Meaning of LGBTQIAP and other related words

LGBTQIAP is an acronym used to include those who fall out of the traditional gender or sexuality norm. Gender, as the world is discovering, is a social construct. Rather than two polar opposites- male and female, it's a spectrum and people can fall anywhere in the spectrum. However, for the rest of this article, we will use gender as the identity a person identifies with. With that understanding, here are the full forms and definitions of the acronym along with some other words worth knowing, and how to use them without offending or hurting sentiments.

Lesbian
The L refers to women who are physically and/or romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to other women.
Gay
Gay people are those who are physically and/or romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to those of the same gender. It's used for both women and men. Some women prefer the word lesbian and some refer to themselves as gay, though they both mean the same thing.

Bisexual
People who are physically and/or romantically, and/or emotionally attracted to both men and women are called bisexual. It's often abbreviated to 'bi'.

Transgender
Trans means 'on the other side of' and transgender means someone identified as a different gender than that of the body they were born in. Some use surgery and hormones to transition to the gender they're comfortable with though some don't need to do that. If you ever meet a transgender you should always respect the gender the person identifies with and not ask awkward questions about their body.

Queer
This is a kind of umbrella term used for people who find the definition of the other terms too limiting to describe who they are. It was once a polite way to insinuate in conversation about someone else that they didn't live up to gender or sexuality norms accepted at the time and was considered insulting, However, it's been reclaimed by the community, though some still use it as an insult and some still find it offensive so one should be careful while using it.

Intersex
An intersex is one who does not have distinct biological sex. It could be because of their reproductive organs, their chromosome patterns or other reasons. They have been called hermaphrodites in the past but that might be offensive to some as their culture might consider it an insult.

Asexual
An asexual is one who doesn't feel sexual desire towards anyone. It varies from person to person as each person's sexuality is unique but one should note that asexuals can have romantic attraction or emotional attraction, can have a sex drive or sexual desire, and aren't necessarily celibates. They just have no sexual desire.

Pansexual
A pansexual is one who is physically and/or emotionally, and/or romantically attracted to all people, no matter their sex or gender identity. This is different from bisexual as bi's are attracted to both men and women while pansexuals can be attracted to people who are intersex or non binary or anywhere on the gender spectrum.

Cisgender
Cisgender is the opposite of transgender. It refers to people whose gender identity matches that of their biological sex.

Non-binary
The binary here refers to the two genders- male and female. However, some people identify as neither of the two and they are referred to as nonbinary. Gender isn't either/or but a spectrum and some fall in between rather than gravitating strongly towards one of the sides. Non-binaries usually don't like to be referred to as he/she and prefer the pronouns they and them, but it's always better to ask first before assuming.

Gender nonconforming
Someone who is gender-nonconforming essentially doesn't believe the traditional norms associated with gender or their gender and often don't live by them. This may be because they are transitioning from one gender to another, because they are intersex, because they are nonbinary or simply because gender norms don't suit them.

Several of these words might not have existed or been in common use a century ago and some had different meanings then, both in the dictionary and in society. Our language grows with our understanding and gender studies rather than gendered expectations are a recent development in human history. Hopefully, the definitions here will help expand ones knowledge about the beautiful diversity of humans.