Louis Michael: The uninformed and the ignorant

There is an important distinction to make between the uninformed and the ignorant. Those who are uninformed have for whatever reason not come into contact with certain knowledge, or do not have access to it. In contrast those who are ignorant make the conscious choice to ignore certain knowledge. This distinction is more important today than ever in the world of gender and sexuality.

Inspired by this new age of freedom of expression, soul searching and individual identity ideas that have previously only existed in marginalised fringe communities are coming to the forefront of society and entering the mainstream. With all change comes confusion however, so it’s my hope that I can shed a little light for those who feel they’re in the dark.

Here’s a quick 101 on gender and sexuality in the 21st century: some things to help you get by in the modern world.

Cisgender: You identify with the biological sex you were born with i.e you were born a man and you identify as a man
Non-binary: You reject the idea that there are only two genders i.e you combine elements of the two genders, or completely reject all gender association
Transgender: You identify with a biological sex different to the one you were born with i.e you were born a man but you identify as a woman
Bisexual: You are attracted to both men and women
Pansexual: You are attracted to personalities rather than physicality and biological sex
Asexual: You do not feel sexual attraction for any people
Queer: The umbrella term for any people who are not heterosexual or cisgendered, i.e all of the above

I hope that was enlightening! Go out, enjoy your new words, and make the world a more inclusive place!