Gender-Loving-Gender
Gender-Loving-Gender (GLG) is an initialism format used to describe attraction that is based on one's gender and the gender(s) one is attracted to (also known as juvelic orientations). Examples include women loving women (WLW), women loving non-binary (WLNB), and men loving men (MLM).[1] Terms that use the gender-loving-gender format are not inherently sexual, as love can refer to any type of attraction including romantic, platonic, and more. Gender-loving-gender formatted terms are not inherently exclusive either, and individuals may identify as more genders than the GLG initialism describes, or be attracted to more genders than the GLG initialism describes.[2]
Multiple terms can fall under the same GLG initialism. For example, lesbians, bisexual women, omnisexual women, and pansexual women, all fall under WLW (women-loving-women), as all of them are women attracted to women, exclusively or not.
If one is attracted to multiple genders, one may use multiple GLG initialisms to describe their orientation. For example, a man that loves women and men might define their orientation as MLW and MLM. If one has multiple genders (multigender), or is attracted to individuals that have multiple genders, they may combine genders within an initialism. For example, an agender xenic that loves non-binary individuals may define their orientation as AGXLNB.[2]
An alternate and more complex version of GLG is the GxG format.
Common Initialisms
Theoretically any gender can be used as initialisms and represented in a GLG format. Common initialisms include:
- AG, agender individuals
- GF, genderfluid individuals
- M, men
- N, neutral individuals
- NB, non-binary individuals
- W, women
- X, xenics, or sometimes used as a blank space
- XE, xenogender individuals[2]
Non-Gendered Identity-Loving-Identity
Outside the scope of gender, the GLG format is also sometimes used using general identities. Traditionally these initialisms describe individuals who love other individuals that share similar traits or identity aspects, highlighting one's attraction and solidarity with those who have similar life experiences or connections. Commonly the L is replaced with a 4, a numeronym meaning for. For example, a transgender individual that is attracted to other transgender individuals (or a transgender individual that places an importance on partnering with others who share similar experiences as transgender individuals) may define their orientation as T4T (transgender-for-transgender).[3] Other common identity-loving-identity initialisms include QLQ (queer-loving-queer), and auti4auti (autistic-for-autistic).[2]
Resources
- ↑ "Glossary of Terms". LGBTQ+ Resource Center, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, https://uwm.edu/lgbtrc/resources/glossary-of-terms/. Accessed on 2 Sep, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 mourningmogaicrew. "Understanding Gender Loving Gender acronyms". Tumblr, 25 Jun, 2021, https://www.tumblr.com/mourningmogaicrew/654883407821733888/understanding-gender-loving-gender-acronyms.
- ↑ Hall, Jake. "“T4T” Has Become a Deeply Vital Term to Trans People. Here’s Why.". The Nation, 2 Jun, 2023, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/t4t-trans-community-solidarity/.
