Easy English Guide

Non-binary means not one OR the other. Binary in terms of gender often means either man or woman. To be non-binary means to be neither of these.

Intersex means someone whose was born with a body that is both male and female; for example, they may have breasts and a penis and a vagina

Polyamory means having romantic and/or sexual relationships with more than one person. Each person involved is aware of the person’s other partners.

Queer is a word that can be used as an identity like gay or bisexual. Someone can identify as queer and another identity. Queer used to be a word that was used by people not within the LGBT+ community to insult the LGBT+ community. Now it is used positively by people within the LGBT+ community.

A straight person is someone who is attracted to people who are the opposite sex, so it means a man who is attracted to women or a woman who is attracted to men. The word for this is heterosexual.

The word homosexual means someone who is attracted to people of their own sex; lesbians and gay men are homosexual.

No, and most LGBT+ people have “straight” parents, so this means that it is not something people get from their parents, like hair colour.

No, nobody can decide who they become attracted to and nobody can tell their heart how to feel or who to fall in love with.

No, in Great Britain the Law protects the right of all people to love who they want, but they must be over 16.

Yes – LGBT+ people can get married or have a Civil Marriage or a Civil Partnership, which is like getting married in a Registry Office. LGBT+ people can also have a marriage or a blessing in some churches, temples and other places of worship.

Yes, there are two kinds of relationships:
Common Law, which means that the couple are living together but are not married or in a civil partnership.
Legal Partnerships, which means that the Law says a couple are married or civil partners.

Until recently Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual people were treated as though we were bad or mentally ill. 1600 years ago it became illegal to be LGBT+ because it was believed to be against the will of God and a kind of mental illness. Nowadays this is not true anymore and most people understand that all human beings are unique and different. People come in different ages, sexes, sizes, shapes and colours. Some people have physical disabilities. Some people have learning difficulties. Some people believe in God and worship in one or another religion. Some people do not believe in God. Some people are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and or Transgender. Some people are Heterosexual. None of these things make a person bad or mentally ill.

We don’t really know why. People can be horrible to each other for all sorts of reasons, call each other names and even get nasty. If someone does this to you, try not to get angry with them or get into an argument or, worst, into a fight. Instead just keep yourself safe! Walk away and when you can, talk to someone you trust, like a parent, teacher, or support worker and explain what happened.