Respect for everyone: A glance at glossary for LGBTQIA+

CHENNAI: The days of identifying a person as only a man or woman and derogatorily referring to those not belonging to either are gone officially. Also, no person is under any compulsion to follow the conventional man-woman binary either.

Being a non-binary person does not give others the liberty to summarily categorise them as transgender persons either. A person born a male and wearing a saree need not necessarily be a transgender woman or vice versa. Anyone who has difficulty comprehending this should take a glance at the glossary of terms to address the LGBTQIA+ community members that was released by the State government.

On August 20, heeding to demands of the community and prodded by the HC, the State released a prescriptive glossary of terms for the LGBTQIA+.

The glossary should serve as an eye-opener to the people on sexuality and gender-related issues, as it expounds, in simple terms, the ideas that were so far cloaked in stigma.

From defining gender to describing 'deadname', the prescriptive glossary has answers to every little-known matter about the subject. For instance, deadname is the name given to a transgender person by family, using which they were identified once but not preferred by the transgender individual anymore. Going by the glossary, it is disrespectful to ask for a person's old name of deadname.

Also, descriptions like "man became a woman" or "woman became a man" must be avoided and one should stick to the name they themselves provide. There are also gender-fluid people who do not have a fixed gender. Such a person may identify with two genders, multiple genders or even all genders. The glossary also suggests the reclaimed word 'queer' as the umbrella term which refers to diverse sex characteristics, genders and sexualities that are not heterosexual, Gender non-conforming person, cisgender and intersex are some of the less common terms in public circulation déscribed in the glossary for public use.

TERMS IN ENGLISH AND TAMIL

Intersex - Oodupaal/Idaipaal

Transgender person - Maruviya Paalinam/ maariya Paalinam (so far called Thirunar)

Transwoman - Thirunangai

Transman - Thirunambi

Gender identity - Paalina adayalam

Gender expression - Paalina velipaadu

Sexuality - Paaliyalbu

Sexual orientation - Paaleerpu

Homosexuality - Than paalina eerpu

Bisexual - /rupaal eerpu

Queer - Paal puthumaiyar

Deadname - Pirappu Vali Peyar

Asexual/Aromatic - Alpaaleerpu

Sex characteristics - Pal panbu/ paalina panbugal

Gender non-binary person- Paalina irunilaikku apparpattavar

Gender dysphoria - Paalina mana ulaichal

Gender incongruence - Paalina Muranpaadu

Gender affirmation procedure- Paalina urudipaadu nadaimuraigal

Gender affirmative surgery- Paalina Urudipaadu aruvai sigichai

Gender fluid person - Nilayatra paalina adayalam

Cisgender - Migai Paalinam

Hetrosexuality - Ethirpaaleerpu/Ethir paalina eerpu

Pansexuality - Anaithu paal eerpu

Asexual - Alpaaleerpu

Romantic orientation - kaathalunarthal