an umbrella term for same-gender loving men or man-aligned people, such as gay men and bisexual+ men; an alternative to terms such as men who have sex with men, and used to describe the topics, activities and ideas around it: for example, achillean relations, achillean people, achillean literature.

It arose in the mid-2010s as a masculine equivalent to the term sapphic. It is named after Achilles, a Greek mythological figure who has been interpreted as having a close romantic or sexual relationship with his close wartime comrade, Patroclus.

a young, or recently out, gay person.

a young or recently out Queer person.

simply put, consent is the act of giving permission, voluntarily, to the proposals or desires of another human being. A primary example of consent is the permission given between two or more individuals to engage in physically intimate behaviour with each other. Without consent, such acts are rape.

Both legally, and morally, consent can be subject to outside influences and legislation; for example, although a person under a certain age may give their permission, the law may determine that they are too young to consent (as they have not yet reached the age of consent). It is important to note, too, that permission given after coercion (that is by force or threat, or through manipulation or emotional blackmail), is not consent.

In Queer contexts, consent has an important role in Queer history and modern-day rights issues facing the Queer community.

Particularly in regards to sexuality, the age of consent has been a pressing LGBTQIA+ rights issue, as many countries and states have differing ages of consent for heterosexual and homosexual acts.

Various acts related to “conversion therapy“, particularly those performed on people under the age of eighteen who may be homosexual, bisexual+, asexual or transgender, have also come into the spotlight as a human rights issue, particularly as individuals may be there against their will or due to coercion (that is, without consent).

Consent is a particularly prevalent rights issue regarding intersex individuals, as often infants with an intersex variation may have been victim to “corrective surgery” – where no consent from the individual themselves could possibly have been given for surgery that is cosmetic or unnecessarily, rather than medically required.

Consent laws, particularly surrounding age, have become issues regarding to transgender youth, as seeking medical therapies to navigate their transgender identity may be subject to the permission of their parents, leading to discussions about what ages are appropriate for certain medical, non-surgical therapies (e.g. hormone therapy).

Informed consent is also an important factor to consent: that is, for consent to be given, one must be fully informed of the circumstances, consequences and conditions of the activity in which consent is given. This is particularly pertinent when it comes to accessing medical treatments.

an individual who is primarily, or solely, attracted to people of the same gender; e.g. gay men and gay women (lesbians) – homosexuals. It is also used – such as in the case of the gay community – to describe LGBT+ people as a collective.

Related: lesbian, gay man

a male-identified person who is also a homosexual: that is, a male-identified person who is attracted solely, or primarily, to other male-identified people.

an abbreviation of homosexual, referring to people who have sex with people of the same gender – as a result, bisexuals may also be referred to as a “homo“.

The term is problematic due to the term having been used in a pejorative sense against the gay community; however, the term has been reclaimed to some extent and is in use in common Queer parlance.

an alternate term to homosexual or gay that rose to prominence in the early start of the gay rights movement – used as preferred term as homosexual was deemed as too clinical, with connotations of being a psychiatric disorder.

However, it fell out of favour by the early 1970s, when gay, lesbian and bisexual became preferred terminology.

It is seldom used now in the English-speaking word (particularly due to the “phile” having connotations related to words such as paedophile), but in some other languages it continues to be the dominant term.

The range of negative attitudes, intolerance and resentment of homosexuals, homosexuality and therefore, by extension, anyone associated or perceived as being homosexual (and, as such, may include biphobia and transphobia).

Discrimination against gay and Queer people is deep-rooted in society; in much of the world, such attitudes tend to stem from religious teachings, which has led to the criminalisation of homosexuality and homosexual acts, and continues in the form of discrimination.

Someone who possesses homophobia would be described as homophobic.

an individual who possesses homophobia; an adjective that describes attitudes and behaviours that are hostile towards homosexual people, or, by association, the entire gay/Queer community.

An individual who is exclusively, or predominantly, romantically attracted to people of the same sex or gender.

People who are homoromantic may not be homosexual; for example, a bisexual/homoromantic person may be sexually attracted to more than one gender, but only romantically attracted to members of the same gender.

The term is particularly useful to describe asexual people who may be asexual/homoromantic.

More commonly known as gay or lesbian, a homosexual is somebody who is attracted to exclusively, or predominantly, towards people of the same gender or sex.

Many people choose not to use the term homosexual, due to its negative connotations in the past (such as homosexuality being seen as a medical/psychological disorder), and its usage as a negative term.

Related: homophile

the romantic and/or sexual attraction and behaviour between people of the same gender; things related to homosexuals and/or homosexual acts (and therefore, by extension, bisexual+, homoromantic/biromantic individuals).

gay slang for gay and bisexual males that are hypersexual and into the kinkier and seedier side of gay life.

an umbrella term for individuals who attracted in some way to people of the same gender. Including, but not limited to, gay and lesbian people, bisexual+ people, and those on the asexual spectrum who are romantically attracted to people of the same gender, e.g. homoromantic, biromantic.

An alternative to same-sex attracted.

initialism of same-gender loving, used as an umbrella term for individuals/communities that are homosexual, bisexual+, homo/biromantic, etc; essentially, those who are Queer in sexuality, and may or may not include asexual people.

an archaic term for gay men, although it has, in recent years, faced a resurgence as a gender-specific word for homosexuality, comparable to lesbian.

It was first used by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs in his collected booklets, Forschungen über das Räthsel der mannmännlichen Liebe (The Riddle of Man–Manly Love) – 1864-1865.

However, the term also gained traction in paederastic (that is, relating to relationships between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys) poetry from the 1870s to the 1930, which became known as Uranian poetry, although this was, by no means, the intention of the author (although he did recognise the existence of paederastic men). As such, the term may has certain connotations which are problematic in general use, and as such, the term Vincian may be preferred.

The term emerges in reference to Aphrodite Urania, the Greek Goddess born of Uranus, with the connotation of gay men being ‘men with female psyches’. As such, it was applied also to effeminate men and transfeminine people attracted to men.

a term, named after Leonardo da Vinci, to describe gay men. Although sometimes used as an alternate for Achillean, the intention is to describe gay men specifically, as an equivalent to lesbian, whereas Achillean, like Sapphic, is meant to include bisexual+ individuals.