Everything You Need to Know About the History of the LGBTQ+ Acronym
Folks in the LGBTQ+ community have many different ways of identifying. Some might prefer the umbrella term “queer,” which can be used to include any non-cisgender, non-heterosexual identity, or LGBTQ+ initialisms. Others might identify as gay, bisexual, bigender, pansexual, or transgender, among other terms. Each identity within the LGBTQ+ acronym carries significant meaning and there’s a long history surrounding the abbreviation that dates back decades. To be inclusive of all identities that construct and define the LGBTQ+ community, it’s crucial to know and understand the meaning behind each letter.
“LGBT” stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. This has evolved from the term “gay,” which, according to PBS, became a common word in the mid-20th century to describe same-sex relationships. The outlet reports that the word “gay” actually dates back to the 13th century when it was known to mean “happy” or “joyous.” But in the 1940s and ‘50s, “gay” emerged as a code word used within the community to describe sexuality and express same-sex desire. By the 1960s, the word was embraced by the community as a mark of pride and was at the forefront of the gay rights movement. According to Ms. Magazine, the term GLB surfaced around this time to also include lesbian and bisexual people, who felt that “gay” wasn’t inclusive of other identities.
By the end of the 1990s, activist organizations started using LGBT or GLBT, including the “T” for transgender folks. However, according to Salon, the addition of the T was debated because some believed the GLB community should be restricted to sexual identity, and not inclusive of gender identity. However, the T remains, as it should, since trans activists have long been at the forefront of the community’s fight for rights and acceptance. Trans women of color like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were activists central to the Stonewall riots, which have been called the genesis of the LGBTQ community we know now. The American Civil Liberties Union reports that even today, in 2023, trans people continue to face discrimination in schools, healthcare, housing, and employment. Trans representation remains crucial.
The letter Q means “queer,” and in some cases, “questioning.” According to NPR, the use of the term “queer” has been controversial within the LGBTQ community. It was once considered a derogatory term to insult LGBTQ people, but according to the Columbia Journalism Review, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some members of the community started to reclaim the word “queer.” Newsweek reported in 1991 that a gay activist group had repurposed the term as a positive self-description, and proudly named themselves “Queer Nation.” GLAAD points out that, today, this term is more commonly used among younger people, for those who find “gay,” “lesbian,” or “bisexual” too restrictive in defining their sexual identity. In 2016, GLAAD officially recommended adding Q to the acronym, per NBC News. But again, listen to members of the LGBTQ community, know how they identify themselves, and what their pronouns are. While “queer” can be an accepted umbrella term for some, others still dislike the word due to its history.
The additions to the initialism LGBTQ are I (which stands for intersex folks) and A (asexual). According to The New York Times, the symbol “+” represents all non-cisgender and non-straight identities that are not included in the acronym, or “everything on the gender and sexuality spectrum that letters and words can’t yet describe.”
There are many other terms you should be familiar with, as well. Keep reading for a glossary of phrases commonly used both in and outside the LGBTQ+ community:
Agender: Someone who identifies without gender or a specified gender.
Asexual: A person is asexual when they “do not experience sexual attraction or an intrinsic desire to have sexual relationships.”
Aromantic: Someone who does not typically experience romantic attraction.
Bigender: Someone who identifies as two, or more, genders.
Bisexual: Someone who is attracted to more than one gender.
Cisgender: Identifying with the gender you were assigned at birth.
Coming Out: The process those in the LGBTQ+ community go through to accept and openly share their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Demisexual: Someone who can only feel sexual attraction after developing an emotional connection.
Gay: An adjective used to describe “people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex.”
Gender: This “refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed.”
Genderfluid: A person “whose gender identity and/or expression varies over time,” according to the It Gets Better Project.
Genderqueer: Someone whose gender identity falls outside the male or female binary.
Gender Identity: Gender identity is different than gender as it is “one's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither,” according to the Human Rights Campaign. It is “how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. One's gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.”
Graysexual: Someone who only occasionally experiences sexual attraction, and identifies within the space between sexual and asexual.
Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
LGBTQ: An acronym that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, with the “Q” often meaning either “queer” or “questioning.”
Intersex: This is “an umbrella term” describing people born with reproductive or sexual anatomy and/or a chromosome pattern that can't be classified as typically male or female.”
Non-Binary: Someone whose gender is not male nor female or, is a blend of both.
Pangender: Someone who identifies with multiple genders.
Pansexual: Someone who is attracted to all people, regardless of sex or gender.
Polysexual: Someone who is attracted to multiple genders, but not all.
Sex: A label assigned by your doctor at birth based on your genitals.
Sexual Orientation: One's attraction to men, women, or non-binary people.
Transgender: Someone who identifies differently than how they were assigned at birth.
Queer: This is “an adjective used by some people, particularly younger people, whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual.”
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