Glossary of terms Asexual – A person who does not experience sexual attraction to others. Bisexual – A person who experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction to their own and other genders. Cisgender – A person whose gender aligns with their sex assigned at birth. Gay – A person who experiences romantic and/ or sexual attraction to people of the same gender. More commonly used in relation to males. Gender diverse – An umbrella term used by some who identify outside of the male/female gender binary. Being transgender can be one way of being gender diverse, but not all gender diverse people identify as transgender and vice versa. Gender expression – refers to a person’s presentation of gender through physical appearance – including dress, hairstyles, accessories, cosmetics – and mannerisms, speech, behavioural patterns, names and personal references. Gender expression may or may not conform to a person’s gender identity. Gender identity – refers to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms. Heterosexual – A person who experiences romantic attraction and/or sexual attraction to people of a different gender. Homosexual – A person who experiences romantic attraction and/or sexual attraction to people of the same gender. Intersex – A person whose sex characteristics are more diverse than typical definitions for male or female bodies, including sexual anatomy, reproductive organs, hormonal patterns, and/or chromosome patterns. Lesbian – A woman who experiences romantic attraction and/or sexual attraction to other women. LGBTQIA+ – An acronym of different identities within Rainbow communities, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual. The plus denotes inclusion of other terms not listed. Non-binary – An umbrella term for gender identities which are neither male nor female. Pacific communities have their own culturally specific terms relating to sexual orientation and gender identities. These concepts are more or just as much about familial, genealogical, social, and cultural selfhood. Fa’afafine (Samoa & American Samoa), Leiti/ Fakaleiti (Tonga), Fakafifine (Niue), Akava’ine (Cook Islands), Pina (Tuvalu), Māhū (Taihiti and Hawaii), Vakasalewalewa (Fiji) and Palopa (Papua New Guinea). Pansexual – A person who experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender. Queer – A reclaimed umbrella term that encompases identities and expressions outside of heterosexual, monogamous, and normative gender expressions. Rainbow communities – An umbrella term commonly used in Aotearoa to describe those who have a diverse sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and sex characteristics. 61