1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

The use of labels in the offline LGBT community?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by TheStormInside, Jul 10, 2014.

Thread Tools

Thread Tools

  1. TheStormInside

    TheStormInside
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2014
    Messages:
    1,308
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    New England, US
    Since I'm still pretty much closeted I don't have any experience with the LGBT community in the "real world." I was wondering, do people tend to use the kinds of labels I see here on the internet in real life? What I refer to specifically is things that seem a little more obscure or specific than just gay, bi, or straight. Labels like biromantic lesbian, demisexual homosexual, homoromantic bisexual, and so on. If you adopted such a label would most people in the LGBT community know what you meant, or would they just look at you like you grew a second head?
     
    #1 TheStormInside, Jul 10, 2014
  2. stocking

    stocking Guest

    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2013
    Messages:
    7,542
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    I have not seen anyone use them but I have met a bisexual man that told me he likes guys for relationships and girls just for sex. He goes by the label bisexual
    I don't think anyone uses them they just go by the general ones
     
    #2 stocking, Jul 10, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2014
  3. Peacemaker

    Peacemaker
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2014
    Messages:
    1,201
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, Georgia
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    yup same here except mine was a bi girl
     
    #3 Peacemaker, Jul 10, 2014
  4. Nychthemeron

    Nychthemeron
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Messages:
    3,084
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Tennessee, USA
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    My friend went by panromantic for a while, but otherwise, no.
     
    #4 Nychthemeron, Jul 10, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2014
  5. Acm

    Acm Guest

    One of my friends used to say she was a panromantic asexual but now she just goes by lesbian so I'm not sure if that counts
     
    #5 Acm, Jul 10, 2014
  6. TheStormInside

    TheStormInside
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2014
    Messages:
    1,308
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    New England, US
    Hm, interesting. Why do people use these kinds of labels on sites like this, then? Is it just that there are so many of us trying to figure out where we fit that inevitably we'll end up with narrower and more specific labels as we go through this self examination process? And what do people who identify as something more complicated (like say heteroromantic homosexual as an example) do when they need to transition that label out into the real world?
     
    #6 TheStormInside, Jul 10, 2014
  7. hoodie boy

    hoodie boy
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2014
    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Orlando
    I've never though about this before. Like you, I'm only out to a few individuals, and I have no idea how labels are used (if at all) in the "real world". I imagine that our online usage of complex, personal labels is, like you suggested, part of the self-discovery process.
     
    #7 hoodie boy, Jul 10, 2014
  8. Acm

    Acm Guest

    Maybe it's because on websites like this, people are more likely to know what it means, or at least be more open to learning about more complex labels, whereas in real life a lot of people would just consider it weird. Or maybe when they're surrounded by other LGBT people they feel the need to be more specific about their orientation?
     
    #8 Acm, Jul 10, 2014
  9. the gypsy

    the gypsy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2014
    Messages:
    125
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    The Heart Unlimited
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Not everyone likes the endless, pointless semantics and 'alphabet soup'. I'm one of them.

    Trying to condense the complexities of human beings into neat categories is an exercise in futility and not one that I care to engage in. Even the term 'LGBT' and its multitude addenda bugs me-- We're all non-hetero in some sense or another, a more general umbrella term makes life a lot easier than having an ever-growing acronym.

    So no, not everywhere you go or everyone you meet will care about all the labels.
     
    #9 the gypsy, Jul 10, 2014
  10. OGS

    OGS
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2014
    Messages:
    2,716
    Likes Received:
    728
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    In my experience it pretty much boils down to gay, bi, straight irl. I've been out for over 20 years and very active in the community and most of the kind of terms you are referring to I learned here.
     
    #10 OGS, Jul 10, 2014
  11. YuriBunny

    YuriBunny
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2014
    Messages:
    44
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    I'm an introvert; I live in my head.
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    In real life I only ever hear straight, gay, bi, and pan.
     
    #11 YuriBunny, Jul 10, 2014
  12. BradThePug

    BradThePug
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jun 20, 2011
    Messages:
    6,573
    Likes Received:
    288
    Location:
    Ohio
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I've seen a ton of the less common labels used in the LGBT communities that I am a part of. It really depends on where you are though.
     
    #12 BradThePug, Jul 10, 2014
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)