@mjangelvortex
 
@Krickis  
Because of this, snails are actually able to impregnate themselves if they can’t find a mate. It’s not desirable, obviously, since they don’t get new genetic material, but they can do it.
 
Also, ‘Hermaphrodite’ was actually an Ancient Greek deity, originally; the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. A nymph fell in love with him, and they fused together into a being that was both male and female. I know this isn’t exactly relevant to the conversation, and it doesn’t make ‘hermaphrodite’ an acceptable word for use outside of scientific terminology, but I thought it was a fairly interesting bit of terminology.

Good job, Austria.

@mjangelvortex  

 
Ah cool, I wasn’t aware of that distinction. Thanks, that’s good to know ^^ And yeah, it’s used in scientific settings for other species, which is fine (especially in light of this distinction) but not something to call a person.

@Krickis  
Not to mention the term hermaphordite is scientifically inaccurate too. Hermaphordite animals like snails have both genitals and can actually use them. With intersex people, their genitals are not like that at all.
 
It doesn’t seem to be used as a slur when used for non-humans. But when used for humans, yeah, I have to agree that I’ve seen people use it pretty negatively.
 
@Krickis  
Pretty much. Shame GRSM never really caught on.

Congrats, Austria. Crocodile Dundee would be so proud.

@ghostking  
no problem  
we don’t bite surprisingly even though people seem to think we do  
we like informing ^^;

well thanks for the info guys. wow, i just find this all strange discovering this for the first time.

@ghostking  
i usually just say lgbt myself since it’s easier
 
or lgbt+ if i have to :p

@ghostking  
It’s completely fine to ask questions, and I’m earnestly happy to answer them, but we’re really not making things up ^^’ Genderqueer is a term for someone who doesn’t feel like their gender fits into societal norms. I don’t feel like either a man or a woman, essentially.
 
Cis is the opposite of trans in Latin, so when people realized they needed a way to say “not trans” they just used the opposite root word.
 

 
I question when you’ve ever heard hermaphrodite not being used as a slur ^^’ It’s used as an insult regularly, so people find it insulting. Same with retard. If a word is constantly and almost exclusively used as an insult, people will be insulted when called it.

@Krickis  
lol, i think im just going to stick to only LGBT. I’m actually quite conservative myself. Im told among my gay friends that im a minority when it comes to political preference among the lgbt community.

@mjangelvortex  
Yeah, I usually just say queer for that reason lol, but it can be hard to get taken seriously among more conservative people when using the word queer ^^’ I’d love it if GRSM (gender, romantic, and sexual minorities) caught on since that’s an acronym that includes everything and won’t ever need to grow, but even most queer people aren’t on board with the acronym change and trying to convince people to learn new terms can be a challenge ^^’ For better or worse, it seems LGBTQ+ is here to stay.

@Krickis  

 
@Krickis  
No offense but cisgender just sounds stupid. And now you raised another question for me. What is genderqueer? I swear you guys are making stuff up. Forgive me for me asking all about this but I dont spent much time on the internet except for browsing this site and a few others. Hell, I dont even have social media.
 
Ah, so intersex is just the pc term for hermaphrodite? How is that word insulting? It’s the correct term and not a slur? I swear kids these days are very thin skinned. It’s like I was talking to my sister the other day and she told me I can’t even say mentality retarded because it’s not pc? It’s the proper term and using it in the correct content is not pc nowadays. When did this all change?

@ghostking  
Trans isn’t a sexual preference either but the T remains in the group.

@ghostking  
Cisgender is anyone who identifies with the sex they’re born with (so someone who was born male identifying as male), which is most people. Queer describes people like me, as I’m genderqueer which doesn’t fit into any of the other labels. Intersex isn’t a sexual preference, it refers to people who have physical traits of both sexes (“hermaphrodite” is the more well known term, but pretty insulting)

@ghostking  
A person who was born as the gender they identify as. So basically, their genitals match the gender they identify as. For example, when I was born, I was marked as female. I do not have disphoria, am not trans, and don’t want to be called he or gender neutral. Therefore, I’m cisgendered (and so are a majority of other people).

@mav  
True, some intersex people do not want to be included. But those people don’t speak for all intersex people since there are others that are okay with being grouped there.
 
@Krickis  
Exactly. That’s why some people just use the word Queer. It’s an umbrella term that fits anyone that’s not straight or cis. There have been attempts for other more simple/welcoming acyronyms but they haven’t really caught on.

@ghostking  
that’s because it’s not

@mjangelvortex  
ok so what the hell is a cisgendered?

Intersex doesn’t sound like a sexual preference at all. At this point it sounds like they are making stuff up. Im bisexual myself and I never heard of these terms. I just asked a friend what the Q is for and apparently it’s queer which to me sounds extremely redundant.

@mjangelvortex  
intersex people have said many times they don’t feel they should be inherently included just for being intersex
 
and yeah you’re right i guess

@ghostking
 
@mav  
Asexual is included for being a minority sexual orientation. It’s easier to support and spread understanding of stuff like asexuality by including it in the LGBTQ umbrella, and honestly, it’s not like there are hard rules on what gets included or like including aces is harmful to anyone. And yeah, LGBT is kinda a bad acronym for focusing on listing what’s included without bothering to try and affirm why things are included).

I’d like to chime in and say that some people use the Q for Questioning as well. Basically for people who don’t know what their sexuality (or gender identity is).
 
@mav  
@ghostking  
Asexuality is included because they still face descrimination from some people. Not to the extent as some gay and trans people do, but it still happens. It, the I, and the Q are also included because these people aren’t straight and/or cisgendered. Simple as that really.

@ghostking  
yeah i agree with you completely abt ace. its an okay term but its not rlly lgbt
 
and intersex is basically any biological sex inbetween the two recognized ones. i don’t know why people bring it into lgbt when intersex people constantly say they don’t want to be included unless they’re actually lgbt

I have additional questions. Why include asexuality? It’s not even a sexual preference but rather a lack of. And what is even intersex and how does it differ from the rest? I imagine LGBT would cover the bulk of it.