LGBT

Content warningThis article mentions reclaimed slurs. If you are not comfortable with reading about this kind of topic, we suggest you take a step back.

The LGBT rainbow flag, based on the one designed in 1978.

LGBT is short for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender." It is the most well-known collective term for the community of gender, sex and sexuality minorities. Many towns and universities have LGBT groups for local socialising, networking, and activism.

Variant and alternative acronyms

The LGBT acronym is sometimes written as LGB, intentionally not including transgender people as part of this group. This can be accurate for resources and groups are only about sexual orientation, not gender identity. LGBT is also sometimes written in a different order: GLBT.

Since the use of the term LGBT became widespread, other minorities have been accepted into the community and added to the end of LGBT acronym in various combinations. These include: Intersex, Pansexual, Asexual, Queer, Questioning, and others. This results in a variety of acronyms, such as LGBTQ, LGBTIQAP, and LGBTQQAP. Since the string of letters can get very long, some writers just imply them by writing a plus sign on the end, such as LGBT+, or LGBTQQAP+. If an A is added to any form of the LGBT acronym in any way, it's important to understand that this A stands for asexuals and/or aromantics, not allies. This is because allies are supporters of gender and sexuality minorities, rather than members of that minority. Because the ever longer acronym can become cumbersome to say, some propose rearranging the letters into QUILTBAG (queer/questioning, undecided, intersex, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, asexual, gay).

Others propose an entirely different acronym that summarizes the commonalities of LGBT+ identities, rather than listing them, such as:

• GSM (gender and sexuality minorities), or GSRM (gender, sex, and romantic minorities). Criticisms of this term: This excludes some people it shouldn't, such as intersex people, whose sex is neither a gender nor a sexuality. This term is unsatisfactory because it could include some kinds of people it shouldn't: people who aren't LGBT+, such as cisgender heterosexual people who consider themselves "sexuality minorities" because they have unusual sexual fetishes, or even harmful paraphilias such as pedophilia.

• MOGAI (marginalized orientations, gender alignments, and intersex), or MOGII (marginalized orientations, gender identities, and intersex). These terms include intersex people, while excluding people who aren't LGBT+. MOGAI is perhaps easier to say, while MOGII is more accurate, because the correct phrase is "gender identities," not "gender alignments." Of all the terms listed on this page, this one is the most inclusive of many kinds of nonbinary, gender variant, and gender nonconforming identities.

Queer

Queer is a reclaimed slur. Some people choose not to use an acronym, and instead use the word "queer" as a collective term for all these LGBT+ identities. It is used as a concise way of referring to all parts of the LGBT+ community. It's also used for all the more difficult-to-define identities that are not heterosexual and/or not cisgender.

There is no question that the q-slur was well-established in many countries a pejorative against gay men, lesbian women, and other LGBT+ people for the past hundred years (since at least 1914), and that it is still used that way in many countries. The degree to which the q-slur is an offensive word varies by region and by generation. In the early 1990s, the academic discipline of queer theory emerged. As a result, the q-slur has been reclaimed to such an extent that people in some academic settings aren't aware that the word is offensive at all. They use it in casual and polite conversation with no discomfort.

However, in other settings, whether rural or urban, the q-slur is one of the strongest slurs against LGBT people. In hate crime, the word is used along with or instead of strong slurs such as "fag" or "tranny". As with other hate speech, it is very common among LGBT+ people for the word to be a trigger for post-traumatic flashbacks of memories of violence, harassment, and abuse. As explained by non-gendered activist Christie Elan-Cane, LGBT people who are used to hearing it used as a slur don't want academics and psychologists apply it to them, and they don't like the word genderqueer.

LGBT+ people are entitled to call themselves queer, because that is how reclaiming a slur works. However, LGBT+ and non-LGBT+ people alike should take caution about using the word for other people. Because the word is so strongly linked with violence against LGBT+ people, people would be considerate to avoid using the word around survivors. Out of respect, use alternative phrases. If possible, replace the phrases "queer community" with "LGBT+ community," and "queer literature" with "LGBT+ literature," for example. Unless it is specifically one's intention to talk about "genderqueer people," instead say "nonbinary people" or "gender variant people". In some contexts, it may be suitable to refer to the word euphemistically as the "q-slur." It is important to understand that this is still a painful word to many people in many countries, and to speak with that understanding.

See also

• Romantic and sexual orientation
• Glossary of English gender and sex terminology
• Gender binary
• Queer