LGBTQ+ People & Pride at BPL

Brooklyn Public Library is open to all and welcomes visitors of all gender identities/expressions and orientations. We have print and digital resources about LGBTQ+ lives, stories, and issues. Gendered and all-gender restrooms are available, and access to a restroom that matches your gender identity is a protected right in New York.  

The LGBTQ+ community is diverse and not everyone may use the same words to describe themselves; as language and society changes, so too may these terms. To find more ways that people might identify themselves, you can visit The Trevor Project, The Safe Zone Project, or GLAAD. Here is a brief, simplified list of some of the many terms you might encounter in books, media, and in conversation:  

• Asexual/Ace: Someone who experiences little to no attraction to others. 
• Bisexual: Someone who is attracted to more than one gender. 
• Biphobia: Negative attitudes about people who are bisexual that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence. 
• Cisgender: Someone whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. 
• Drag: A type of performance or look that is dramatic and fancy, generally performed by those in the LGBTQ+ community. 
• Femme: A self-identifying term for a feminine person of any gender. 
• Gay: A man who is attracted to other men, or someone who is attracted to the same gender. 
• Homophobia: Negative attitudes about gays and lesbians that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence. 
• Intersex: Someone born with chromosomes and/or anatomy that can't be classified as typically male or female. 
• LGBTQ+: Stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Two-Spirit, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, and other genders and orientations. 
• Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women. 
• Masc: A self-identifying term for a masculine person of any gender. 
• Mx.: A gender neutral title that can be used instead of Mr. or Ms., pronounced “mix.” 
• Nonbinary: A person who may have no gender or are a mix of genders. 
• Queer: An umbrella term that some people use to denote their gender or orientation, a formerly pejorative term that some have reclaimed. 
• Trans/Transgender: Someone whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth do not correspond. 
• Transphobia: Negative attitudes about transgender people that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence.