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Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
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C
Glossary

ACASI—Audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASIs) allow participants to view a survey on a computer and hear a recorded voice stating the questions. Participants enter their answers on the computer.

Autogynephilic—Being sexually aroused by the thought or image of oneself as a woman (Blanchard, 1989).

Behaviorally bisexual women—Women who have sex with both men and women.

Bisexual—One whose sexual or romantic attractions and behaviors are directed at members of both sexes to a significant degree.

Body mass index—A statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height, used to estimate whether a person is underweight or overweight. BMI is weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters (kg/m2) (WHO, 2006).

Coming out—Coming out of the closet, or coming out, is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people’s disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity (Riley, 2010).

Cross-dresser (or transvestite)—Refers to an individual who wears clothes and adopts behaviors associated with the other sex for emotional or sexual gratification, and who may live part time in the cross-gender role.

Discrimination—Differential treatment of a person because of group membership, such as sexual- or gender-minority status.

Disorders of sex development—Congenital conditions in which the development of chromosomal, gonadal, or anatomic sex is atypical (Lee et al., 2006).

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
×

Drag queen or king—An individual who cross-dresses in women’s or men’s clothing, adopts a hyperfeminine or hypermasculine presentation, and appears part time in the cross-gender role.

Gay—An attraction and/or behavior focused exclusively or mainly on members of the same sex or gender identity; a personal or social identity based on one’s same-sex attractions and membership in a sexual-minority community.

Gender dysphoria—A term for distress resulting from conflicting gender identity and sex of assignment (Cohen-Kettenis and Gooren, 1999; Murad et al., 2010).

Gender expression—Characteristics in appearance, personality, and behavior culturally defined as masculine or feminine.

Gender identityOne’s basic sense of being a man, woman, or other gender (such as transgender) (Bockting, 1999).

Gender role conformityThe extent to which an individual’s gender expression adheres to the cultural norms prescribed for people of his or her sex.

Gender role nonconformity—Nonconformity with prevailing norms of gender expression.

Gender-variant children—Children who are gender role nonconforming.

Heterosexual—Refers to individuals who identify as “heterosexual” or “straight” or whose sexual or romantic attractions and behaviors focus exclusively or mainly on members of the other sex or gender identity.

Homophobia—A term used broadly to refer to various manifestations of sexual stigma, sexual prejudice, and self-stigma based on one’s homosexual or bisexual orientation.

Homosexual—As an adjective, used to refer to same-sex attraction, sexual behavior, or sexual orientation identity; as a noun, used as an identity label by some persons whose sexual attractions and behaviors are exclusively or mainly directed to people of their same sex.

Intersectionality—A theory used to analyze how social and cultural categories intertwine (Knudsen, 2006).

Intersex—A term used for people who are born with external and/or internal genitalia that vary from typical male or female genitalia, or a chromosomal pattern that varies from XX (female) or XY (male).

Intimate partner violence—Physical, sexual, or psychological harm inflicted by a current or former partner or spouse (CDC, 2006).

Lesbian—As an adjective, used to refer to female same-sex attraction and sexual behavior; as a noun, used as a sexual orientation identity label by women whose sexual attractions and behaviors are exclusively or mainly directed to other women.

Nulliparity—The condition of being nulliparous, or not bearing offspring.

QueerIn contemporary usage, an inclusive, unifying sociopolitical, self-affirming umbrella term for people who are gay; lesbian; bisexual; pan-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
×

sexual; transgender; transsexual; intersexual; genderqueer; or of any other nonheterosexual sexuality, sexual anatomy, or gender identity.1 Historically, a term of derision for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.

Real life experience—With respect to transgender persons, denotes living full time in the preferred gender role.

Serostatus (or HIV serostatus)—Blood test results indicating the presence or absence of antibodies the immune system creates to fight HIV. A seropositive status indicates that a person has antibodies to fight HIV and is HIV-positive.2

Sex—(1) Generally understood as a biological construct, referring to the genetic, hormonal, anatomical, and physiological characteristics of males or females. Sex is typically assigned at birth based on the appearance of the external genitalia. Only when this appearance is ambiguous are other indicators of sex assessed to determine the most appropriate sex assignment. (2) All phenomena associated with erotic arousal or sensual stimulation of the genitalia or other erogenous zones, usually (but not always) leading to orgasm.

Sexual orientation—Encompasses attraction, behavior, and identity. Most researchers studying sexual orientation have defined it operationally in terms of one or more of the following components. Defined in terms of behavior, sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of sexual or romantic activity with men, women, or both sexes. Defined in terms of attraction (or desire), it denotes an enduring pattern of experiencing sexual or romantic feelings for men, women, or both sexes. Identity encompasses both personal identity and social identity. Defined in terms of personal identity, sexual orientation refers to a conception of the self based on one’s enduring pattern of sexual and romantic attractions and behaviors toward men, women, or both sexes. Defined in terms of social (or collective) identity, it refers to a sense of membership in a social group based on a shared sexual orientation and a linkage of one’s self-esteem to that group.

Stigma—The inferior status, negative regard, and relative powerlessness that society collectively assigns to individuals and groups that are associated with various conditions, statuses, and attributes.

Transgender—Refers to individuals who cross or transcend culturally defined categories of gender (Bockting, 1999).

Transgenderist—An individual who lives full time in the cross-gender role and who may also take hormones, but does not desire sex reassignment surgery.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
×

TranssexualAn individual who strongly identifies with the other sex and seeks hormones and/or sex reassignment surgery to feminize or masculinize the body; may live full time in the cross-gender role.

Two spirit—Adopted in 1990 at the third annual spiritual gathering of GLBT Natives, the term derives from the northern Algonquin word niizh manitoag, meaning “two spirits,” and refers to the inclusion of both feminine and masculine components in one individual (Anguksuar, 1997).

Vaginoplasty—A surgical procedure to construct a vagina.

REFERENCES

Anguksuar, L. R. 1997. A postcolonial perspective on western [mis]conceptions of the cosmos and the restoration of indigenous taxonomies. In Two-spirit people: Native American gender identity, sexuality, and spirituality, edited by S.E. Jacobs, W. Thomas, and S. Lang. Chicago, IL: University of Illinois Press. Pp. 217–222.

Blanchard, R. 1989. The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 177:616–623.

Bockting, W. O. 1999. From construction to context: Gender through the eyes of the transgendered. SIECUS Report 1(Oct./Nov.):3–7.

CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). 2006. Understanding intimate partner violence. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/ipv_factsheet.pdf (accessed October 13, 2010).

Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., and L. J. G. Gooren. 1999. Transsexualism: A review of etiology, diagnosis and treatment. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 46(4):315–333.

Knudsen, S.V. 2006. Intersectionality—A theoretical inspiration in the analysis of minority cultures and identities in textbooks. Paper presented at Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media, October 26–29, 2005, Caen, France.

Lee, P. A., C. P. Houk, S. F. Ahmed, and I. A. Hughes. 2006. Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders. Pediatrics 118(2):e488–500.

Murad, M. H., M. B. Elamin, M. Z. Garcia, R. J. Mullan, A. Murad, P. J. Erwin, and V. M. Montori. 2010. Hormonal therapy and sex reassignment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quality of life and psychosocial outcomes. Clinical Endocrinology 72(2): 214–231.

Riley, B. H. 2010. GLB adolescent’s “coming out.” Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing 23(1):3–10.

WHO (World Health Organization). 2006. BMI classification. http://apps.who.int/bmi/index.jsp?introPage=intro_3.html (accessed October 29, 2010).

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
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Page 317
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
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Page 318
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
×
Page 319
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Glossary." Institute of Medicine. 2011. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13128.
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Page 320
Next: Appendix D: Biosketches of Committee Members and Staff »
The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better Understanding Get This Book
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At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals—often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT—are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs.

The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People assesses the state of science on the health status of LGBT populations, identifies research gaps and opportunities, and outlines a research agenda for the National Institute of Health. The report examines the health status of these populations in three life stages: childhood and adolescence, early/middle adulthood, and later adulthood. At each life stage, the committee studied mental health, physical health, risks and protective factors, health services, and contextual influences. To advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, the report finds that researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research.

The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People is a valuable resource for policymakers, federal agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), LGBT advocacy groups, clinicians, and service providers.

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