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In partnership with the Merced County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, our team created a short ZINE that serves as an intro guide into the complexities of gender, sexuality, identity and queerness. This ZINE is meant to provide accessible information for youth and adult allies looking to create safer spaces!
What’s all this about? Our goal is to share some info that might come in handy to better understand and support queer youth! So, what are we talking about? Identity, Gender, Sexuality
What does LGBTQ+ stand for? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning (*umbrella term) Other identities including: Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Non-Binary
Gender & Sexuality Gender Identity [arrow toward the mind] Attraction [arrow toward heart] Sex [arrow toward biological sex] Gender Expression [arrow around whole self]
Gender Identity: When someone knows themselves to be based on how much they align (or don’t align) with what they understand to be the options for gender. Gender Expression: How you present or express your gender through your actions, clothing, demeanor, and more! Biological Sex Assigned At Birth: Physical traits you are born with or develop that we think of as “sex characteristics” [*this is also NOT a binary!] Attraction: How you feel drawn or not to some people in a sexual, romantic, or other ways! There are different forms of attraction! Romantic: How your feelings feel or not attracted to someone. Sexual: How you feel sexually attracted or not to someone!
Important Things To Remember: None of the parts of a person’s identity have to match! You can be romantically attracted to someone but not sexually. Or express gender differently than your identity. We are all unique and valid.
