Gay classifications
47 Terms That Explain Sexual Attraction, Action, and Orientation
It’s OK to feel unsure or overwhelmed by all of the terms we now have to depict sexual and intimate orientation, attraction, and behavior.
Expanding the language you exploit to describe your sexuality can provide important guidance, validation, and access to community while on your journey of sexual self-discovery and satisfaction.
Mere Abrams is a researcher, penner, educator, consultant, and licensed clinical social worker who reaches a worldwide audience through public speaking, publications, social media (@meretheir), and gender therapy and endorse services practice onlinegendercare.com. Mere uses their personal experience and diverse professional background to support individuals exploring gender and help institutions, organizations, and businesses to increase gender literacy and identify opportunities to demonstrate gender inclusion in products, services, programs, projects, and content.
'There’s too many gay categories now': discursive constructions of gay masculinity
“Masculine capital” refers to the social power afforded by the exhibit of traits and behaviors that are associated with orthodox, stereotypical masculinity. Men who are concerned with their masculine identity may utilize these traits and behaviors to increase their overall masculine capital, and to mitigate “failures” in other domains of masculinity. However, their success at accruing and trading masculine capital may be limited, because different traits and behaviors are not matching in the capital they express, and their value may vary depending on the social context in which they are deployed. Research suggests that heterosexuality contributes more to masculine capital than other stereotypically masculine characteristics: The possibilities for gay men to accrue and trade masculine capital may therefore be particularly limited, especially in heteronormative contexts. Emphasis groups were undertaken with male lover men, straight women and direct men living in a coastal city in the south of England to explore discursive constructions of gay masculinity, and to examine gay men’s possibilities for accruing and
LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary
GLOSSARY
The terms and definitions below are always evolving, transforming and often mean other things to different people. They are provided below as a starting gesture for discussion and kind. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of the LGBTQIA Resource Center since the first 2000s.
These are not universal definitions. This glossary is provided to help hand others a more thorough but not entirely comprehensive understanding of the significance of these terms. You may even consider asking someone what they represent when they use a term, especially when they use it to detail their identity. Ultimately it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a phrase for themselves.
“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde
This glossary contains terms, such as ableism and disability, that may not be considered directly related to identities of sexuality or gender. These terms are essential to acknowledge as part of our mission to challenge all forms of oppress
Types
Some gay men utilize types to narrate , identify and convey themselves. Who hasn't heard someone state “he’s my type" or been asked if a guy is yours? There is always some disagreement around the terms we apply and whether we should use them at all.
Therefore, you should be sensitive if applying a type to someone, bearing in consciousness some gay men reject them altogether as narrow, superficial, and demeaning. Equally, some use types affectionately and as a convenient shorthand.
It's a bit of a bear pit (no pun intended), but here's our take on types, though you are perfectly entitled to throw them out and be your own gay, your own homo, gender non-conforming, etc.
Physical types and personal characteristics
Some guys are primarily attracted to physical types of gay men (eg: bears, twinks, and muscle guys) while some uncover characteristics in men most attractive (eg: warmth, intelligence, and humour). Others mix and match and understanding these distinctions is important.
For example, the type(s) of men we locate attractive sexually may not necessarily be the qualities we are looking for to sustain a relationship. Trouble is, we can find so caught up in a type we can misplace sight that not far ben