What's the difference between sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression?
| Updated onA person’s sexual orientation refers to how they’re romantically, emotionally, and/or sexually attracted or not attracted to others.
Their gender identity refers to how they identify internally as a man, woman, neither, both, or some other gender. This is separate from their sexual orientation.
Their gender expression refers to how they express their gender externally. This may be different than their internal gender identity. For example, a man could cross dress as a woman for performance, but still identify with the male gender.
Check out these related LGBT terms:
We've created a massive LGBTQ+ Glossary (69+ words)
The world is increasingly accepting of the LGBTQ+ community, but it isn't always easy to understand the different sub-communities and nuances. In part due to the censorship in sex education and the mainstream media (hello from Singapore), many find themselves stumped by some of the terms relating to the LGBTQ+ community.
Fret not, we're here to help! 🦄
We've created a massive glossary of 69+ LGBT-related terms, built on multiple sources and expanded upon with easy-to-understand examples so that you can get a grasp on all of these terms.
We make punny LGBTQ-themed products
Heckin’ Unicorn is a Singapore-based queer brand that’s made by queer people, for queer people. We’re here to provide you with ways to express your identity, and we have a bunch of amazingly punny products. 🦄
Our enamel pins range from the super-subtle to super in-your-face, and covers identities from ace to trans. Each of our notebooks contain an LGBTQ+ Glossary at the end, which makes them a great gift for those who want to learn more about the community (and also those who need to learn more about the community).