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LGBTQIA+

This guide is designed to help you locate research resources about the LGBTQIA+ community.

Use this guide to begin your research on finding LGBTQIA+ resources in the library. Pay close attention to the search tips and examples provided on each page. They will help make your research more successful. If you are having trouble, ask a librarian for help.

LGBQIA+ definitions

Lesbian

A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay (adj.) or as gay women. 

Gay

The adjective used to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex (e.g., gay mangay people). Sometimes lesbian (n. or adj.) is the preferred term for women. 

Bisexual, or Bi

A person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of another gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual; in fact, they need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual.

Queer

An adjective used by some people, particularly younger people, whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual (e.g. queer person, queer woman). Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbiangay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don't apply to them. Some people may use queer, or more commonly genderqueer, to describe their gender identity and/or gender expression (see non-binary and/or genderqueer below). Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBT people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBT community. When Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it typically means queer and, less often, questioning.

Intersex

An umbrella term describing people born with reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or a chromosome pattern that can't be classified as typically male or female. Those variations are also sometimes referred to as Differences of Sex Development (DSD.) 

Asexual

An adjective used to describe people who do not experience sexual attraction (e.g., asexual person). A person can also be aromantic, meaning they do not experience romantic attraction.

General Reference

Just getting started on understanding LGBTQIA+ issues? These general reference resources will help you learn the terminology and basic concepts involved.

Online Access

Paw: Indicates that a password is needed to access the resource from off campus.The username and password to access databases is the same as what you use to log in to myPittCC and Moodle. The username is your entire myPittCC email address (jdstudent000@my.pittcc.edu). 

Community logins are available to Pitt County residents with PCC library cards and others who are enrolled in or are affiliated with PCC programs and continuing education courses. Scroll down and look for the "Community Login" section.