Research and analysis

Appendix 1: Glossary

Published 29 October 2021

Please note that we are aware that the terminology used in relation to the recognition of people’s sexual orientation or gender identity may depend on the context of its use. Some people may define some terms differently to us. We have tried to use terminology that is generally accepted. No offence or omission is intended.

Please find below the definitions we have used.

Asexual: Someone who does not experience sexual attraction.

Bisexual: Attraction towards more than one gender or sex. Distinct from pansexual, which includes attraction towards people regardless of gender or sex.

Cisgender: Used in this report to refer to people whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth – people who are not transgender.

Conversion therapy: Interventions aimed at changing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, typically from minority sexual orientations or gender identities to heterosexual and cisgender. Also referred to as reparative therapy, sexual orientation change Efforts (SOCE) or gender identity change efforts (GICE).

Ex-gay: A person who has undergone ‘conversion therapy’ and has ceased to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual but may still experience same-sex attraction and engage in same-sex behaviour.

Ex-gay ministry: A term used for conversion therapy that takes place in religious settings or by religious organisations.

Ex-gay movement: A movement of religiously based self-help groups for distressed people with unwanted same-sex attraction who often refer to themselves as ex-gay.

Gay: A term used to describe someone who has an emotional, romantic or sexual orientation towards someone of the same sex or gender.

Gender dysphoria: A medical diagnosis that someone is experiencing discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their sex and their gender identity.

Gender expression: A person’s outward expression of their gender. This may differ from their gender identity or it may reflect it.

Gender identity: A person’s internal sense of their own gender. This does not have to be man or woman. It could be, for example, non-binary.

Gender identity change efforts: Interventions aimed at changing someone’s gender identity from transgender to cisgender.

Gender incongruence: A mismatch between someone’s sex and their gender identity. This may or may not be accompanied by discomfort or distress. This is identified as a sexual health issue by the WHO and not a mental or behavioural disorder.

Gender reassignment: A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. A person “has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex”. Subject to certain exceptions, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination because of gender reassignment, for example in employment or in the provision of services. This includes treating employees or service users less favourably because of a mistaken belief that the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone the process of reassigning their gender. Exceptions can only be justified if they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Heterosexual: A term used to describe someone who has an emotional, romantic or sexual attraction towards someone of the opposite sex or gender. Also referred to as straight.

Homosexual: A term used to describe someone who has an emotional, romantic or sexual attraction towards someone of the same sex or gender. Also referred to as gay.

Intersex: An umbrella term for people with sex characteristics (hormones, chromosomes and external or internal reproductive organs) that differ to those typically expected of a male or female. Intersex people may identify as male, female, non-binary or intersex.

Lesbian: A term used to describe a woman who has an emotional, romantic or sexual orientation towards someone of the same sex or gender. Some women who fit this definition may prefer to identify as gay.

LGBT: An abbreviation used to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. In this report it is used as an umbrella term for any minority sexual orientation or gender identities (including asexual, non-binary).

Minority gender identity: Used in this report to refer to anyone not identifying exclusively as a man or woman (for example, non-binary) or identifying as transgender or anyone with a transgender history.

Minority sexual orientation: Used in this report to refer to anyone not identifying as heterosexual. This includes people identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and same-sex attracted.

Non-binary: An umbrella term used to describe gender identities where someone does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. They may regard themselves as neither exclusively a man nor a woman, or as both, or take another approach to gender entirely. There are many included within this, such as agender, genderqueer and gender fluid.

Pansexual: Attraction towards people regardless of gender or sex.

Queer: A term used mainly by people who identify with a minority sexual orientation or gender identity. In the past, it was used as a derogatory term for LGBT individuals.

Reparative therapy: A specific form of conversion therapy associated with British theologian Elizabeth Moberly and American psychologist Joseph Nicolosi. The term is often used interchangeably with conversion therapy.

Sex: Registered by medical practitioners at birth based on physical characteristics. Sex can be either male or female. Assignment is based on hormones, chromosomes and genitalia.

Sexual fluidity: A term for natural changes in sexual attractions or identity. Sexual orientation is stable and unchanging for most people, but some people may experience change. This is distinct from deliberate attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation.

Sexual identity: A term used to refer to the label people use to describe their sexual orientation. This may or may not be a true reflection of their actual sexual attractions. Common sexual identities include straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual and asexual.

Sexual orientation: Describes who a person is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to.

Sexual orientation change efforts: Interventions aimed at changing someone’s sexual orientation from a minority sexual orientation to heterosexual.

Straight: Someone who is attracted to members of the opposite sex. Also referred to as heterosexual.

Transgender or Trans: An umbrella term used to describe people who have a gender identity that is different to the sex recorded at birth. This might lead to gender dysphoria or incongruence. Non-binary people may or may not consider themselves to be transgender.

Transsexualism: A term historically used as a medical diagnosis for transgender people. This was later replaced with the diagnosis of gender identity disorder and most recently with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

Unwanted same-sex attraction: A term used by those seeking to change their sexual orientation who do not wish to identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Variations in sex characteristics: An umbrella term used to describe physical sex development which differs from what is generally expected of ‘males’ or ‘females’. These variations are congenital and may be chromosomal, gonadal, anatomical or hormonal. This is more commonly known as intersex.