LGBT

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons

LGBT is an initialism that means lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. It refers to the community of people who are not heterosexual, which means to be attracted to the other gender, or cisgender, which means to identify as the gender you were born as.[2][3] It has been taken up by many sexuality and gender identity-related community centers.

The Stonewall Inn in New York City, where the June 1969 Stonewall riots started the modern LGBT rights movement. The building shows flags that display the colors of the rainbow, a symbol of LGBT pride.[1]

History change

Before the "sexual revolution" of the 1960s, there was no neutral word or group of words for people who were not heterosexual.

The word "homosexual" started being used in America to describe sexual orientations that were not heterosexual. However, this word began to have bad connotations, as many people thought that it sounded like a condition or mental illness, and therefore the word "homophile" was used instead.[4] After that, the word "gay" replaced the word "homophile" in the 1970s.[5]

As lesbians became more public about their sexuality in the 1970s, the group of words "gay and lesbian" was often used,[2] and a phase of lesbian feminism started. This meant that certain lesbian feminist groups separated because did not have knowledge of if they should put feminism or LGBT rights first.[6]

Lesbian feminists viewed the separation between "butch" and "femme" in mainstream gay (male) culture of the time in the same way that they viewed the separation in society over gender roles between men and women. They saw these ideas as patriarchal and did not want to join the mainstream gay rights movement because of what they saw as the chauvinism of gay men, and refused to take up their cause.[7] Many lesbians who were not lesbian feminists saw this as not giving help to the gay rights movement.[8]

This was followed by many bisexual and transgender people wanting to be seen as respected groups in the LGBT community.[2] Before gender reassignment surgery was massively improved in later years, transgender people had a hard time being accepted. Still, they fought for their rights, and were greatly boosted when plastic surgery and hormone surgery helped them to be accepted as the gender they identify with.

After the Stonewall riots, there was a change in points of view among the gay and lesbian community. Many gays and lesbians became less accepting of bisexual and transgender persons in general.[9][10] Many gays and lesbians thought that transgender people were acting out stereotypes and that bisexuals were actually gay, but in too much fear to "come out of the closet".[9] This separation still exists today, and it only became common to speak of all members of the LGBT community with equal respect in the trouble for LGBT rights in the late 1990s.[10]

Acceptance of LGBT people change

Some people who are LGBT may not "come out", as they may be a target of discrimination or prejudice, such as homophobia or transphobia.[11] Many countries have discriminatory laws against LGBT people, some even giving out the death penalty for being gay or bisexual.[12]

Different forms of the acronym change

Shortening of the term change

When not including transgender persons in general, the acronym is sometimes shortened to just "LGB".[10][13]

Other letters change

 
2007 LGBT pride parade in Buenos Aires organized by the Argentinean Federation of LGBT peoples with the LGBT acronym visible in the groups' banner (top right of image)

Many other letters are added to the acronym, so much so that it has been described as an "alphabet soup" by some.[14][15][16] A few of the other letters added are:

Not everyone is in agreement what should or should not be covered in the acronym, or which order the letters should go in.[17]

Different terms change

  • The group of words gender and sexual diversity (GSD) has been shown as a different option to LGBT by some, as it is seen as more inclusive and less limiting.[31]
  • SGL (same-gender loving) is sometimes used among gay male African Americans as a way of distinguishing themselves from what they think of as white LGBT groups of persons.[32]
  • MSM (men who have sex with men) is used to describe men who have sex with other men without having relation to their sexual orientation, often in a medical context.[33][34]
  • WSW (women who have sex with women) is the opposite of MSM. It includes all women who have sex with women.
  • AMAB (assigned male at birth) is used to describe people who were assigned the male sex at birth.
  • AFAB (assigned female at birth) is used to describe people who were assigned the female sex at birth.
  • AIAB (assigned intersex at birth) is used to describe people who were assigned intersex at birth.[33]
  • MOGAI (marginalized orientations and gender alignments or identities and intersex) is a term somebody can use instead of using the term LGBT. MOGAI treats the idea of gender modality as more important than these other words do.[35] It is an umbrella term because it is about many different kinds of people: A gay man and a trans woman, for example, are both MOGAI.

Related pages change

References change

  1. "Why New York City is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers". 17 August 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Swain, Keith W. (21 June 2007). "Gay Pride Needs New Direction". Denver Post. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  3. Shankle, Michael D. (2006). The Handbook of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Public Health: A Practitioner's Guide To Service. Haworth Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-496-8.
  4. Minton, Henry (2002). Departing from Deviance. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-53043-7. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  5. Ross, E. Wayne (2006). The Social Studies Curriculum: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6909-5.
  6. Esterberg, Kristen (September, 1994). "From Accommodation to Liberation: A Social Movement Analysis of Lesbians in the Homophile Movement." Gender and Society, 8, (3) p. 424–443.
  7. Faderman, Lillian (1991). Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America, Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-017122-8, p. 210–211.
  8. Faderman (1991), p. 217–218.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Leli, Ubaldo; Drescher, Jack (2005). Transgender Subjectivities: A Clinician's Guide. Haworth Press. ISBN 978-0-7890-2576-0.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Alexander, Jonathan; Yescavage, Karen (2004). Bisexuality and Transgenderism: InterSEXions of The Others. Haworth Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-287-2.
  11. Gay and Lesbian Issues - Discrimination Archived 2015-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, Better Health Channel (Accessed 22 December 2014)
  12. LGBT rights globally (Standard English Wikipedia)
  13. Bohan, Janis S. (1996). Psychology and Sexual Orientation: Coming to Terms. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-91514-4.
  14. Multiple. "Lgbt Alphabet Soup". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  15. Tobia, Jacob. "LGBTQIA: A Beginner's Guide to the Great Alphabet Soup Of Queer Identity". mic.com. Policy.Mic. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  16. "LGBTQQIAAP - "Alphabet Soup 101" - PugetSoundOff.org". Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Suresha, Ron (19 September 2013). "'Diversities' May Enrich 'LGBTQIAP' Alphabet Soup". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  18. The Santa Cruz County in-queery, Volume 9, Santa Cruz Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgendered Community Center, 1996. The Center. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  19. Bloodsworth-Lugo, Mary K. (2007). In-Between Bodies: Sexual Difference, Race, and Sexuality. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7221-7.
  20. Alder, Christine; Worrall, Anne (2004). Girls' Violence: Myths and Realities. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-6110-5.
  21. Cherland, Meredith Rogers; Harper, Helen J. (2007). Advocacy Research in Literacy Education: Seeking Higher Ground. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-8058-5056-7.
  22. William L. Maurice, Marjorie A. Bowman, Sexual medicine in primary care, Mosby Year Book, 1999, ISBN 978-0-8151-2797-0
  23. Aragon, Angela Pattatuchi (2006). Challenging Lesbian Norms: Intersex, Transgender, Intersectional, and Queer Perspectives. Haworth Press. ISBN 978-1-56023-645-0. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  24. Makadon, Harvey J.; Mayer, Kenneth H.; Potter, Jennifer; Goldhammer, Hilary (2008). The Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health. ACP Press. ISBN 978-1-930513-95-2.
  25. "Yogyakarta Principles in Action, Activist's Guide". Ypinaction.org. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  26. Kuykendall, Emily. "What the A in LGBTQIA+ Stands For". Buddy Project. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021. The A in LGBTQIA+ stands for asexual, aromantic, and agender[…]
  27. Estraven We are all somewhere between straight and gay . . . . Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine April 20, 2009 BiNet USA News and Opinions
  28. HIV Awareness and First LGBT March in Pune a Short Report Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, December 22, 2011
  29. What does LGBTQIAPN stand for?. Retrieved 2022-02-05. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |website= ignored (help)
  30. "LGBTQIAPD - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Demisexual | AcronymFinder". www.acronymfinder.com. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  31. Organisation proposes replacing the ‘limiting’ term LGBT with ‘more inclusive’ GSD, February 25, 2013
  32. Brown, Catrina; Wald, Kenneth D.; Wilcox, Clyde (2006). The Politics of Gay Rights. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-1-4129-0988-4.
  33. 33.0 33.1 Young, R M & Meyer, I H (2005) The Trouble with "MSM" and "WSW": Erasure of the Sexual-Minority Person in Public Health Discourse American Journal of Public Health July 2005 Vol. 95 No. 7.
  34. Glick, M Muzyka, B C Salkin, L M Lurie, D (1994) Necrotizing ulcerative periodontitis: a marker for immune deterioration and a predictor for the diagnosis of AIDS Journal of Periodontology 1994 65 p. 393–397.
  35. "7 important events in history for the LGBTQIA+ community in Nepal". OnlineKhabar English News. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-30.

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