LGBT

s, and related events, such as this stage at Bologna Pride 2008 in Italy, increasingly drop the LGBT initialism instead of regularly adding new letters, and dealing with issues of placement of those letters within the new title.]] LGBT (or GLBT) is an initialism used since the 1990s as a self-designation by what was formerly known as the "gay community". It refers collectively to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the community in question felt did not accurately represent all those to whom it referred.).

The initialism has become mainstream as a self-designation and has been adopted by the majority "sexuality and gender identity-based" community centers and media in the United States and some other English-speaking countries.

The initialisms are not agreeable to everyone that they literally encompass.). On the other hand, some individuals of one group may feel no relation to the individuals in other groups denoted and find such persistent comparisons offensive.

The first widely used term, homosexual, was thought to carry negative connotations and tended to be replaced by homophile in the 1950s and 1960s, and subsequently gay in the 1970s. As lesbians forged more public identities, the phrase "gay and lesbian" became more common. As equality was a priority for lesbian feminists, disparity of roles between men and women or butch and femme were viewed as patriarchal. Lesbian feminists eschewed gender role play that had been pervasive in bars, as well as the perceived chauvinism of gay men; many lesbian feminists refused to work with gay men, or take up their causes. Lesbians who held a more essentialist view that they had been born homosexual and used the descriptor "lesbian" to define sexual attraction, often considered the separatist, angry opinions of lesbian-feminists to be detrimental to the cause of gay rights. This was soon followed by bisexual and transgender people also seeking recognition as legitimate categories within the larger community. It was thought that transgender people were acting out stereotypes and bisexuals were simply gay men or lesbian women who were afraid to come out and be honest about their identity. Not until the 1990s did it become common to speak of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people with equal respect within the movement.

Variants

in Buenos Aires organized by the Argentine Federacion of LGBT people with theLGBT acronym visible in the groups' banner (top right of image)]] Many variants exist including variations that merely change the order of the letters; LGBT or GLBT are the most common terms and the ones most frequently seen in current usage. LGBT or GLBT may also include additional "Q"s for "queer" or "questioning" (sometimes abbreviated with a question mark) (e.g., "LGBTQ", "LGBTQQ", or "GLBTQ?"). Other variants may add a "U" for "unsure"; a "C" for "curious"; an "I" for intersex; another "T" for "transsexual" or "transvestite"; another "T", "TS", or "2" for "Two‐Spirit" persons; an "A" or "SA" for straight allies; or an "A" for "asexual". Some may also add a P for pansexuality or polyamorous, and an O for other. The order of the letters has not been standardized; in addition to the variations between the positions of the initial "L" or "G", the mentioned, less‐common letters, if used, may appear in almost any order. The terms pansexual, omnisexual, fluid and queer-identified are regarded as falling under the umbrella term "bisexual". Likewise, the terms transsexual and intersex are regarded by some people as falling under the umbrella term "transgender" though many transsexual and intersex people object to this (both for different reasons). "MSM" (i.e. "men who have sex with men") is clinically used to describe men who have sex with other men without referring to their sexual orientation.

A phrase introduced in the 2000s, "minority sexual and gender identities" ("MSGI"), used to include all letters and acronyms, has yet to find its way into common usage. The magazine Anything That Moves coined the acronym FABGLITTER (from Fetish such as the BDSM lifestyle community, Allies or poly-Amorous as in Polyamorous couples became more used, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Intersexed, Transgender, Transsexual Engendering Revolution or inter-Racial attraction), although this term has not made its way into common usage.

Another acronym that has begun to spread is QUILTBAG, from Queer/Questioning, Undecided, Intersex, Lesbian, Trans, Bisexual, Asexual, Gay. Again, this is not a common term.

The initial A stood for Allies came from some of the paraphilia or sexual fetishism (i.e. maiesiophile) lifestyles, whom are primarily in support for the GLBT community, and sometimes they form an alliance in sociopolitical affairs, to farther represent the umbrella term GLBTA (Gay Lesbian Bi Trans Alternative or Allies).

Criticism

, are unlikely to label themselves non-heterosexual although researchers do so for a variety of reasons.]] The terms LGBT or GLBT are not agreeable to everyone that they literally encompass. For example, some argue that transgender and transsexual causes are not the same as that of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people. This argument centers on the idea that transgender and transsexuality have to do with gender identity or a person's understanding of being male or female irrespective of their sexual orientation.

A reverse to the above situations is evident in the belief of "lesbian & gay separatism" (not to be confused with the related "lesbian separatism"), which holds that lesbians and gay men form (or should form) a community distinct and separate from other groups normally included in the LGBTQ sphere. While not always appearing of sufficient number or organization to be called a movement, separatists are a significant, vocal, and active element within many parts of the LGBT community. In some cases separatists will deny the existence or right‐to‐equality of non‐monosexual orientations and of transsexuality.

Many people have looked for a generic term to replace the numerous existing abbreviations. Words like "queer" and "rainbow" have been tried but most have not been widely adopted. "Queer" has many negative connotations to older people who remember the word as a taunt and insult and such (negative) usage of the term continues. Some do not subscribe to or approve of the political and social solidarity, and visibility and human rights campaigning that normally goes with it including gay pride marches and events. In the 1996 book Anti-Gay, a collection of essays edited by Mark Simpson, the concept of a 'one-size-fits-all' identity based on LGBT stereotypes is criticized for suppressing the individuality of LGBT people.

See also

Asexual

Attraction to disability

Bisexual community

Closeted

Coming out

Fetish culture

Gay neighborhood

Gender

Gender identity

Gynephile

LGBT marketing

LGBT rights opposition

LGBT retirement issues

List of LGBT publications

List of LGBT-related organizations

List of transgender-related topics

Queer theology

Queer theory

Sexual fetish

Transvestite or crossdressing

Notes

General references

The LibraryThing Blog. Tags again: GLBT vs. LGBT. Published online.

Safe Schools Coalition. Glossary. Published online.

Religious Institute. "Time to Seek" Definitions. Published online.

Stahl, S. Sorting the Alphabet Soup of Sexual Orientation and Identity: a Guide to LBGT Sources. Published online.

External links

GLBTQ — Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer encyclopedia

Genderguide has excellent powerpoint presentations explaining the acronym, and the differences between sex, gender and sexual orientation

GayLGBT.com

Nonprofit Research Collection on LGBT Youth Published on IssueLab

University of Wolverhampton's student LGBT society

Directory of U.S. and international LGBT Community Centers

LGBT Network (Europe)

American Psychological Association's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Office

Category:Male homosexuality Category:Lesbianism Category:Bisexuality Category:Same-sex sexuality Category:Transgender

Category:Initialisms Category:Words coined in the 1990s Category:Acronyms