Sexual orientation and gender identity are separate and distinct concepts.
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is a person’s attraction (a person may be attracted to someone of the opposite sex, the same sex, or both, to be unsure or questioning who they are attracted to or to not feel any sexual attraction).
Sexual orientation cannot be assumed from a person’s assigned sex at birth, gender identity or gender expression.
- Heterosexual or straight – Someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people of another gender than their own.
- Gay – someone who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to people of their own gender. Some women prefer to call themselves gay rather than lesbian, although the word gay is more often used about men.
- Lesbian – a woman who is sexually and/or romantically attracted to women. Lesbian can and is used by those who don’t identify as women such as non-binary people.
- Bisexual – a person who is attracted to both men and women not necessarily in equal proportions and not necessarily at the same time.
- Asexual – a person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others.
- Questioning – the process of exploring your sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Sexuality is diverse and personal to everyone. People’s understanding or experience of their sexuality may change or evolve, and their orientation and sexual identity with it.
Gender identity
Gender refers to socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such as, norms and the roles and relations of and between groups of women and men.
Gender identity is a person’s innate sense of their own gender whether male, female or something else, which may or may not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth.
- Transgender – An umbrella term for people whose gender identity is not the same as or does not sit comfortably with the sex they were assigned at birth.
- Non-binary – An umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with ‘man’ or ‘woman’. People may identify with some aspects of binary identities, while others reject them entirely.
LGBTQIA+ support and services
There are a number of organisations providing information and support to LGBTQIA+ people and their families in Northern Ireland including:
- BTRC (Belfast trans resource centre) – social drop-in space for trans, non-binary & gender diverse people open Wednesdays 12-6PM & Saturdays 2-6PM.
- Cara-Friend – support and training for the LGBTQIA+ young people.
- HERe NI – HERe NI is a community organisation and registered charity based in Belfast. We are here to support lesbian and bisexual women and our families and improve the lives of L & B women across Northern Ireland. We do this in lots of different ways: through providing information; peer support; facilitating training; lobbying government and agencies on your behalf, offering a community space for meeting and much more.
- HSC regional LGBTQIA+ staff forum – LGBTQIA+ support for staff within HSC.
- Mermaids NI – supporting families of transgender, non-binary and gender diverse people.
- Positive Life – for people living with and affected by HIV.
- The Rainbow Project -promotes health & wellbeing for LGBTQIA+ people offering free support services such as counselling, hate-crime advocacy, “Cancer Champions” and sexual health (including rapid HIV & syphilis testing) with centres in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.
- Stonewall Northern Ireland – At Stonewall, we stand for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace (LGBTQ+) people everywhere. We imagine a world where all LGBTQ+ people are free to be themselves and we can live our lives to the full.
- Trans Pride NI – Trans Pride NI benefit the public by changing attitudes towards all Trans people.
Click here for a full list of other useful resources.