East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service
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Agnosticism is not a religion but a belief related to the existence or nonexistence of god. A "weak agnostic" is unsure whether god exists whereas a "strong agnostic" believes it is impossible to know whether god exists.

It is the earliest form of religious belief and can be practiced by anyone who believes in spirituality but does not follow any specific organised religion.

• the absence of belief in the existence of a god or gods; or
• the belief that there are no gods, the denial of the existence of a god or gods.

In this glossary 'coming out' is also used to describe the process through which Transgender people come to recognize and publicly acknowledge their gender identity. As the coming out process is never over for LGBT people, this is an on-going, sometimes daily decision and can cause the person significant stress.

This term can be applied to the population of Brighton and Hove (or any town, city, county or country).

It can also be applied to a specific community which people identify themselves with such as the Black & minority ethnic community.

It is about respecting one another, valuing diversity and celebrating differences of age, religion, faith, ability, culture and other differences.

Cohesive communities are where all members feel a sense of place and belonging.

It is unlawful to discriminate against a person because they experience disability.

Organisations must also make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure that the person can access services and employment.

These include, Black & Minority ethnic people, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans people, Women, Older people, Younger people, Physically and Sensory Disabled people.

All statutory organisations / authorities have to undertake detailed assessments of all their policies, functions and work to identify good or bad practice around the Black & minority ethnic issues.

Ethnicity is, therefore, a word which represents groups with a shared history, sense of identity, geography and cultural roots.

Ethnocentrism is common among all cultures and sometimes involves the belief that one's own race or ethnic group is more important than or superior to those of other groups.

Sometimes ethnocentrism is unwitting or unintended and often involves ethnic stereotypes.

Refer to a person whose primary sexual attraction is to people of the same sex.

The term is more commonly applied to men who self-identify as same sex attracted, rather than men who have sex with men but do not self-identify as gay.

While many women identify as gay, the term lesbian is commonly used to describe same sex attracted women.

It is best to avoid using this word to cover all LGB people as it can render lesbians and bisexual people excluded.

Use: Lesbian, gay or bisexual, or the acronym LGB

www.gendertrust.org.uk - External Link

In this glossary, the term is primarily used to describe people whose gender identity does not match their biological sex at birth.

However, it is important to note that not everyone identifies exclusively with one sex or the other.

Some may well identify as both male and female, while others may identify as male in one setting and female in another.

This belief justifies domination and the imposition of values and beliefs.

It originates from a medical definition when same-sex attraction/relationships were construed as mental illness.

Use: gay, lesbian, gay man/woman, bisexual, bisexual man/woman or the acronym LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual).

Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. They seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for themselves. They take responsibility for their actions and work with others for the common good.

However, internalized homophobia can and does cause many negative effects for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

It can affect the way people see themselves and the way others treat them.

Internalised homophobia often leads to denial of one's true sexuality in situations that are threatening or require the individual to 'come out'.

This term often refers to women who are same sex attracted rather than women who have sex with other women but do not self-identify as lesbian.

This includes issues such as invitations to a company event for an employee and their husband or wife, which explicitly excludes same sex relationships or family membership to a fitness club that only mentions opposite sex partnerships.

This exclusion is not necessarily deliberate but means that institutions have not considered same sex partners as an option.

Use: sexual orientation

The term can be used to describe all people who don't identify to the common ideas of gender roles, including transsexuals.

www.gendertrust.org.uk - External Link

www.gendertrust.org.uk - External Link

It is the irrational fear and/or hatred of other countries/cultures and the people from those countries/cultures.