Finding more information
To read more about our ongoing work on sexual and gender diversity, head to the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) website.
The SGDO provides additional definitions, programming, events, and other resources to support inclusive learning and working communities at the University of Toronto.
Please reference the following definitions as you respond to the University of Toronto’s Employment Equity Survey.
Asexual: A spectrum of sexual orientations characterized by feeling little to no sexual attraction or desires for a partnered sexuality.
Bisexual: A person who has emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction towards people of the same gender and to people of other genders.
Gay: A person who has emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction towards people of the same gender.
Genderqueer: A person who does not conform to social expectations of binary gender identity and gender expression, a person who might challenge social expectations of masculine and feminine behaviour and appearance.
Heterosexual/Straight: A person who has emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction towards people of a different gender.
Lesbian: Usually a woman who has emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction towards other women.
Man (cis, trans): A person whose gender identity may correspond with social expectations associated with being a man and/or masculine. People who identify as men may be cis (gender identity ‘aligns’ with birth assigned sex) or trans (gender identity is different from birth assigned sex).
Nonbinary: Sometimes referred to as gender nonbinary, non-binary, or enby, a gender identity that emphasizes a moving beyond binary conceptions of gender, or a person who does not fit within the gender binary of man and woman.
Pansexual: A person who has emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction towards people regardless of gender identities or bodies.
Queer: A term that is often used as an umbrella term for the 2SLGBTQA+ communities; reclaimed by some whose sexual orientations and/or gender identities fall outside of cisgender and straight norms.
Questioning: When a person is exploring their sexual identity, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or is unsure with regards to their sexual identity, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Two-Spirit: A cultural and spiritual identity used by some Indigenous people. This identification can vary between Indigenous cultures and Two-Spirit people have held important cultural and spiritual roles within their communities, especially prior to colonization. Two-Spirit is a cultural term reserved for those who identify as Indigenous.
Woman (cis, trans): A person whose gender identity may correspond with social expectations associated with being a woman and/or feminine. People who identify as women may be cis (gender identity ‘aligns’ with birth assigned sex) or trans (gender identity is different from birth assigned sex).