Question About The LGBTAI+

[Bartmanhomer]

Hello everybody? I have questions about the LGBTAI+: What's poly mean? I have heard this term so many times and I don't even know what it means.

[DataNinja]

'Poly' is short for polyamorous - as opposed to being monogamous, you tend to prefer having relationships with multiple people. It's not a strictly LGBT+ thing - people under none of those labels can still be polyamorous, though generally there is at least some overlap.

But, basically it just boils down to at its simplest that when you're dating people, it's dating a group of people in mutual agreement, as opposed to just one-on-one.

[Bartmanhomer]

'Poly' is short for polyamorous - as opposed to being monogamous, you tend to prefer having relationships with multiple people. It's not a strictly LGBT+ thing - people under none of those labels can still be polyamorous, though generally there is at least some overlap.

But, basically, it just boils down to at its simplest that when you're dating people, it's dating a group of people in mutual agreement, as opposed to just one-on-one.Ok. Thank you. :smile:

[totadileplayz]

What does intersex mean?

[EternalMelon]

What does intersex mean?
Per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex)


Intersex people are individuals born with any of several variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". Such variations may involve genital ambiguity and combinations of chromosomal genotype and sexual phenotype other than XY-male and XX-female.

Because sex (as in, sex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex), not gender (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender)) is bimodal (https://www.statisticshowto.datasciencecentral.com/what-is-a-bimodal-distribution/) (tending to two groups, as apposed to binary which can only be one of two states, eg, on or off) intersex is often used as a catch-all term for those tending to the extremes or in the middle of the two "standard" definitions of sex. It is estimated that between 1 and 2 percent of the world's population is intersex (source) (https://www.intersexequality.com/how-common-is-intersex-in-humans/).

One reason Intersex is used in the LGBT+ sphere and acronyms is common struggles faced in terms of identity and erasure of intersex people with other gender and sexual minorities. However that isn't to say they are the same struggles, as an intersex person has different needs in regards to their gender identity than transgender people do, sometimes. This is where a separate identity comes in.

Someone who is intersex can probably do a better job of this than I can, but for now here are some basic resources to get started. Its important to remember that intersex people are just as healthy and "normal" as anyone else, and should not have to face discrimination.

[Anymage]

I will note that, as specifically involves the gender selection here, Intersex rarely means the more accurate definition that EternalMelon covered.

It's been brought up before (most recent example (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?598248-Gender-marker-on-profile)) that people would like more gender options to be available. However, as per Roland's post, there's a lot that would have to go into broadening the selection and the admins aren't sure they can fully commit if they got started. Before Intersex was added you just had Male, Female, F2M and M2F. Intersex was the best "none of the above" that the admins could agree on, and for whatever reason that was the one they thought was the best fit.

[totadileplayz]

Alright, Thank you.

[thompur]

What does "pan-sexual" mean?

[EternalMelon]

I guess this is the new LGBTQ+ question thread.

What does "pan-sexual" mean?
Simple answer: Basically the same thing as bisexual. While a hetero/homosexual may be attracted[1] to other genders/their own gender respectively, a bi/pansexual person is not limited to this distinction, finding sexual attraction in their own and other genders.

Complicated answer:
First, lets address the elephant in the room, the prefix Bi-. Bi of course means two (source) (https://membean.com/wrotds/bi-twice), which some people argue makes the term Bisexual reinforce the gender binary, as it suggests that there are only two states of gender to be attracted to. The introduction of Pan- (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pan-) or Omni- is sometimes argued to replace Bi for sake of accuracy, but there is push-back against this. For starters, its very hard to erase or rename an identity once it has formed a community. "Bi" is how many people identify, label, and come to terms with themselves, and it would be folly to try and remove that. Secondly, and consequentially there is an argument that similar, but separate, definitions of Bi and Pan can exist.

Some people may claim that being Pan is "like being Bi, but you are attracted to Trans, Non-Binary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pansexuality#Comparison_to_bisexuality_and_other_s exual_identities), and Intersex people too". This is misleading, because Trans/Non-binary people are the gender they identify as, not something separate (see footnote [1]). This idea of separation of Trans/Non-binary/Intersex could also lead to "Bi" meaning "hetero or homosexual, with (Trans/Non-binary/Intersex) attraction as well", which is not a currently used definition. Citation Needed

One current accepted difference between Pan and Bi in the LGBTQ+ movement is the idea that "Bi" means "Attracted to genders across the spectrum" while Pan means "Attracted to people regardless of gender". For example, a Bisexual person might see an attractive Male and think "That is an attractive human male, I wish to preform intercourse with him," while a Pan person might think "That is an attractive human person who is a man, I wish to preform intercourse with him". The difference here is that the gender identity of the subject is important to the Bisexual, but not the Pansexual. (source2)

Lastly of course, one must remember that someone identifying as Pan or Bi is up to personal preference. As before someone may be Pansexual because they believe Bisexual reinforces gender binary, or a Bi person identifying as such because they identify with the current Bisexual identity, or because they don't want to explain what Pan means to every non-clued in person they meet.


Footnotes:
[1] In this post "Sexual Attraction" and "Attraction" is taken to refer to the attraction towards displayed Gender (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender), as opposed to Sex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex), which is not necessarily the indicator. Yes this is confusing, sorry. For most cis people Gender and Sex are correlated, but for Trans people, for instance, the distinction here is useful. A man who is sexually interested (experiencing sexual attraction) with a trans woman is still considered "Heterosexual" even if the desire is technically towards a male-sexed person3.

[2] Source: member of the LGBTQ+ community who has asked this question before. Definition derived from learned experiences. No article sorry, although I can find one if needed.

[3] No we are not getting into Biological brain sex/gender discourse today >:C. Keep It Simple Stupid.

[Zerubbabel]

I always thought the + stood for multiple wives *scrubbed*

[TruthofRuth]

Polygamy is multiple wives, and usually one man, and has a very different cultural context than polyamory. That's all I'll say about it, of course.