Table 1.

Definitions and Terminology for Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and African-American Race

Concept	Example Labels/Terms
Sexual Orientation Sexual orientation is often described as a continuum from exclusively heterosexual to exclusively homosexual, rather than distinct categories (e.g., homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual). Three components of sexual orientation: 1. Emotional and physical attraction to others of a particular sex 2. Self-reported identity (which may be concordant or discordant with attraction and sexual behavior) 3. Sexual behavior with male and/or female partners (which may differ from attraction and/or identity) All three components of sexual orientation can be fluid and change over the life-course	• Lesbian • Gay • Bisexual • Same-gender-loving • Queer • Straight or heterosexual • MSM (Men who have sex with men) • WSW (Women who have sex with women) • Sexual Minorities
Gender Identity A person’s innate and inescapable perception of their own gender, which may, or may not, be consistent with the person’s anatomical sex/sex assigned at birth. Some people perceive their gender as non-binary, or having aspects of both male and female gender. • Gender Expression—How we present to others might or might not align with gender identity Gender identity and expression can be fluid and change over the life-course.	• Transgender—An element of crossing-over or challenging binary gender roles or expectations. This may include:  1. People who identify and/or express their gender as opposite of  their biologic birth sex  2. People who define themselves as a gender outside the either/or  construct of male/female • Transsexual • Cross-dresser • Genderqueer • Androgyne • Bigender • Cisgender—a self-perceived gender that is consistent with sex assigned at birth. • Gender Minorities
Definition	African-American Context
Ethnicity Affiliation with a cultural group and its practices, knowledge, history, etc.	e.g., adaption of African, European and Native-American cultural traditions, intergenerational trauma from slavery and contemporary structural racism, Black cultural products in arts and humanities
Color Skin complexion and tone	e.g., "dark skinned", "light skinned",
Nationality Personal (and/or familial) citizenship	e.g., United States citizenship, second-class citizenship
Race and Racialization Social identity developed within systems of racial oppression and marginalization	e.g., racial stereotypes about promiscuity (e.g., hypersexual), physical ability (e.g., brutes, athletes, larger sexual organs), mental ability (e.g., underdeveloped, slow, hyperemotional), pain tolerance (e.g., higher threshold of pain), etc.