classified as bisexual. However, a person doesn’t need to have been sexually involved with a person of the same or the opposite gender to be bisexual. And across their lifetime, their degree of bisexuality can also vary.
When somebody says they're queer, it’s because they find the terms gay, lesbian and bisexual very restricting. It works as an umbrella term for sexual as well as gender minorities. Sometimes the Q in LGBTQ could also refer to questioning, which means that they are still questioning their sexual orientation or gender.
A person who doesn’t experience any sexual attraction for anybody is considered as being asexual.
A person who doesn’t experience any romantic attraction towards anybody is considered to be aromantic.
Heterosexual is generally referred to as being straight, which means people of this sexual orientation are romantically, emotionally and sexually attracted to people of the opposite gender.
Androsexuals are sexually, romantically or physically attracted to the general notion of masculine people. But it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that the object of their attraction has to identify as male. An androsexual person could be attracted to somebody who simply looks like a man.
Gynesexuals are romantically and physically attracted to femininity. Again, this doesn’t mean that the object of their attraction has to identify as a female. A gynesexual person can be attracted to a person who simply looks like a woman.
Just like how the Q in LGBTQIA+ also stands for questioning, bicurious people are into exploring whether they are or aren’t into people of the same or opposite gender.
Demisexual people are borderline asexual, except that they only experience any sexual attraction after forming a deep emotional or romantic connection to their partner.
A polyamorous person is one who's consensually involved sexually and romantically with multiple partners at the same time. In such situations, partners know and openly talk about their relationships with multiple people and often have some ground rules laid out. Polyamorous people can also be involved with monogamous people sometimes.
Skoliosexual people are physically, romantically and sexually attracted to genderqueer, transgender and non-binary people.
A pansexual person can be physically, romantically, and sexually attracted to all people. They are considered to have a genderblind sexual attraction.
Similar to pansexuals, Omnisexual people are attracted to all genders, but they are not considered to be gender blind.
There are so many more sexualities that exist around the world that haven’t been defined in this list. In fact, dating apps have also given users more options to work for their sexual orientation. The most important thing to remember, however, is to not be ignorant and respect another’s choices. After all, love is love.