Sexual identity
Sexual identity is a person's understanding and naming of their own sexuality, shaped by personal experience and social context.
Sexual orientation: A pattern of romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction to people of particular genders, or to no gender. Orientation can inform sexual identity, but it does not determine which label someone adopts.
Coming out: The process of disclosing a sexual or gender identity to other people. Disclosure makes identity social, but does not create or validate the identity itself.
Sexual identity development: The process through which people interpret, name, and integrate their sexuality into their sense of self. It describes how personal understanding and labels may form or change.
Internalized homophobia: The internal acceptance of negative societal attitudes about same-sex attraction or LGBTQ identities. It can shape feelings about identity without making the identity itself pathological.
Sexual attraction: A form of desire directed toward another person, which may or may not lead to sexual behavior. Experiences of attraction can shape how a person understands their sexuality.
Sexual identity label: A word or phrase a person uses to describe their sexuality, such as gay, bisexual, or queer. Choosing, changing, or declining a label is a central way identity is expressed.
Identity development model: A framework describing possible patterns in how people recognize and integrate a social identity. Models can organize common experiences without prescribing one path for sexual identity.
Conversion therapy: Practices intended to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. It rests on the false premise that sexual identity must be changed or corrected.
Sexual behavior: Actions involving sexual contact or expression, which do not by themselves establish a person's identity. Behavior and identity can differ, so one cannot be inferred reliably from the other.
LGBTQ community: A collective term for communities connected by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and related identities. Shared identity labels can connect people to community and collective history.