This article was published on February 2nd, 2022

As knowledge of sexuality, gender, and identities that live beyond the heteronormative continue to evolve and develop, it is necessary to fortify the approaches towards education on queer terminology to become more inclusive as a society

Most people are familiar with terms they hear nearly every day such as bisexual, homosexual, or transgender, but the LGBTQ+ community goes far beyond these words which begs the question: how familiar are people with queer terminology?

In a quiz involving more than 1,000 Americans, Bespoke Surgical asked people from various demographics and age groups to test their LGBTQ+ knowledge. After the findings were released, it is safe to say that there is still work to do. Key findings from the quiz include the following statistics:

• On a scale of 1 to 5, Americans scored a 2.89 when asked how informed they feel about LGBTQ+ language
• Americans were most familiar with the terms: biphobia, gender dysphoria, bottom, and asexual
• Americans were least familiar with the terms: ze/hir/hirs pronouns, queerplatonic, passing, and gender-affirming surgery
• Categorized by generation, millennials and Gen Z are the most knowledgeable about LGBTQ+ vocabulary versus older generations

Without question, there are marked disparities between demographic groups when it comes down to queer terminology, and the first step to eradicate this ignorance is through education. Bespoke Surgical works on the principles of inclusivity to provide a safe space for education and empowerment. After the results were released, the Bespoke Surgical team devised a full glossary of LGBTQ+ terms that can be used for people to self-test their existing knowledge. 

“While these findings shed light on how far we’ve come in our openness and discussion of the LGBTQ+ community, I think it is safe to say there is still work to be done,” said Dr. Evan Goldstein, the head of Bespoke Surgical. “While we have seen successes in recent years, there continues to be a lack of education across the nation in this sector of the population. My goal, as a member of this community and expert in the field of gay men’s sexual health, is to continue to shed light on the need for education and access to the same level of social, economic, and medical treatment and services of the straight community.”

Testing Your Terminology

What is your current level of understanding of queer terminology? Take the test and let HomoCulture know how you scored in the comments section below.