LGBTQ people

LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (abbreviated "LGBTQ"). The group is generally conceived as broadly encompassing all indviduals who are part of a sexual or gender minority, including all sexualities, romantic orientations, sex characteristics, and gender identities that are not heterosexual, heteroromantic, cisgender, or endosex.

Scope and terminology

A broad array of sexual and gender minority identities are usually included in who is considered LGBTQ. The term gender, sexual, and romantic minorities is sometimes used as an alternative umbrella term for this group.^[1]^[2]

Groups that make up the larger group of LGBTQ people include:

People with a sexual orientation that is non-heterosexual, including lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and asexual people
People who are transgender or non-binary
People who are aromantic
People who are intersex
Queer people, which is sometimes used as an alternative descriptor for LGBTQ people generally, and sometimes as a specific identity

Community

LGBTQ people may participate in the LGBTQ community, which may be defined by shared LGBTQ culture, by shared geography (such as gay villages), or by participation in LGBTQ-focused organizations. The LGBTQ community includes elements such as LGBTQ social movements (including LGBTQ rights organizations), LGBTQ student groups in schools and universities, and LGBTQ-affirming religious groups. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. Not all LGBTQ people consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

Culture

LGBTQ culture varies widely by geography and the identity of the participants. Elements common to cultures of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people include:

Pride movements, including pride parades
Events such as the Gay Games and Southern Decadence
LGBTQ media and works by LGBTQ artists, including the queer art movement
LGBTQ-owned businesses, particularly those that cater specifically to the LGBTQ community

Not all LGBTQ people identify with LGBTQ culture; this may be due to geographic distance, unawareness of the subculture's existence, fear of social stigma or a preference for remaining unidentified with sexuality- or gender-based subcultures or communities. The Queercore and Gay Shame movements critique what they see as the commercialization and self-imposed "ghettoization" of LGBTQ culture.^[3]^[4]

History

The history of LGBTQ people dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and diverse gender identities and sexualities in cultures around the world. In many cultures this history has involved marginalization and persecution, such that these histories have only in recent decades been pursued and interwoven into more mainstream historical narratives.

In 1994, the annual observance of LGBT History Month began in the United States, and it has since been picked up in other countries. This observance involves highlighting the history of the people, LGBTQ rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.^[5] In the United Kingdom it has been observed during February since 2005: Section 28, which had prohibited local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality was repealed in England and Wales in 2003, while the same legislation (named Section 2a in the Scottish legislation) was repealed by the Scottish parliament in 2000.^[6]^[7] A celebrated achievement in LGBTQ history occurred when Queen Beatrix signed a law making Netherlands the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001.^[8]

Rights

The legal rights held by LGBTQ people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—ranging from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.

Laws that affect LGBTQ people include:

legal recognition of same-sex marriage
laws concerning same-sex parenting, including same-sex adoption
anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, public accommodations
hate crime laws imposing enhanced criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated violence against LGBTQ people
bathroom bills affecting access to sex-segregated facilities by transgender people
sodomy laws that penalize consensual same-sex sexual activity
laws concerning access to gender-affirming surgery and gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy
legal recognition and accommodation of the affirmed gender

Even in jurisdictions with strong protections for LGBTQ rights, they may still be subject to discrimination against LGBTQ people.

By country

Specific LGBTQ people

References

^ Choudhuri, Devika Dibya; Curley, Kate (20 September 2019), "Multiplicity of LGBTQ+ Identities, Intersections, and Complexities", Rethinking LGBTQIA Students and Collegiate Contexts, Routledge, pp. 3–16, doi:10.4324/9780429447297-1, ISBN 978-0-429-44729-7, S2CID 210355997, archived from the original on 23 March 2023, retrieved 9 June 2021
^ Lapointe, Alicia (2016), Rodriguez, Nelson M.; Martino, Wayne J.; Ingrey, Jennifer C.; Brockenbrough, Edward (eds.), "Postgay", Critical Concepts in Queer Studies and Education: An International Guide for the Twenty-First Century, Queer Studies and Education, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 205–218, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_21, ISBN 978-1-137-55425-3, archived from the original on 23 March 2023, retrieved 9 June 2021
^ du Pleissis, Michael; Chapman, Kathleen (February 1997). "Queercore: The distinct identities of subculture". College Literature. ISSN 0093-3139. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
^ "Gay Shame: A Celebration of Resistance". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2009.
^ "LGBT History Month Resources". Glsen.org. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
^ "Local Government Act 2003 (c. 26) – Statute Law Database". Statutelaw.gov.uk. 2011-05-27. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
^ Local Government Act 1988 (c. 9) (Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine), section 28. Accessed July 1, 2006 on opsi.gov.uk.
^ Homosexuality and the Law: A Dictionary. Abc-Clio. 2001. ISBN 9781576072677.

[1] Choudhuri, Devika Dibya; Curley, Kate (20 September 2019), "Multiplicity of LGBTQ+ Identities, Intersections, and Complexities", Rethinking LGBTQIA Students and Collegiate Contexts, Routledge, pp. 3–16, doi:10.4324/9780429447297-1, ISBN 978-0-429-44729-7, S2CID 210355997, archived from the original on 23 March 2023, retrieved 9 June 2021

[2] Lapointe, Alicia (2016), Rodriguez, Nelson M.; Martino, Wayne J.; Ingrey, Jennifer C.; Brockenbrough, Edward (eds.), "Postgay", Critical Concepts in Queer Studies and Education: An International Guide for the Twenty-First Century, Queer Studies and Education, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 205–218, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_21, ISBN 978-1-137-55425-3, archived from the original on 23 March 2023, retrieved 9 June 2021

[dupleissis-3] u Pleissis, Michael; Chapman, Kathleen (February 1997). "Queercore: The distinct identities of subculture". College Literature. ISSN 0093-3139. Archived from the original on October 17, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2007.

[gayshamesf.org-4] "Gay Shame: A Celebration of Resistance". Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2009.

[glsen-5] "LGBT History Month Resources". Glsen.org. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.

[6] "Local Government Act 2003 (c. 26) – Statute Law Database". Statutelaw.gov.uk. 2011-05-27. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved 2013-11-02.

[7] Local Government Act 1988 (c. 9) (Archived November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine), section 28. Accessed July 1, 2006 on opsi.gov.uk.

[8] Homosexuality and the Law: A Dictionary. Abc-Clio. 2001. ISBN 9781576072677.

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