What Does LGBTQ+ Stand For? Every Letter Is Important

[Hossfly]

You spend an "exhorbinate" amount of energy queer bashing.

If you think we're bashing faggots, wait till you see what God has planned for them. It's in the "BOOK."

 

[The Duke]

Good to see an explanation. I don't care much, as my sexuality is strictly Heterosexual. But the flip side is, it is good to know
that there are people different than me, and this helps me. I printed a copy and put it in my wallet. As for myself,
I don't care what people do as long as it is no threat to me. A person that identifies as LGBTQ+ is no threat to me.
Are there LGBTQ+'rs on this site?

Q: As a heterosexual Male, am I a threat to you?

What does LGBTQ+ mean?​

Below, we go into what each letter of LGBTQ+ means, but we'll give you a quick rundown. LGBTQ+ is an acronym that is a way to reference the entire community in an inclusive way without having to name every identity that exists within the queer population.

LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and more). Now, let's get into the specifics.

L: Lesbian​

As National Geographic reported, the term “lesbianism” or “lesbian” is the oldest label out of the LGBTQ+ acronym. This is because of the Greek poet, Sappho, aFAGGOTnd her “sapphic” poetry. She was from the island of Lesbos, so that’s where “lesbianism” gets its name; women-loving women were just falling into the sapphic tradition, which originated on the Isle of Lesbos. Get it?


The word “lesbian” has obviously evolved in its usage. Still, the modern use of the term started in the 1890s and continued to be the go-to label for queer women who dated other women (even if they were bisexual since that label wasn't used in its modern way yet. More on that later). Now, “lesbian” is the label women or non-men use if they are attracted to other women and non-men. Lesbianism does not exclude transgender women or non-binary individuals, even if a louder minority claims it does.

G: Gay​

The term “homosexual” came right before the modern use of the term “lesbian.” Austro-Hungarian journalist Karoly Maria Kertbeny coined the term in 1869 along with “heterosexual.” “Gay” (as in sexuality, not as in “happy”) came around later, and for decades, it was used as a slur. Unfortunately, that’s still the case in some instances today—Hilary Duff would like to squash that practice, as we thank her for her work—but by the 1960s, queer people started to reclaim the word.

Of course, gay did and still does refer to men who are attracted to other men. By the 1970s, gay was used as a sort of umbrella term for all members of the community, especially during the Gay Rights movement. And because of this, “gay” was also used to describe the community.

B: Bisexual​

Kertbeny, who coined “homosexual” and “heterosexual” also introduced the label “bisexual” into the greater conversation. However, in 1859, the term “bisexuality” was thought to refer to a person with both male and female physical characteristics (which is what we would now call intersex—more on that later).

Once we got to modern-day usages of “lesbian” and “gay,” a lot of people just used those terms while also acknowledging that they liked more than one gender. But bisexuality, as we know it today, took off during the Gay Rights movement, with bi groups popping up by the 1980s. And as the 1990 Bisexual Manifesto—which appeared in bisexual lit and art magazine Anything That Moves—stated, bisexuality wasn’t binary and was fluid. So since its origin, bisexuality has never been about “two” genders and hasn’t been trans-exclusionary (which is, unfortunately, a common misconception).

T: Transgender​

In the beginning, there have been a lot of terms and names for transgender individuals that are outdated or offensive today. The label “transgender” wasn’t really used until 1965, according to National Geographic. Activists like Virginia Prince championed the use of “transgender” since sexuality and gender are two separate things. Transgender people's gender identity is different than the one they were assigned at birth. They can take medicine or have surgeries that help them transition, physically, to their correct gender. But transgender people don't have to physically transition either. Some also use the term non-binary, but not all non-binary people identify as trans.

By the ‘90s, transgender people within the gay community wanted to be seen and respected (especially since the acronym LGB was being used, excluding other queer people). So, by the late ‘90s, the T was added to LGBT and "transgender" was more widely accepted by the 2000s. However, there is still a lot of misunderstanding and hate toward transgender people today.

Q: Queer​

Maybe you’ve been reading this piece and have been thinking about the use of the term “queer.” It’s a slur, right? Well, yes, if spoken by non-queer people in a derogatory manner (don’t let Hilary Duff catch you saying this one either!).

But the word has been reclaimed by the community and, as a label, is growing in popularity. Some people in the LGBTQ+ community use it in conjunction with their other labels and identities, and others use only the label “queer.” The "Q" was added to the acronym as the community grew to be more inclusive of all, and since queer is such a big umbrella term, it covers a lot of identities.

Q: Questioning​

Even though our common gay acronym is LGBTQ+, with just one “Q,” there’s another label that the letter stands for as well. A lot of people recognize that the Q also stands for "questioning," which stands for people who aren’t sure where they fit in within the gay community or don’t have a name for how they identify yet.

Pride Month—and respect within the queer community—isn’t contingent on how you identify, who you’ve slept with (or not slept with) or if you’re out. It’s all about personal discovery and defining who you are for yourself, so people who aren't sure what label they want to use are, of course, still a part of the community.

+: Plus​

To make things read easier and flow better—along with the fact that it is the common, most well-known acronym for the gay population—we at Parade just use LGBTQ+. This is the same with a lot of other organizations and sites. And that “+” is really important because it leaves the term open-ended to include as many identities as exist in the community. This includes people who are non-binary, gender non-conforming, genderqueer and so much more.

For example, there is one acronym, LGBTQQIP2SAA, which includes intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual and ally. That isn’t an acronym that most people know nor can decipher easily (and includes allies which is highly contested and usually not accepted as part of the LGBTQ+ acronym and definitely not a part of the gay community). A more common acronym is LGBTQIA+, which includes two identities we’ll talk about next. Again, the plus in LGBTQ+ has a big job and makes it one of the most inclusive acronyms for the queer population.

I: Intersex​

Intersex isn’t as common a label as the others, but it’s still a label that people have used for a while. As the Gay Center defines it, intersex describes someone who has one or more “innate sex characteristics,” whether that be with reproductive organs, genitals or chromosomes. This would make them “outside of traditional concepts” of the physical gender binary that we know today. This is different than transgender because intersex people are assigned a gender at birth despite not fitting quite into that criteria, physically, and doctors and parents make this decision even if it’s not accurate to what the child actually is.

The “I” was added in the 2010s, and is still used in the longer version of LGBTQ+, which is LGBTQIA+.

A: Asexual​

Asexual people are those that experience no sexual attraction to any gender. This can be shortened to “ace” and is different (but similar) to aromantic, which is a label for people who don’t have emotional or romantic attractions but might not experience asexuality. The term started popping up more in the 2010s, and as GLAAD noted, asexual was added to the larger LGBTQIA+ acronym by 2015.

MSN

FAGGOTRY

 

[Hossfly]

WTF is a "+"?
Did you read the article I linked in Post #1.

The "+" has been discussed many times in this thread as well. Try to keep up.

Please, don't barge into my thread asking questions like this until you read the article in its entirety and you have a firm grasp of the subject at hand. I am not here to guide you on your learning journey. If you can't, I ask you refrain from comment.

My post #65 answered your OP. For your enrichment, here it is again. Don't you forget it.

 

[iku]

My post #65 answered your OP. For your enrichment, here it is again. Don't you forget it.

View attachment 799738

In the context of this thread, LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and more).
Don't you forget it

 

[The Duke]

In the context of this thread, LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and more).
Don't you forget it

Hotay, faggot!

 

[Hossfly]

In the context of this thread, LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (and more).
Don't you forget it

Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Go straight to hell, boy.

 

[White 6]

Thread Locked as no longer worth the effort to police the thread and reports.