Listen up, straight people: Here's your guide to LGBTQ+ gender terms If someone says they prefer to be called 'he,' 'she,' 'they' or whatever, respect that and just do it.

Courtney Act | Opinion contributor

Show Caption Hide Caption What does it mean to identify as LGBT? Here is a guide to understanding LGBT terms.

Have you noticed there are a lot of rainbows around lately? And so much glitter everywhere? It’s Pride Month! But don’t stop reading because you're sick of the “queers” forcing their agenda down your throat. Keep reading 'cause I am going to give you all the ins and outs in gender terminology.

It’s so much easier than you think and so important to know how we think about ourselves and others. You shouldn’t expect every gender-diverse person you meet to be an ambassador for who they are or how they identify. After all, we’re all just trying to get our Starbucks order correct and get on with our lives, right? So it’s worth taking some time to school yourself so as not to get an F in common courtesy. And listen, I’m not an expert, but I’ve got some "Courtney Facts" for you.

First thing's first: Gender and sex are two different things. Simply put, gender is about what’s between your ears and sex is about what’s between your legs — although it’s a little more complex than that.

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Sex

Your sex, usually male or female, is assigned at birth by a doctor, based on whether you have a penis or a vagina. But there are actually a few more biological facts such as internal sex organs, chromosomes and hormones that determine someone's sex.

Gender

Gender basically refers to each culture's traditional social roles for men and women. Gender comes in two parts: your gender identity, which is how you feel inside, and your gender expression, which is how you present your gender to the world. Words such as man, woman, boy, girl, trans and cis all refer to someone's gender.

So far so good? Now i am going to break down a few of the terms you might have heard but aren’t quite sure what they all mean.

Cisgender

Cisgender is a term to describe someone who is not transgender. It comes from the Latin prefix "cis" meaning “on the same side as.” If you’re cisgender, it just means your gender matches the sex you were assigned at birth. You have “male” or “female” parts, and you’re just hunky dory with how that turned out for you.

Transgender

Transgender, not "transgendered" or "transgenders," refers to how you feel inside doesn’t match how you look outside. Some trans people might take hormones, or undergo surgery to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identity, but not all trans people can or will take those steps. And being trans is not dependent on physical appearance or medical procedures. Often, trans people are reduced to their genitals — “Does she have a penis or a vagina?” When you think about it, it’s kinda rude. We are all going to make judgments and be inquisitive, I get it. But whenever I catch myself doing that, I realize that I don’t know what's going on with most people's between-me-down-there and I just say to myself, “Does it matter? And how is that my business?”

Intersex

An intersex person is born with sexual anatomy or chromosomes that don’t fit the traditional definition of male and female. We used to use the word "hermaphrodite" to describe intersex people, but we don’t anymore. Very few intersex people have a penis and a vagina, but rather a combination of sexual reproductive organs and chromosomes not traditionally male or female.

Gender fluid

Someone who is gender fluid doesn't fit neatly into the binary of man and woman. They prefer to simply be seen as a person who will choose to live and look in whatever manner that feels true to themselves. They might look traditionally like a boy, a girl, somewhere in the middle or none of the above. Their physical appearance might change, too, like me. I identify as gender fluid. Sometimes I’m a boy, sometimes I’m a girl, and sometimes I’m just me.

Remember, with all these things it’s just about respecting and learning about people. If someone says they prefer to be called “he,” “she,” “they” or whatever ... respect that and just do it.

You know how many people I know who use their middle name instead of their first, or even refuse to be called Matt instead of Matthew? You’d respect their wishes and address them how they want to be addressed, so just do the same for everyone with everything — including pronouns.

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I hope this has shed a little light on the often confusing and evolving world of gender. Understanding other people's experience can help foster a sense of empathy and understanding that might not makes sense to your own experience, but might be true for someone else. Empathy makes the world a better place. So this Pride Month, if you're not a queer person (we reclaimed the word queer now and use it as an umbrella term to describe ourselves), thanks for being an ally to the community of LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex plus) and learning a little bit more about us and, hopefully, yourself.

Courtney Act is an advocate and drag performer. Act is the winner of Celebrity Big Brother U.K. and Top 3 in RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6.

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