Gender roles

The state government is actively committed to informing and sensitizing the public in order to promote respect and tolerance and to reduce existing prejudices against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, inter* and queer people in everyday life. LSBTIQ* is an abbreviation for: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, inter* and queer people:

Lesbian people

The Greek term "homo" means "equal" (as opposed to "hetero" = unequal, different). Homosexual women* love or desire women*.

Gay people

The Greek term "homo" means "equal" (in contrast to "hetero" = unequal, different). Homosexual men* love and desire men*.

Bisexual people

Bisexual people (from the Latin prefix bi- = two) feel sexually and/or emotionally attracted to men* and women*.

Transgender

The term transgender is used in different ways. Some people describe themselves as transgender if their social gender is different from the gender they were assigned at birth, but do not allow themselves to be completely physically assimilated. Others use transgender as an umbrella term, similar to or in the same way as trans*.

Transsexual people

Transsexual people feel that their biological sex is wrong and that they belong to a different sex.

Intersex people

Inter* refers to people whose innate genetic, hormonal or physical characteristics are neither exclusively "male" nor exclusively "female".

Intersexual people

Originally a medical collective term that emphasizes that there are many intermediate stages between "female" and "male" in the development of human sexual characteristics.

Queer people

Queer is an open term that includes everyone whose appearance and/or behaviour does not conform to heteronormative ideas. "Queer" can be a theory, can be lived in practice and people or movements can describe themselves as "queer".

Finding help quickly

On the website of the Ministry of Family Affairs of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, interested people and people who have experienced discrimination can find further information on topics such as

• self-help
• counselling services
• education and anti-discrimination work
• . and anti-discrimination work
• Anti-violence work
• LSBTIQ* and flight
• Rehabilitation of Section 175 of the German Criminal Code

The state-funded ANDERS & GLEICH project provides information and anti-discrimination work on sexual and gender diversity in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to a service finder, the website offers further information material.