Lack of awareness of all the identities within the acronym is a common experience for many people.

For example, someone who identifies as gay may not understand the journey of someone who is transgender. Allies, those who do not necessarily identify as part of the community, but work to end oppression through support and advocacy, may also not be aware of the many identities found in the LGBTQIA community. 

We use the acronym LGBTQIA at Tech to stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, (questioning), intersex, asexual, and (agender). While we do this with intentionality, it is still possible to hear many variations of the acronym in use on our campus (i.e. LGBT, LGBTQ, etc.).

• When thinking about all these different identities, they all fall within several buckets: Gender Expression; Gender Identity; Sex Assigned at Birth; and Sexual and Romantic Orientation.
• The terminology used for these identities is extensive, and it gives added ability for labeling (labels are not all bad - some are very affirming). There are many great resources available. One of these was compiled by the University of California, Riverside's LGBTQIA office.
  
  Note: This is an extensive list of terminology. It can be overwhelming for someone just looking for basic information. Do not let it be a deterrence as the information is good. Use what you can, process it, and circle back for more whenever you are ready.
• Another resource, albeit abridged, that some find helpful in talking about the LGBTQIA community was developed by the Movement Advancement Project. This Ally's Guide also gives several frequently misused terms and why they are problematic. 
• Trans Student Educational Resources developed The Gender Unicorn to help many people tie these identities together in the broader buckets or categories referenced earlier. The Gender Unicorn is a simple visual representation of the differences between gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, and physical and emotional attraction.

Additional Resources