Welcome to Bristol Pride’s Easy English Guide. This guide is here to help you understand the information on our website.
Let us know if you feel there is anything missing by emailing info@bristolpride.co.uk
It means any person who sees themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, pansexual, asexual, non-binary, intersex, polyamory, queer, and or with a minority gender identity and or sexual/romantic orientation, and or any other person who is questioning their gender identity and or sexual/romantic orientation.
A Lesbian woman is a woman who is attracted to other women. Sometimes lesbian women are also called “gay women”.
The word Gay means someone who is attracted to people who are the same sex as themselves, so it means a man who is attracted to men or a woman who is attracted to women.
A Bisexual person is someone who is attracted to two or more genders. It is inclusive of trans identities
Transgender means someone who feels that the gender they were told they are at birth and when growing up (male or female), doesn’t match how they feel. For example, it could be a man who feels as though he was supposed to be born a woman or a woman who feels that she is supposed to be born a man.
Pansexual refers to someone who is attracted to all and any person, and no matter how they see or describe themselves, gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual, transgender, intersex, or any of the other definitions on this page.
This describes a person who only really feels sexually attracted to people when they get to know them and/or feel love for them. For demisexuals, sexual attraction is about how they feel about someone, not just for the way they look
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.