Understanding identity labels
By Ali the Sexpert
September 17, 2008
 In the past, people’s identity labels seemed simpler than they are today. A person’s sexual orientation was considered to be gay, straight or bisexual and gender was only identified as either male or female.
As society has progressed, these simplistic terms were deemed to be problematic and confining for some. Today, there are many more categories, and it can be confusing.
So this edition of campus kiss is dedicated to demystifying identity labels.
Sexual identity and gender label basics
Some people wonder why it’s important to use these labels at all. For many, this is too obvious to explain. For those who fall within the ‘majority’ of gender and sexual orientation labels (i.e. heterosexual male or female), it may not need to be stated or important to the person at all.
But for those who do not identify in the majority, it can be very important for them to state their gender or sexual orientation label because for them, it may not be obvious.
It’s further important because a person’s identity is the lens through which they experience life and perceive themselves. For those who use minority labels, it is often a process of awareness and self acceptance.
They may struggle to understand why they don’t fit into the predetermined labels that are considered to be ‘normal.’ When you don’t fit into these categories, identity can be incredibly difficult.
Those who identify as a minority, (especially an invisible minority like sexual orientation or some gender labels), often suffer social ridicule, rejection, isolation and confusion regarding who they are.
So on top of the developmental changes that are happening to them biologically, socially and emotionally (like everyone else), they have added stresses and challenges. This is not always a negative experience for everyone; however, our society often does not recognize, validate or accept difference of any kind, so it can be an incredibly difficult process for some people.
Before these labels are explored further, it is important to understand the difference between gender and sexual orientation labels.
This may seem very basic to some people, but there remains confusion when believing that sexual orientation and gender are the same thing – yet they are very different and should be recognized as such.
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attraction to other people. Since sexual orientation encompasses all of this, it is easy to see that using the three labels of straight, bisexual or gay may not apply to all people.
Any individual’s taste for attraction, desire and emotional connection may vary from person to person. Using rigid categories such as straight, bisexual or gay can be too restrictive.
According to WebMD, gender identity refers to the consistency and persistence of one’s individuality as male, female, or androgynous and the internalized representations of those gender roles.
Gender identity is a person’s social role or label that identifies their self perception of being male, female or androgynous. Gender identity in Western culture remains very rigid, and social attitudes towards anyone who does not simply identify as male or female are often negative.
Fluid gender and sexual orientation labels
There are many new sexual orientation labels used today to describe a person’s preferences. LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual/two-spirited, queer /questioning.
Those who are lesbian or gay are sexually attracted to the same sex. Bisexuals are typically attracted to both males and females. The other labels will be described in more detail below.
Pansexual - A person who is romantically/sexually attracted to or openly attracted to people of many different gender identities.
This term reflects a non-binary understanding of gender and its interplay with sexuality and is increasingly being used to reference the understanding that there are many genders, not just two genders or sexes, as implied by the prefix ‘bi.’
Questioning – A person who hasn’t decided what their sexual orientation is, and they’re considering different options and may be experimenting with different sexual orientation labels.
Queer - An umbrella term to encompass all sexual orientation labels, or to refer to political activism or academic inquiry about LGBTQ issues, or as a self-identifying label for persons who experience their sexuality as more fluid than the individual LGBTQ labels imply.
Gender labels have also changed over time, and today there are a few new labels that are commonly used such as:
Genderqueer - A gender-variant person whose gender identity is neither male or female, is between or beyond genders, and is some combination of genders or who refuses gender altogether.
Often includes a political agenda to challenge gender stereotypes and the gender binary system.
Transgender or Trans-identified - A person who was assigned a gender at birth (based on their biological sex characteristics), who feel that this is a false or incomplete description of their gender identity.
A person who views their gender as more fluid than strictly male and female or a person who expresses their gender in ways that challenge societal expectations of the range of possibilities for women and men.
It’s also an umbrella term for people who don’t identify with mainstream gender labels. Trans persons may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, two-spirited or heterosexual.
Some people who identify as trans see themselves as gender-variant while others define themselves as female or male, regardless of their sex at birth.
Conclusion
Gender and sexual orientation are only two examples of a person’s experience, but they are very important parts of a person’s identity.
It is important to remember that we all identify differently, and it is important to respect how a person identifies regardless of any pre-conceived notions you may have about who they are.
If you are unsure about how a person identifies, it is considered polite to ask them. Many times, people are more then happy to explain themselves instead of being judged or assumed to be something they are not.
Assumptions are often problematic in our culture, because they can lead to judgments about people that are unfair, negative and stigmatizing.
Also, people who identify differently are often shunned, ostracized and sometimes also at risk for physical danger and violence for violating social norms.
It is therefore important to not make assumptions about others. It is in human nature to be curious, to question and to identify things in order to understand them. But it is an entirely different thing to label someone against their will.
This is why gender and sexual orientation labels are so important to understand. So the rule of thumb is, if you don’t know – then ask.
Ali the Sexpert' aka Allisa Scott is a researcher and teacher in the field of sexuality. She has two degrees from U Windsor (Honours BA in Sociology); MA in Social Work (WLU); MA degree is Sociology with a published thesis about sexuality. She also holds a minor in studies in sexuality from Windsor.
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