SOGI is an acronym representing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Everyone has a sexual orientation and a gender identity.
Sexual orientation describes how a person is emotionally, physically or sexually attracted to other people. Here are some definitions from the
HealthlinkBC website:
Heterosexual (straight) - describes a person who is attracted only or almost only to the "other" gender.
Homosexual (gay, lesbian, queer) - describes a person attracted only or almost only to those of the same gender.
Bisexual - describes a person attracted to both men and women, though not necessarily equally or at the same time.
Pansexual (or omnisexual) - describes a person attracted to those of any gender.
Asexual - describes someone not sexually attracted to any gender. This is different from deciding not to have sex with anyone (abstinence or celibacy).
Gender Identity is a person's internal and psychological sense of self as a girl/woman, boy/man, both, in between or neither. Some terms that people may use to define their gender identity include transgender and cisgender (gender matching one assigned at
birth).
Two spirit is another term that is used within some Indigenous communities that can refer to sexual, gender, and/or spiritual identity.
LGBTQ2 is an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Two-Spirit, Queer, and additional identities. You may see other variations of this acronym as well. See the image below for a helpful visual of the spectrum of gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation.