Sexual orientation is about who you’re attracted to and want to have relationships with. The most common sexual orientations include gay, lesbian, straight, and bisexual.

Sexual orientation is different from gender and gender identity.

Sexual orientation is about who you’re attracted to and who you feel drawn to romantically, emotionally, and sexually. It’s different from gender identity. Gender identity isn’t about who you’re attracted to, but about who you ARE — male, female, genderqueer, etc.

This means that being transgender (feeling like your assigned sex is very different from the gender you identify with) isn’t the same thing as being gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Sexual  orientation is about who you want to be with. Gender identity is about who you are.

There are a bunch of identities associated with sexual orientation:

• People who’re attracted to a different gender (for example, women who are attracted to men or men who are attracted to women) often call themselves straight or heterosexual.
• People who’re attracted to people of the same gender often call themselves gay or homosexual. Gay women may prefer the term lesbian.
• People who’re attracted to both men and women often call themselves bisexual.
• People whose attractions span across many different gender identities (male, female, transgender, genderqueer, intersex, etc.) may call themselves pansexual or queer.
• People who’re unsure about their sexual orientation may call themselves questioning or curious.
• People who don't experience any sexual attraction for anyone often call themselves asexual.

The term queer can include a variety of sexual identities and gender identities that are anything  other than straight and cisgender.

In the past, “queer” was a word used to hurt and insult people. Some people still find it offensive, particularly those who remember when that word was used in a painful way. Others now use the word with pride to identify themselves.

You may not want to refer to someone as “queer” unless you know that’s how they identify themselves. When talking to someone about their sexual orientation, use the terms that they use. It’s okay (and often encouraged!) to ask what labels folks prefer.

It’s also important to note that some people don't think any of these labels describe them accurately. Some people don't like the idea of labels at all. Other people feel comfortable with certain labels and not others. It's up to you to decide how you want to label yourself, if at all.