AIDS Foundation of Chicago: AIDS Foundation of Chicago is a local and national leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Access their site for advocacy, public policy, and latest news on treatment and prevention issues.
ALMA (Association of Latino Men for Action): Empowering Latino gay, bisexual, and questioning men by providing support, advocacy, and leadership opportunities, through innovative cultural programming.
Center on Halsted: Center on Halsted is a focal point in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community of Chicago, serving the community’s diverse social, recreational, cultural, and social service needs.
CORE Center: The CORE Center provides a comprehensive range of outpatient care to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Programs range from screening and primary care, to legal and social services.
LGBT National Health Center: Serving gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning people by providing free & confidential peer support and local resources.
Equip for Equality: The mission of Equip for Equality is to advance the human and civil rights of children and adults with physical and mental disabilities in Illinois. It is the only statewide, cross-disability, comprehensive advocacy organization providing self-advocacy assistance, legal services, and disability rights education while also engaging in public policy and legislative advocacy and conducting abuse investigations and other oversight activities.
GLSEN: GLSEN engages the Chicago education community in creating safer schools by working with area high school Gay-Straight Alliances, funding a youth scholarship program, advocating for legal and policy change, and holding regular events for students, educators and others interested in LGBTQ issues.
Haymarket Center: The mission of Haymarket Center is to aid people with chemical dependency in their recovery, by providing a continuum of optimal professional care that is responsive to the identified needs of the community.
Human Rights Campaign: As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
It Gets Better Project: The It Gets Better Project's mission is to communicate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth around the world that it gets better, and to create and inspire the changes needed to make it better for them.
Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP) of Howard Brown Health Center: The Lesbian Community Care Project (LCCP) of Howard Brown Health Center promotes the health and wellness of the lesbian, bisexual, queer, and transgender community through healthcare services, public education, research, and programming.
National HIV Treatment Hotline – Project Inform: The Hotline has served tens of thousands of callers since 1985 and is staffed mostly with HIV-positive individuals who help callers sort through issues that most people living with HIV face at some time in their lives. Our operators know what it’s like to get an HIV diagnosis and how to live well with HIV.
National Runaway Switchboard: The National Runaway Switchboard, established in 1971, serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. Recognized as the oldest hotline of its kind in the world, NRS, with the support of more than 150 volunteers, handles an average of 100,000 calls annually – more than 3 million calls since the organization’s inception. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, families and community members throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 13,000 youth have been reunited with their families through the NRS Home Free program done in collaboration with Greyhound Lines, Inc. The NRS crisis hotline is 1-800-RUNAWAY FREE.
Orgullo en Acción: Orgullo en Acción is a group of Latino/a LGBTQQ community members united in working for social and political change. Their goals are to promote education, provide leadership development, and to increase Latino/a LGBTQQ awareness within communities.
The Sylvia Rivera Law Project: The Sylvia Rivera Law Project works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination or violence.
PFLAG: PFLAG is Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. It has seven chapters in Northern Illinois, and holds monthly support meetings.
T-PAN: TPAN empowers people living with HIV through peer-led programming, support services, information dissemination, and advocacy. They also provide services to the broader community to increase HIV knowledge and sensitivity, and to reduce the risk of infection.
Vital Bridges: Vital Bridges helps people throughout metropolitan Chicago impacted by HIV and AIDS to improve their health and build self-sufficiency by providing food, nutrition, housing, case management and prevention services
LGBTQIA+ FLAG KEY Identification
TSER Trans Student Educational Resources Trans Student Educational Resources is a youth-led organization dedicated to transforming the educational environment for trans and gender nonconforming students through advocacy and empowerment. In addition to our focus on creating a more trans-friendly education system, our mission is to educate the public and teach trans activists how to be effective organizers.
An Ally’s Guide to Terminology—Talking about LGBT people and equality The right words can help open people’s hearts and minds, while others can create distance or confusion. For example, the abbreviation “LGBT” is commonly used within the movement for lesbian, gay, bi and transgender equality,
The Body: A comprehensive resource for HIV/AIDS. You can Ask the Experts, participate in Forums, and find the information about the latest research for HIV/AIDS.
Crystal Breaks: Information on meth use in Chicago’s LGBT community.
Agendered – Person is internally ungendered
Ally – A person who supports and respects sexual diversity, acts accordingly to challenge homophobic and heterosexist remarks and behaviors, and is willing to explore and understand these forms of bias within him or herself. Often describes a heterosexual individual who is nevertheless part of the LGBT community.
Androgyne – Person appearing and/or identifying as neither man nor woman, presenting a gender either mixed or neutral.
Asexual – Someone who does not experience sexual attraction towards other people, and who identifies as asexual. May still have romantic, emotional, affectional, or relational attractions to other people.
Bigendered – A person whose gender identity is a combination of male/man and female/woman
Biphobia – The fear of, discrimination against, or hatred of bisexuals, which is often times related to the current binary standard. Biphobia can be seen within the LGBTQ community, as well as in general society.
Bisexual – A person emotionally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to males/men and females/women. This attraction does not have to be equally split between genders and there may be a preference for one gender over others.
Bottom – A person who is said to take a more submissive role during sexual interactions.
Butch – A person who identifies themselves as masculine, whether it be physically, mentally, or emotionally. ‘Butch’ is sometimes used as a derogatory term for lesbians, but it can also be claimed as an affirmative identity label.
Cisgender – describes someone who feels comfortable with the gender identity and gender expression expectations assigned to them based on their physical sex.
Coming out – May refer to the process by which one accepts one’s own sexuality, gender identity, or status as an intersexed person. May also refer to the process by which one shares one’s sexuality, gender identity, or intersexed status with others. This can be a continual, life-long process for homosexual, bisexual, transgendered, and intersexed individuals.
Cross-dresser – Someone who wears clothes of another gender/sex.
Drag – The performance of one or multiple genders theatrically.
Drag King – A person who performs masculinity theatrically.
Drag Queen – A person who performs femininity theatrically.
Dyke – Derogatory term referring to a masculine lesbian. Sometimes adopted affirmatively by lesbians (not necessarily masculine
Fag – Derogatory term referring to someone perceived as non-heteronormative.
Femme – Feminine identified person of any gender/sex.
FTM/F2M – Abbreviation for female-to-male transgender or transsexual person.
Gay – 1. Term used in some cultural settings to represent males who are attracted to males in a romantic, erotic and/or emotional sense. Not all men who engage in “homosexual behavior” identify as gay, and as such this label should be used with caution. 2. Term used to refer to the LGBT community as a whole, or as an individual identity label for anyone who does not identify as heterosexual.
Gender Binary – The idea that there are only two genders – male/female or man/woman and that a person must be strictly gendered as either/or.
Gender Confirming Surgery – Medical surgeries used to modify one’s body to be congruent with one’s gender identity. See “Sex Reassignment Surgery.”
Gender Identity – A person’s sense of being masculine, feminine, or other gendered.
Gender Normative – A person who by nature or by choice conforms to gender based expectations of society.
Gender Variant – A person who either by nature or by choice does not conform to gender-based expectations of society (e.g. transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, cross-dresser, etc.
Genderqueer – A gender variant person whose gender identity is neither male nor female, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of genders. Often includes a political agenda to challenge gender stereotypes and the gender binary system.
Hermaphrodite – an out-of-date and offensive term for an intersexed person.
Heteronormativity – The assumption, in individuals or in institutions, that everyone is heterosexual, and that heterosexuality is superior to homosexuality and bisexuality.
Heterosexism – Prejudice against individuals and groups who display non-heterosexual behaviors or identities, combined with the majority power to impose such prejudice. Usually used to the advantage of the group in power. Any attitude, action, or practice – backed by institutional power – that subordinates people because of their sexual orientation.
Heterosexual privilege – Those benefits derived automatically by being heterosexual that are denied to homosexuals and bisexuals. Also, the benefits homosexuals and bisexuals receive as a result of claiming heterosexual identity or denying homosexual or bisexual identity.
Homophobia – The irrational fear or hatred of homosexuals, homosexuality, or any behavior or belief that does not conform to rigid sex role stereotypes. It is this fear that enforces sexism as well as heterosexism.
Homosexual – A person primarily emotionally, physically, and/or sexually attracted to members of the same sex.
Identity Sphere – The idea that gender identities and expressions do not fit on a linear scale, but rather on a sphere that allows room for all expression without weighting any one expression as better than another.
In the Closet – Refers to a homosexual, bisexual, transperson, or intersex person who will not or cannot disclose their sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity to their friends, family, co-workers, or society. An intersex person may be closeted due to ignorance about their status since standard medical practice is to “correct,” whenever possible, intersex conditions early in childhood and to hide the medical history from the patient. There are varying degrees of being ‘in the closet”; for example, a person can be out in their social life, but in the closet at work, or with their family.
Intergender – A person whose gender identity is between genders or a combination of genders.
Intersexed Person – Someone whose sex a doctor has a difficult time categorizing as either male or female. A person whose combination of chromosomes, gonads, hormones, internal sex organs, and/or genitals differs from one of the two expected patterns.
Lesbian – Term used to describe female-identified people attracted romantically, erotically, and/or emotionally to other female-identified people.
Male Lesbian – A male-bodied person who identifies as a lesbian. This differs from a heterosexual male in that a male lesbian is primarily attracted to other lesbian, bisexual or queer identified people. May sometimes identify as gender variant, or as a female/woman.
Metrosexual – Refers to an urban, heterosexual male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle. This term can be perceived as derogatory because it reinforces stereotypes that all gay men are fashion-conscious and materialistic.
MTF/M2F – Abbreviation for male-to-female transgender or transsexual person.
Outing – Involuntary disclosure of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or intersex status.
Pangendered – A person whose gender identity is comprised of all or many gender expressions.
Pansexual – A person who is sexually attracted to all or many gender expressions.
Passing – Describes a person’s ability to be accepted as their preferred gender/sex or race/ethnic identity or to be seen as heterosexual.
Polyamory – Refers to having honest, usually non-possessive, relationships with multiple partners and can include: open relationships, polyfidelity (which involves multiple romantic relationships with sexual contact restricted to hose), and sub-relationships (which denote distinguishing a “primary” relationship or relationships and various “secondary” relationships).
Queer – 1. An umbrella term which embraces a matrix of sexual preferences, orientations and habits of the not-exclusively-heterosexual-and-monogamous majority. Queer includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transpeople, intersex persons, the radical sex communities, and many other sexually transgressive (underworld) explorers. 2. This term is sometimes used as a sexual orientation label instead of ‘bisexual’ as a way of acknowledging that there are more than two genders to be attracted to, or as a way of stating a non-heterosexual orientation without having to state who they are attracted to. 3. A reclaimed word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been semantically overturned by members of the maligned group, who use it as a term of defiant pride. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold ‘queer’ to be a hateful insult, and its use by heterosexuals is often considered offensive.
Questioning – The process of examining one’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Can be used as an adjective.
Same Gender Loving – A term sometimes used by members of the African-American/Black community to express an alternative sexual orientation without relying on terms and symbols of European descent.
Sex – A medical term designating a certain combination of gonads, chromosomes, external gender organs, secondary sex characteristics and hormonal balances. Because usually subdivided into ‘male’ and ‘female’, this category does not recognize the existence of intersexed bodies.
Sex Identity – How a person identifies physically: female, male, in between, beyond, or neither.
Sexual Orientation – The desire for intimate emotional and/or sexual relationships with people of the same gender/sex, another gender/sex, or multiple genders/sexes.
Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS) – A term used by some medical professionals to refer to a group of surgical options that alter a person’s “sex”. In most states, one or multiple surgeries are required to achieve legal recognition of gender variance.
Sexuality – A person’s exploration of sexual acts, sexual orientation, sexual pleasure, and desire.
Straight – Another term for heterosexual.
Stud – An African-American and/or Latina masculine lesbian.
Top – A person who is said to take a more dominant role during sexual interactions.
Trans – An abbreviation that is sometimes used to refer to a gender variant identity without having to disclose hormonal or surgical status/intentions. This term is sometimes used to refer to the gender variant community as a whole.
Transgender – A person who lives as a member of a gender other than that expected based on anatomical sex. Sexual orientation varies and is not dependent on gender identity.
Transgendered (Trans) Community – A loose category of people who transcend gender norms in a wide variety of ways. The central ethic of this community is unconditional acceptance of individual exercise of freedoms including gender and sexual identity and orientation.
Transition – The term is primarily used to refer to the process a gender variant person undergoes when changing their bodily appearance either to be more congruent with the gender/sex they feel themselves to be and/or to be in harmony with their preferred gender expression.
Transphobia – The irrational fear of those who are gender variant and/or the inability to deal with gender ambiguity.
Transsexual – A person who identifies psychologically as a gender/sex other than the one to which they were assigned at birth. Transsexuals often wish to transform their bodies hormonally and surgically to match their inner sense of gender/sex.
Transvestite – Someone who dresses in clothing generally identified with the opposite gender/sex. While the terms ‘homosexual’ and ‘transvestite’ have been used synonymously, they signify two different groups. The preferred term is ‘cross-dresser’, but the term ‘transvestite’ is still used in a positive sense in England.
Ze/Hir – Alternate pronouns that are gender neutral and preferred by some gender variant persons. Pronounced /zee/ and /here/, they replace “he”/”she” and “his”/”hers” respectively.
