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Karelian language - Gender and sexual identities
Homo, homoseksuallińe - gay man
Lesbo, lezbijanka* - lesbian, gay woman
Biseksuallińe, bijanka - bisexual person
Panseksuallińe - pansexual
Aseksuallińe - asexual
Transsugupuoline - trans person
Intersugupuoline - intersex person
Muunsugupuoline - nonbinary person
Cissugupuoline - cis person
Seksuallizus - sexuality
Sugupuoli-identitietta - gender identity
Sugupuoli - gender or sex
*In Republic of Karelia, the word lezbijanka has negative connotation and lesbo is more commonly used
In modern times most karelians use these loanwords based on anglosphere views on gender and sexuality.
Traditionally speaking the views on gender and sexuality have been somewhat different, and words used have been more poetic and descriptive in many ways. Gender is seen as one role among others and as such, "mother" and "man" for example are not roles that contradict each other in any way, even if it is less common than being "woman" and "mother".
Without going into too many details here are few examples:
"On ukonvembelehes aliči käynnyh." - lit. "has walked under the reinbow*" - person who has changed their sex and role (gender) in which they live. Roughly speaking a trans person.
Example sentence: "Ozutat ilokkahambale nygöi gu olet ukonvembelehes aliči käynnyh." - "you seem happier now that you've transitioned." "Olen ukonvembelehes aliči käynnyh," - "I am trans person."
(*the association of rainbow is rooted on Karelian belief system in which person who passes from under rainbow has their sex changed, and the fact that rainbow is western lgbt+ symbol is coincidence.)
"eule yksis ruutois" - lit. "isn't in one (set of) traditional clothes" - person who travels between and beyond two genders, a "nonbinary*" person.
Example sentence: "En ole yksis ruutois." - "I am nonbinary."
*"gender binary" should be used in very loose relation to karelian traditions as "man" and "woman" are not seen as opposite ends of binary (or any other) scale any more than birch and spruce are only trees in existence or opposites to each other. Traditional views of karelians are rarely if ever linear.
Kaksńeuvoni* - lit. "person with two/many of advice/guiding/ instruction/ tools". A (visibly) intersex person.
*Please note that some people find this term offensive due to its similarity to old Finnish slur for people with ambiguous genitalia.
Example sentence: "Rodivuin kaksńeuvozenna." - "I was born intersex." "Olen kaksńeuvoni briha." - "I am intersex man."
Miehii suačii mies, brihoi suačii briha - lit. man who loves men
Example sentence: "Miun velli on miehii suačii mies, vai miehii suačou." - "My little brother is gay man, he is only interested in men." "Olen miehii suvaičii mies, a dai naizii suačen." - "I love men, but I'm also interested in women."
Buzaniekka - Man who wears pearls, man who loves men.
Akkoinpaimoi, akkoinpäiväińe - lit. wives' herder, wives' sun. "Feminine" man, man who prefers working with and spending time with women
Ristivellet - lit. cross brothers. Men who have exchanged their neck-crosses or other similar tokens. Can mean deeply close friends or male couple
Naizii suačii naińe, neidizii suačii neidińe - lit. woman who loves women
Karžuniekka - woman who loves women. Has also meant unmarried woman with implication she doesn't wish to marry a man.
Lepänakka, tabakka-akka - lit. alder's wife, tobacco-wife. "Masculine" woman, woman who prefers working with and spending time with men
Rističikot - lit. cross sisters. Women who have exchanged neck-crosses or other similar tokens. Can mean deeply close friends or female couple
"Kävelöy kahtel puolel." - lit. "One who walks on both sides." - person who loves others regardless of gender, roughly bi- or pansexual.
Example sentence: "Kävelen kahtel puolel, ollou mies, naine libo ei yksis ruutois." - "I am bi-/pansexual, I don't care about gender." "Häi on kahtel puolel kävelii, kaikkie suačou." - "They are pan-/bisexual, they don't care about gender."
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