LGBTQIA+

Question 1

Barriers to Health Care for LGBTQIA+ Patients

Answer 1

• Limited access to care
  • LGBTQIA+ individuals are less likely to have health insurance
• Negative experiences in seeking care
  • Healthcare providers demonstrating bias or discrimination
  • Healthcare providers lacking knowledge or experience
  • Healthcare providers refusing to provide care
• Delays in seeking care

Question 2

Greater risk of other health conditions among subsets of the LGBTQIA+ community:

Answer 2

• Breast and cervical cancer among lesbian and bisexual women
• Heart disease among gay, bisexual, and lesbian adults
• Obesity among lesbian and bisexual women
• HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM)

Question 3

The ABCs of LGBTQIA+

Answer 3

L - Lesbian
G - Gay
B - Bisexual
T - Transgender (Trans)
Q - Queer or Questioning
I - Intersex
A - Asexual
\+ - Other sexual or gender
identities

Question 4

Gender Identity vs. Sexual Orientation

Answer 4

Gender Identity

• Definition: A person’s internal sense of being male, female, both, or neither
• May be the same or different than sex assigned at birth

Sexual Orientation
- Definition: A person’s enduring emotional, romantic, physical and/or sexual attraction to other people
- Examples:
• Heterosexual 
• Gay
• Lesbian
• Bisexual
• Queer

Question 5

Sex Terminology

Answer 5

• Sex: Attributes associated with reproduction and biology that generally assign individuals into categories of “male” and “female”
• Sex Assigned at Birth: Sex classification at birth based on external anatomy; this is preferred term instead of “biological sex” or “natal sex”
• Intersex: A person born with, or develops naturally in puberty, biological sex characteristics not typically male or female

Question 6

Gender Identity Terminology

Answer 6

• Cisgender: gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth
• Transgender: umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth
• Non-Binary: umbrella term for people whose gender identity falls outside of the gender binary
• Gender-Fluid: does not identify as single fixed gender
• Two-Spirit: cultural identity used by indigenous people with feminine and masculine spirits
• Gender Expression: the way a person expresses or demonstrates gender outwardly (clothing/hairstyle)
• Gender Affirmation: describe making social, legal, and/or medical changes to recognize, accept, and express one’s gender identity; previously called “transitioning”

Question 7

Sexual Orientation Terminology

Answer 7

• Heterosexual: emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to people of a different gender; also referred to as ”straight”
• Gay: emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to people of same gender
• Lesbian: woman who is emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to other women
• Bisexual: emotionally, romantically, or sexually attracted to more than one gender or gender identity; sometimes used interchangeably with “pansexual”
• Queer: umbrella term for sexual orientation other than heterosexual
• Asexual: little to no sexual attraction to others
• Questioning: exploring their sexual orientation (gender identity)

Question 8

Other Terminology

Answer 8

• Preferred Name: name that a person wishes to use that differs from legal name; may also be called “chosen name”
• Pronouns: used in place of a proper noun (such as someone’s name); examples: he/him/his, she/her/hers, they/them/theirs
• “Feminine” Pronouns: she/her/hers/herself
• “Masculine” Pronouns: he/him/his/himself
• Gender-Neutral Pronouns: they/them/theirs/themself, ze/zir/zirs/zirself, ze/hir/hirs/hirself

Question 9

Misgendering and Deadnaming

Answer 9

• Misgendering is using incorrect gender-specific words or pronouns when speaking to or referring to someone, especially a transgender person
• Deadnaming is using a transgender or non-binary person’s birth name instead of chosen name