same-gender loving
Culturally affirming term used by some African Americans to describe same-sex relationships.
HIV/AIDS
Acceptable in all references to refer collectively to HIV and AIDS and the conditions that can arise from them.
breeder
Avoid this often-pejorative slang that refers to heterosexuals.
gender
A social construct that refers to a person’s self-identity, unlike sex, which refers to biological characteristics. Gender is usually assigned to a person at birth by an attendant or parent who bases the decision on visible genitalia of the infant. That assignment may not match the person’s actual gender, knowledge of which may emerge later.
HIV disease
A term used by some HIV/AIDS doctors because there are other types of acquired immune deficiencies caused by toxins or by other diseases.