Process of constantly acquiring information and training in attitudes, beliefs and values about sexuality, including effective communication skills and responsible decision-making.
Glossary
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Affective sexual education
Allies
People that do not identify themselves as LGBTI, but support the equality of LGBTI people.
Androgyny
Combination of masculine and feminine characteristics in the same person, going beyond the binary model (see Binarism). Nowadays, it is a form of gender expression that defends the potential for gender dynamism or fluidity.
Asexual
A person who is not sexually attracted to anyone.
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Binarism (binary model)
Model that establishes two single genders, the male and the female, attributing them to two single possible sexes: the female sex is connected with the gender woman, and the male sex with the gender man. This system excludes people with different gender expressions or identities, and people with non-normative bodies according to the model (such as intersex people).
Biological sex
Until the seventh week of gestation there is no difference between the sexes. In the majority of cases, the vagina and uterus or the penis and testicles begin to develop. Some people, however, develop characteristics of both biological sexes.
Biphobia
Discrimination and censorship towards bisexuality and the practice thereof, asserting the need to be either homosexual or heterosexual (monosexual), considering bisexuality as an undecided and intermediate state.
Bisexuality
Sexual orientation in which a person feels attracted to two sexes, men and women
Body Positivity
Movement for people to feel proud of their bodies, escaping the complexes promoted by the patriarchy, racism or the fashion industry and the aesthetics.
Bullying
See Harassment.
Butch
Derogatory term for a lesbian. Some lesbians have reappropriated the term and use it as part of their identity (see also Dyke).
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Cisgender
Person whose birth sex corresponds exactly with their gender identity.
Closet - being in the closet
Expression that describes lesbians, gays and bisexuals who do not openly state their sexual orientation. It can be total or partial, depending on the environments in which the person is open or not about their sexual orientation.
Coeducation
Educational method based on teaching equality from difference, enabling freedom of expression without using gender stereotypes and supporting students with non-normative gender behaviour.
Come out of the closet
A step taken by people with a non-normative sexual orientation to openly declare their orientation (see closet).
Cyber bullying
Bullying or harassment through online platforms in cyberspace. It includes digital attacks such as defamation, control, hacking profiles, stealing passwords or revenge pornography, among others.
Cyprianophobia
Hatred of or aversion to people who work as prostitutes.
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Depathologisation of transgenderism
Transgenderism is a medical category that has been classified as a mental health disorder, known as “gender dysphoria”. Groups who defend the rights of trans people do not believe it is a mental health disorder and are currently fighting for it to be depathologised.
Direct discrimination due to sex
Unfavourable situation a person is put in on the grounds of their sex.
Double discrimination
Discrimination that occurs through two areas of inequality at the same time, for example, on the grounds of gender and disability.
Double shift
Expression criticising the time that many women are forced to spend not just on domestic tasks and caring for individuals and family members but also on paid work in the formal or informal market.
Drag
A man dressed as a woman or a woman dressed as a man, normally for entertainment purposes. Drag queen refers to the former and drag king to the latter.
DSM
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
Dyke
Derogatory term for a lesbian. It has been reclaimed by some lesbians, who have reappropriated it as part of their identity. See also Butch
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Effeminate
Shows a character, appearance or behaviour generally associated with women.
Equal opportunities
Concept according to which everyone has to be have the same opportunities in accessing jobs, social services, housing, health care etc., regardless of their sex, gender, national and/or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, etc.
Equality
Concept according to which everyone has to be treated equally and receive the same political, economic, social and civil rights, regardless of their sex, gender, national and/or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, ideology, etc.
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Faggot
Derogatory term used to refer to a gay or bisexual man. It comes from “bundle of twigs”. It is thought to be related to a medieval tradition of throwing “sodomites” into the fire while convicted criminals were being burnt at the stake.
False ally
Man that calls himself a feminist but does not behave like one.
Family
Nucleus of people united by blood or by ties of affection. In western society, the number of families with parental figures of the same sex is increasing, as well as children that identify themselves as LGBTI at primary school age, breaking the heteronormative nuclear family model. That should be reflected in school content and materials.
Fatphobia
Systematic and structural oppression towards fat people as a result of the mythologising of the thin bodies ubiquitous in today's society (TV ads, fashion sizes, size of cinema or metro seats, etc.).
Forced marriage
A marriage that lacks the valid consent of at least one of its parties, through the intervention of third parties from the family environment (often the parents), who give themselves the power to make decisions and put pressure on the parties to bring about their marriage, thereby violating the requirements for the institution of marriage which, according to our legislation, cannot exist without consent or be entered into under conditions, terms or fads. Consent is considered to be null and void where it is not given freely and voluntarily. Such marriages are often for the purposes of carrying out other types of exploitation.
Forced prostitution
Term used for referring to the legally well-known term “human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation” (see “human trafficking for explotation”).
Functional diversity
Alternative, less negative term for disability.
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Gay
Man that feels emotionally or physically attracted to other men.
Gender
Sociocultural construct of social, cultural, political, psychological, legal and economic features that society assigns to people in isolation, as characteristic of what it is to be a man or a woman.
Gender dysphoria
The feeling of belonging to a different gender to the one a person was born with. Thanks to the fight led by LGBTI associations, the World Health Organisation has stopped classifying gender dysphoria as an illness. It is considered "gender incongruity" and can be found in guidebooks, meaning that whomever wishes to receive medical treatment may do so.
Gender expression
Form and way of expressing oneself, tastes and behaviour thatis expected from a particular gender and which is imposed. There is male gender expression, female gender expression and, for androgynous people gender expression is a mixture, which may vary, of the two.
Gender fluid
Transgender identity in which a person does not identify with one single sexual identity, but varies between male, female or also other genders.
Gender identity
What we feel: man, woman or something else.
Gender mainstreaming
To integrate the gender perspective into all political and social spheres, paying attention to the different realities of women and men and designing measures for adapting or responding to such differences.
Gender queer
An alternative term to refer to a person that does not conform to the binary model of presumed gender in force in society (see androgyny).
Gender reassignment (surgery)
Medical operation to change a person’s physical sex, including their genitals. Also known as “gender confirmation”.
Gender stereotype
Gender stereotypes condition us from childhood to fit behavioural patterns associated with the gender people perceive us to be.
Gender studies
Training in sciences and humanities that tackles thematic content from a gender perspective, paying attention to the impact of the gender hierarchies and social and cultural constructs on which they are based.
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Harassment
Undesired behaviour relating to the sex or gender of a person that is aimed at or has the effect of attacking that person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment around them.
Hate crime
Crime motivated by prejudice towards people considered to be different. In most European countries, homophobia and transphobia, which expresses hatred towards LGBTI people, may be classed as this type of crime.
Hetero
Straight. A colloquial term to refer to heterosexual people (see heterosexual).
Heteronormal
Social, political and economic system that imposes heterosexual sexual practices through various medical, artistic, educational, religious, legal and other mechanisms, and through various institutions that present heterosexuality as necessary for the proper running of society and as the only valid model of sex-affective and parental relationships.
Heterosexism
Presumption that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexuality is the norm and to be desired. Institutionalised heterosexism makes LGBTI people feel invisible or isolated.
Heterosexual
Someone who feels emotionally or physically attracted to members of the opposite sex.
Homophobia
Irrational fear, hatred, intolerance, prejudice or discrimination against LGBTI people.
Homosexual
Someone who feels emotionally or physically attracted to members of the same sex.
Human rights
Commonly agreed criteria in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Respect must be recognised for everyone, for example, justice, freedom of expression and movement, equal treatment, life, physical and moral integrity, dignity, privacy, etc.
Human-trafficking for explotation
This is a crime against human rights and is defined as capturing, transporting, transferring, accommodating or receiving individuals (without the need for crossing borders) by resorting to threats, the use of force or other forms of coercion for the purposes of exploitation through forced work or services, servitude, organ extraction, to carry out criminal acts, through slavery or similar practices, or forced prostitution.
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Inclusive language
Is a language that avoids bias towards a specific sex or social gender. Non-sexist language aims to avoid a use of language that tends to make invisible or hide away the presence or actions of women. For example, by avoiding certain expressions or words that may be seen as excluding women (e.g. policeman) and attempting to use neutral words (e.g. police officer).
Intersectional inequality
Inequality that arises from the interaction of various areas of inequality and oppression such as age, class, sex, sexual diversity, religious beliefs or national and/or ethnic origin.
Intersectionality
Analytical and political perspective that an understanding and response to how gender crosses over with other areas of inequality and how these crossovers contribute to unique experiences of oppression and privilege.
Intersex
Person born with male and female genitals. Their chromosomes do not conform to the binary model of XY or XX. They are also commonly known as “hermaphrodites”. The birth sex of many children born intersex is defined by surgery. This often leads to gender dysphoria later in life (see gender dysphoria).
Invisible barriers
Barriers suffered by people with disabilities, especially women and children
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Lesbian
Woman who feels emotionally or physically attracted to other women.
Lesbophobia
Fear, hatred, intolerance, prejudice or discrimination against lesbians. As with homophobia, we can talk about internalised lesbophobia and institutional lesbophobia (see homophobia).
LGBTI
Abbreviation of lesbian (L), gay (G), bisexual (B), transgender (T) and intersex (I).
Liquid love
Phenomenon linked to capitalist cultural values (individualism and consumerism) that have made relationships more fleeting, ethereal and less solid. Liquid love becomes a consumer good.
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Medical or pathological model or concept
Model that considers sexual orientation or dysphoria between sex and gender as a medical, pathological issue.
Multiple discrimination
Discrimination that arises from the interaction of various areas of inequality such as age, class, sex, sexual diversity, religious beliefs or national and/or ethnic origin.
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Outing (someone)
Disclosing an LGBTI person's sexual orientation or gender identity against their will. (See Closet - being in the closet)
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Pansexual or omnisexual
Person who feels attracted to people regardless of their gender.
Patriarchy
Form of social, political and economic organisation in which women are confined to the private sphere and reproductive functions, whilst men dominate the public sphere.
Phallocentrism
Attitude based on the consideration that the male penis is at the centre of sexual relations.
Prejudice
Preconceived belief, opinion or judgement about a group of people.
Prevention of sexism
Awareness raising measures to reduce the occurrence of sexism and ensure that it is not normalised, avoiding its most extreme consequences (see sexism).
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Queer
Social current that avoids static binary identities, understanding that people move between genders. It also believes that race, social class, place of birth and gender give rise to social hierarchies.
Questioning
The process of exploring one's sexual orientation.
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Rainbow
Symbol of LGBTI pride. The most commonly used expression is a flag, which is often known as the "gay freedom flag" or the "gay pride flag".
Romantic love
Social phenomenon or cultural construct based on shared beliefs about the supposed true nature of love with a partner. It is often irrational and impossible to achieve and can lead to relationships of dependency, inequality and tolerance of the abusive behaviour at the root of gender violence.
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Secondary victimisation or revictimisation
The additional maltreatment committed against women in situations of gender violence as a direct or indirect result of the quantitative and qualitative lack of interventions carried out by the bodies in charge and also for the erroneous initiatives performed by other players involved.
Serophobia
Stigma surrounding issues relating to HIV and AIDS, particularly people who are HIV positive.
Sex
Set of physical, biological and anatomical features of individuals born male or female.
Sex work
Activity that includes a financial transaction for maintaining sexual relations. Sex work is a voluntary activity that can be carried out by men and women alike and by trans persons.
Sexism
System that defines people according to their sex, ranking them and cultivating behavioural rules that correspond to these two single possible identities. This structure subordinates women and excludes people with bodies, identities, expressions and desires that are outside of gender norms.
Sexpreading
Disseminate photos containing sexual images of other people without their consent. It is a violent and criminal offence.
Sexting
Sexual practice that consists in sending, with consent, photos or videos containing sexual content about yourself or someone else.
Sextortion
Form of sexual extortion in which someone is blackmailed or threatened to send a photo of themself containing sexual content.
Sexual and reproductive rights
The right of all people to live free of discrimination, risk, threats, coercion and violence in terms of sexuality and reproduction.
Sexual harassment
Consists of any unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature that is aimed at or has the effect of undermining a woman's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, offensive or disturbing environment around her.
Sexual identity
Sex or gender with which a person identifies (male, female, man or woman). It is not the same as sexual orientation: someone assigned the sex male at birth may feel like a woman and have relationships with men or women.
Sexual orientation or sexuality
Emotional, romantic or sexual attraction towards people of the same sex or the opposite sex. To a large extent, out tastes are guided by our upbringing, which generally points us towards heterosexuality.
Social model or concept
Model that considers sexual orientation or gender dysphoria as part of the diversity of the human race and not as a disorder.
Stereotype
Fixed notion or image of a person or group based on an oversimplification of some behaviour or traits observed in those people. Stereotypes are generally negative. Children are normally expected to conform to gender stereotypes in their behaviour.
Straight
Heterosexual. A colloquial term to refer to heterosexual people.
Straight-acting
Literally, people who want to appear heterosexual. It refers to LGBTI people who do not exhibit the appearance seen as typical for LGBTI people.
Symbolic violence
Violence exercised through a set of thought, cultural and social structures of a given group in a given time. Symbolic violence against women oppresses them and makes them invisible.
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Trans
A less restrictive and more neutral term than transgender that aims to offer a broader, depathologised scope than the word transgender, and includes other non-polarised identities between men and women.
Transgenderism
Medical category that has been used to classify gender identity diversity as a mental health disorder. There are various gender identities that do not require hormonal intervention or surgery and that feel excluded from the term transgender.
Transphobia
Irrational hatred, fear, intolerance or prejudice against trans people. It can manifest itself in the form of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse against trans people.
Transvestite
Person who dresses in clothes associated with the opposite sex to the one they were assigned at birth. It can take place in public or in private, occasionally or all the time. It has nothing to do with sexual orientation.