LGBTQ

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LGBTQ+ (or, less commonly, GLBT) is an acronym for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender".

It is used to describe all the issues related to the included communities – plus a few others thrown in for good measure, as the initialism LGBTQ+ is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures and is sometimes used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual and/or non-cisgender instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual orientations.[1][2]

Expanding the acronym...[edit]

Before there was an acronym, a variety of terms were used. In the United States, an early one was "homophile", which more or less became "homosexual", then "gay". Gay was often an umbrella term,[3]:79–81[4]:595[5]:6 though following the Stonewall riots, became less inclusive in some milieus (particularly towards bisexual and trans people who were considered less easily compatible with respectability politics). One cited example being the Gay Activists Alliance,Wikipedia which split from the more radical Gay Liberation FrontWikipedia[note 1] — partly because the latter raised bail money for the Black Panthers.[note 2][4]:595[10]:51 Lesbian women wanted to distinguish themselves in the community, so it became "gay and lesbian" or "lesbian and gay". Some in the community argued this was divisive, but it took root.[3]:79–81

The original acronym, now distinguishing and so explicitly (re)integrating bisexuals,[11] was LGB, or GLB. Following some confusion over issues of sexuality and gender (no, they're not the same) and the fact that the term "gay community" did not accurately represent those to whom it referred,[1] transgender was added to the acronym during the '80s, forming the LGBT that is in common use today.[12]

"Intersex" being a medical term used to describe those born with intermediate or atypical combinations of physical sexual characteristics fails to be properly described by "transgender" and as a result of feeling left out, "intersex" has found its way into vaguely common use, forming LGBTI, while others insist that they are not a part of the LGBT community and would rather that they not be included as part of the term.[13][14]

Alternatively, the acronym is sometimes expanded to LGBTQ, with the Q standing for either "queer" or "questioning", depending on who you ask.

QUILTBAG stands for "Queer, Unidentified, Intersex, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Asexual, and Gay".

For those hardcore individuals interested in a challenge, try to work out what LGBTTI2QQAP stands for.

To summarize:[note 3]

  • A = asexual
  • B = bisexual
  • C = curious
  • G = gay, genderqueer
  • H = HIV-positive, HIV-affected, hijra
  • I = intersex
  • L = lesbian
  • O = other
  • P = polyamorous, pansexual
  • Q = queer, questioning
  • SA = straight ally
  • T = trans, transgender, transsexual, two-spirit
  • TS = two-spirit
  • U = unsure, unidentified
  • 2 = two-spirit
  • + = other

An occasionally used alternative initialism is GSM or GSRM (Gender, Sexual, and/or Romantic Minorities), which is short yet includes every possible marginalized sexual orientation and gender identity, and the latter includes various different romantic orientations as well. Some activists object to the term, noting the use of the term "sexual minority" in some quarters to attempt to include pedophilia as just another sexuality (despite being age-based rather than gender/sex-based),[15] as the term "sexual minority" was coined in the late 1960s under the influence of Lars Ullerstam's book "The Erotic Minorities: A Swedish View", which came strongly in favor of tolerance to paedophilia and "sex criminals".[16] Despite this, the term "sexual minority" usually refers to those who are widely accepted as part of the LGBT acronym, in particular gay people.[17] Another alternative term is "sexual diversity,"Wikipedia or "gender and sexual diversity".

Some people in the communities are giving up on the acronym and using the phrase "alphabet soup" instead.[18][19] Although the phrase "alphabet soup" has been used as a pejorative by right wingers and homophobes/transphobes. Others are using LGBT+, with the plus sign representing all other sexual and gender minorities.

Another alternative to the alphabet soup is MOGAI, standing for Marginalized Orientations, Genders, Alignments, and Identities.

Good eating[edit]

Incidentally, an LGBT sandwich is a lettuce, guacamole, bacon, and tomato sandwich. And a good friend.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Which had a combined trans and crossdressers' caucus.[6]:239–240
  2. ↑ The leader of the Panthers, Huey Newton, supported gay liberation as well as women's liberation.[7][8] At the Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention,Wikipedia a gay liberation group presented a platform that included the right to a physiological sex change.[9]:6
  3. ↑ Most from LGBTWikipedia or cited elsewhere in this article

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Swain, Keith W. (21 June 2007). "Gay Pride Needs New Direction". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
  2. ↑ Shankle, Michael D. (2006). The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner's Guide To Service. Haworth Press. ISBN 1-56023-496-2. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hoffman, Amy (2007) (in en). An Army of Ex-Lovers: My Life at the Gay Community News. University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 978-1-55849-620-0. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Erickson-Schroth, Laura (2022) (in en). Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource by and for Transgender Communities. Oxford University Press. pp. 595. ISBN 978-0-19-009272-6. 
  5. ↑ Downs, Jim (2016-03-01) (in en). Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09855-2. "I wanted to tell the stories that surprised me of how gay people built churches, founded newspapers, established bookstores, and rethought the meaning of gay identity. I wanted to show how the 1970s was more than a night at the bathhouse. … There were debates in newspapers about the meaning of gay sex and its impact on gay culture, but the outbreak of HIV/AIDS extinguished those conversations. An image of gay men as hypersexual began to be promoted in order to rationalize the spread of the virus, and in the process gay men were turned into the leading protagonists in the 1970s. Lesbians, lesbian-feminists, transgender people, and queer people all participated in the making of gay liberation, but their contributions have often been overlooked due to the ways that promiscuity defined that decade. My focus here is to correct the hypersexual caricature of gay men in the 1970s…" 
  6. ↑ Baker, Roger (1995). Drag: A History of Female Impersonation in the Performing Arts. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-1254-2. 
  7. ↑ A Letter from Huey to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters about the Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements, 1970. Via the Internet Archive.
  8. ↑ BlackPast, B. (2018, April 17). (1970) Huey P. Newton, "The Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements". BlackPast.
  9. ↑ Power, Lisa (1995). No Bath But Plenty of Bubbles: An Oral History of the Gay Liberation Front, 1970-1973. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-33195-6. 
  10. ↑ Alexander, Jonathan; Yescavage, Karen (2003) (in en). Bisexuality and Transgenderism: InterSEXions of the Others. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-287-2. 
  11. ↑ Adam, Barry D. (1995) (in en). The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement. Twayne Publishers. ISBN 978-0-8057-3863-6. 
  12. ↑ Acronyms, initialisms & abbreviations dictionary, Volume 1, Part 1. Gale Research Co., 1985, ISBN 978-0-8103-0683-7. Factsheet five, Issues 32–36, Mike Gunderloy, 1989
  13. ↑ Aragon, Angela Pattatuchi (2006). Challenging Lesbian Norms: Intersex, Transgender, Intersectional, and Queer Perspectives. Haworth Press. ISBN 1-56023-645-0. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
  14. ↑ Makadon, Harvey J.; Mayer, Kenneth H.; Potter, Jennifer; Goldhammer, Hilary (2008). The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health. ACP Press. ISBN 1-930513-95-X. 
  15. ↑ Altair, Octaevius (2011). The Violators: No Human Rights for You (Canada). p. 11. ISBN 9781257378012. Retrieved 12 March 2015. "The rights of youth must be protected as well as the rights of Atheists and Sexual minorities. As a Homophile who is also a HebephileWikipedia. I engage is [sic] recreational sex exclusively with teenagers." 
  16. ↑ Lattimer, Julia. "GSM acronym better than LGBT alphabet soup". Collegiate Times. Retrieved 11 June 2015. 
  17. ↑ Sullivan, Michael K. (2003). Sexual Minorities: Discrimination, Challenges, and Development in America (illustrated ed.). Haworth Social Work Practice Press. ISBN 9780789002358. Retrieved 12 March 2015. "SUMMARY. This chapter explores the cultural, religious, and sociological underpinnings of homophobia and intolerance toward homosexuals." 
  18. ↑ "LGBTQQIAAP - "Alphabet Soup 101" - PugetSoundOff.org". Retrieved 6 October 2014. 
  19. ↑ Multiple. "Lgbt Alphabet Soup" (in American Standard English). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2014. 
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