Sexual orientation and gender identity

Celebrating Capital Pride Week in the National Capital Region!

During Capital Pride in August, and year round, Team CHEO is sharing information, resources and upcoming events to help foster belonging and inclusion for our 2SLGBTQ+ communities. We encourage you to take this time to advance your understanding of the issues faced by, and stand alongside, 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

Here’s a few ideas to get you started: Team CHEO will be attending the Capital Pride Parade on Sunday, August 28 — staff, medical staff and their family and friends are welcome to join us. Visit CHEOnet for more information and to RSVP.

Staff and medical staff are encouraged to add their preferred pronouns in email signatures and/or zoom names. Patients and families are encouraged to let their care team know their preferred name and pronouns.

Coming to CHEO? Feel free to wear your CHEO pride t-shirt, or pride flag stickers, pins and more!

Visit the Capital Pride website to learn about events taking place over Capital Pride week, including a Family Drag Storytime, Family Pride Zone and more.

Read through QueerEvent’s timeline of Pride milestones in Canada

Find featured resources from Rainbow Health Ontario

Check out Family Services Ottawa’s Around the Rainbow website for services and suggested resources

Resources

Below you will find a variety of resources to help you better understand your own sexual orientation and gender identity, and/or to help you support someone along their own journey.

Websites

Pamphlets

Sexual orienation and supporting children and youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, two-spirit, queer & questioning

You are free to copy and redistribute these materials in any medium or format. This work may not be used for commercial purposes. View the full Creative Commons license.

Apps

Refugee Restroom

From Harlan Kellaway
Free
Available from iTunes and Google Play

Always There

Videos

The talk": Sexual health & sexual identity by Dr. Stephen Feder (5 parts) - CHEO connects

Local contacts

PFLAG Ottawa
888-530-6777
operations@pflagcanada.ca
Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youth Line Ontario
No question is too silly, no problem too serious. We may not have all the answers, but we're here to listen and we'll do our best to help you find the resources you need. We are sex positive and non-judgemental. We're here to help youth who are 26 and under who live anywhere in Ontario.
800-268-9688
Text Messaging: 647-694-4275
askus@youthline.ca
Family Services Ottawa
312 Parkdale Avenue
Ottawa, ON K1Y 4X5
613-725-3601
fsfo@familyservicesottawa.org

Definitions

The following definitions are from PFLAG's glossary. For more in-depth lists of more sexuality and gender identity definitions, visit the PFLAG website.

Sexual orientation

Emotional, romantic, or sexual feelings toward other people. While sexual behavior involves the choices one makes in acting on one’s sexual orientation, sexual orientation is part of the human condition, one’s sexual activity does not define one’s sexual orientation; typically, it is the attraction that helps determine orientation.

Gender identity

One’s deeply held core sense of being a woman, man, some of both, or neither. One’s gender identity does not always correspond to biological sex. Awareness of gender identity is usually experienced as early as 18 months old.

Cisgender

Refers to an individual whose gender identity aligns with the one typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth.

Transgender

Often shortened to trans. A term describing a person’s gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth. Transgender people may or may not decide to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically to match their gender identity. This word is also used as an umbrella term to describe groups of people who transcend conventional expectations of gender identity or expression—such groups include, but are not limited to, people who identify as transsexual, genderqueer, gender variant, gender diverse, and androgynous. See above for common acronyms and terms including female to male (or FTM), male to female (or MTF), assigned male at birth (or AMAB), assigned female at birth (or AFAB), genderqueer, and gender expansive.

Non-binary

Refers to individuals who identify as neither man or woman, both man and woman, or a combination of man or woman. It is an identity term which some use exclusively, while others may use it interchangeably with terms like genderqueer, gender creative, gender nonconforming, gender diverse, or gender expansive. Individuals who identify as nonbinary may understand the identity as falling under the transgender umbrella, and may thus identify as transgender. Sometimes abbreviated as NB or Enby.

Two-spirit

A term used within some American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) communities to refer to a person who identifies as having both a male and a female essence or spirit. The term, created in 1990 by a group of AI/AN activists at an annual Native LGBTQ conference, encompasses sexual, cultural, gender, and spiritual identities, and provides unifying, positive, and encouraging language that emphasizes reconnecting to tribal traditions. Non-indigenous people should not use this term. (With thanks to Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board [NPAIHB].)

Disclaimer

These resources are for educational purposes only. If you have any questions, ask your health-care provider.