What Does Sexual Orientation Mean?: The term ‘sexual orientation’ refers to the gender (male or female) to which a person has a perdurable pattern of feelings, be it romantic or sexual attraction, to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes of more than one gender.
Being aware of your sexual orientation is often something that develops in adolescence that children and teens come to acknowledge with little uncertainty from a young age.
What is LGBTQIA+ and what does it stand for?: LGBTQIA+ is an umbrella acronym that stands for ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Aromantic‘. The ‘plus sign’ recognises that there are other sexual orientation identities that fall under the umbrella which are not specifically named.
What sexual orientation am I?: The word ‘queer’ is sometimes used as an alternative to acronyms, and you may also see ‘GSM’, which stands for Gender or Sexual Minorities. Despite common myths and misconceptions, there is no evidence that being gay is caused as the result of early childhood experiences, such as trauma, mental or emotional abuse, parenting styles, or the way someone is raised.