Queer Cafe

Smoking Hot Gen Z Celebs Who Prove The Future Is Queer

Wikipedia: LGBTQ

Everyone is Gay

Gen Z: The Queerest Generation Yet
100 Gay Things To Do Before You Die

Celebrities Who Came Out in 2021

LGBTQ Celebrities Who Came Out in 2020

Four-in-ten respondents to the Pew Research Center survey, in 2015, identify themselves as bisexual. Gay men are 36% of the sample, followed by lesbians (19%) and transgender adults (5%). While these shares are consistent with findings from other surveys of the LGBTQ population, they should be treated with caution. There are many challenges in estimating the size and composition of the LGBTQ population, starting with the question of whether to use a definition based solely on self-identification (the approach taken in this report) or whether to also include measures of sexual attraction and sexual behavior.

Other recent survey-based research reports have made estimates in the 3.5% to 5% range. However, all such estimates depend to some degree on the willingness of LGBTQ individuals to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity, and research suggests that not everyone in this population is ready or willing to do so.

Bowie's Story

LGBTQ People Have Been Around Forever, Historians Say
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Pew Research Center: LGBTQ Social and Demographic Trends

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

Advocate: How to Be More Out and Proud in Your Everyday Life

HRC: 2020 Pride Benefit Concert

Indya Moore: Daily Affirmations

What is Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

LGBTQ Community

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer people have existed in every time period in history, in every culture, in every segment of society, in every walk of life. They are represented in every race, religion, and political affiliation. Apparently, sexual orientation is not related to one’s social standing, moral perspective, cultural setting, ethnicity, or upbringing. And it does not seem to be part of a trend or a phase someone is going through.

Although members of a sexual minority, LGBTQ people are otherwise no different from anyone else. They have regular jobs. They vote and pay taxes. They shop and buy things. They attend school. They engage in recreation and leisure activities. They have families. They raise children. They attend their church, temple or mosque. They care about political and social issues. They contribute to the economy. They date. They fall in love. They care about their relationships. They are your classmates, co-workers, colleagues, neighbors, friends, relatives. They are your mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.

LGBTQ people are active in their communities. They serve in important leadership roles. They are teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers, musicians, and artists. They have made, and continue to make, great contributions in all areas of society, including literature, the arts, entertainment, athletics, religion, education, business, finance, law, science, medicine, government, politics, and the military.

LGBTQ Pride is More Than a Parade

2020 Out 100 List

Smoking Hot Gen Z Celebs Who Prove The Future Is Queer

Advocate: Lessons From Stonewall

LGBTQ Pride Started With a Riot: Remembering Stonewall

Rebekah's Story
Faces: Can You See Past the Label?

Video: How Gay is America?

Queer Majority: Articles and Issues

Demographics: How Gay is America?

LGBTQ Population in the US

Which State Is the Queerest? What States Have the Most LGBTQ People?

The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, has released a report on the adult LGBTQ population of the United States, revealing some unexpected information about the queer hubs of modern America.

Overall, 14.1 million people in the US reported that they "identify as LGBTQ" between 2020 and 2021, making up a significant portion of the population at 5.6 percent. But not everyone is living in New York or California — in fact, neither cracked the top ten of states with the most LGBTQ people, relative to population.

Going by population alone, California is the state with the most LGBTQ people (1,549,600). That makes sense, seeing as California has the largest overall population of any state. However, California's LGBTQ people make up a relatively small portion of the state's total population (just 5.1 percent).

When looking at population by proportion, several states surprised us with how large their LGBTQ demographic is. Washington DC technically has the highest percentage of LGBTQ people, with 81,400 making up 14.3 percent of the capital's population (Our list only includes actual "states").

Here are the states with the most LGBTQ people, percentage-wise....

10. Ohio - 557,600 LGBTQ residents / 6.2 percent of population
9.   Minnesota (Tie) - 267,600 LGBTQ residents / 6.3 percent of population
9.   Tennessee (Tie) - 328,900 LGBTQ residents / 6.3 percent of population
8.   Rhode Island (Tie) - 54,800 LGBTQ residents / 6.5 percent of population
8.   Maine (Tie) - 69,900 LGBTQ residents / 6.5 percent of population
8.   Massachusetts (Tie) - 356,200 LGBTQ residents / 6.5 percent of population
7.   Nevada - 150,100 LGBTQ residents / 6.6 percent of population
6.   Colorado - 294,500 LGBTQ residents / 6.8 percent of population
5.   Washington - 398,700 LGBTQ residents / 6.9 percent of population
4.   New Hampshire - 78,400 LGBTQ residents / 7.2 percent of population
3.   Vermont - 37,600 LGBTQ residents / 7.4 percent of population
2.   Delaware - 56,600 LGBTQ residents / 7.5 percent of population
1.   Oregon - 253,300 LGBTQ residents / 7.8 percent of population

[Source: Ryan Adamczeski, Advocate, Dec 2023]

HuffPost: LGBTQ Elders Share Their Thoughts About Today's Queer Youth

What is a Gayborhood?
Wikipedia: LGBTQ Culture

Video: How You See Me

Our Trans Daughter: Jamie and Rebekah
Info: History of the LGBTQ Movement

Advocate: How to Be More Out and Proud in Your Everyday Life

78-Year-Old Man and 13-Year-Old Boy Talk About Being Gay

Contributions and Affirmations

"I belong to a culture that includes Proust, Henry James, Tchaikovsky, Cole Porter, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Marlowe, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Tennessee Williams, Bryon, EM Forster, Lorca, Auden, Francis Bacon, James Baldwin, Harry Stack Sullivan, John Maynard Keynes, Dag Hammarsskjold. These are not invisible men."
-Larry Kramer

What wonderful and amazing things would be missing from our world without the contributions of the LGBTQ community?

We would not have the great literary works of Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, Herman Melville (Moby Dick), Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass), Alice Walker (Color Purple), Tennessee Williams (Streetcar Named Desire), Truman Capote, and Gertrude Stein.

There would be no modern day computers without mathematician Alan Turing. The space program would not have Sally Ride. The field of neurological research would not have Oliver Sacks. Coronoavirus research who not have had a champion in Rachel Levine.

Stars You Had No Idea Were Queer In Real Life

Video: LGBTQ Facts to Celebrate

Story Corps: LGBTQ Stories

Dame Edna Interviews KD Lang
List: Famous LGBTQ People

Dame Edna and KD Lang

There would be no America the Beautiful without Katherine Lee Bates. We would not have the great musical compositions of Stephen Sondheim, Aaron Copland, and Cole Porter. There would be no West Side Story without Leonard Bernstein. There would be no Take the A Train without Billy Strayhorn. There would be no Nutcracker Suite without Tchaikovsky. There would be no Brahms, Schubert, Stravinsky, Chopin, or Handel.

We would not have the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper without Leonardo DiVinci. We would not have Grant Wood's iconic American Gothic.

The fashion world would not have Giorgio Armani, Pierre Cardin, Christian Dior, Perry Ellis, or Yves Saint Laurent.

The world of children's literature would be without Hans Christian Andersen (Little Mermaid, Ugly Duckling, Emperor's New Clothes, Snow Queen) and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are). No Andy Warhol in the world of art. No Rudolf Nuryev, Josephine Baker, or Isadora Duncan in the world of dance.

The pop music world would not have icons like Elton John, Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Michael Stipe, Brandi Carlile, Melissa Etheridge, Boy George, Chely Wright, Ricky Martin, Barry Manilow, or KD Lang. Bands like the Green Day, B-52, Culture Club, and Indigo Girls would not exist. There would be no Mary Lambert, Harry Styles, Brendan Urie, Jason Mraz, Kim Petras, Sam Smith, Hayley Kiyoko, or Troye Sivan.

And can you imagine a world without classic songs like Goodbye Yellowbrick Road or Bohemian Rhapsody?

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Bowie's Story

Pew Research Center: LGBTQ Social and Demographic Trends

Television news media would not have Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, Suze Orman, Don Lemon, Sam Champion, Robin Roberts, or Shepard Smith.

The entertainment world would have no Rock Hudson, Ellen Degeneres, Lily Tomlin, BD Wong, Jodie Foster, David Hyde Pierce, Portia DeRossi, Richard Chamberlain, George Takei, Sean Hayes, Neil Patrick Harris, Wanda Sykes, Meredith Baxter, Kelly McGillis, Jim Parsons, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Gillian Anderson, Jim Nabors, Raven Symone, Laverne Cox, Kristen Stewart, Jane Lynch, or Kate McKinnon.

Without the film production couple of Merchant and Ivory, we would not have the Academy Award winning films, Howard's End, Room With a View, Remains of the Day, and Call Me By Your Name.

The sports world would not have Megan Rapinoe, Martina Navratilova, Greg Louganis, Billie Jean King, Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Brian Boitano, Orlando Cruz, or Caitlyn Jenner.

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LGBTQ Marketplace

Research and Data on the LGBTQ Community

LGBTQ Movie Stars

LGBTQ Television Stars

LGBTQ Community: Special and Important

The LGBTQ community holds a profound significance in our society, woven into the fabric of humanity with a richness that enriches our understanding of diversity, acceptance, and love. Their significance transcends mere demographics; it lies in their resilience, their fight for equality, and their unwavering commitment to authenticity.

First and foremost, the LGBTQ community embodies the essence of diversity. They represent a vast spectrum of identities, experiences, and expressions that challenge traditional norms and expand our understanding of human possibility. This diversity is not only a testament to the complexity of human nature but also a celebration of the multitude of ways in which individuals can live and love.

Furthermore, the LGBTQ community serves as a beacon of hope for marginalized groups everywhere. Through their tireless activism and advocacy, they have paved the way for progress in civil rights, healthcare, and social acceptance. Their courage in the face of discrimination and prejudice inspires others to stand up for justice and equality, fostering a more inclusive and compassionate society for all.

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Moreover, the LGBTQ community fosters a sense of belonging and solidarity among its members. In a world that often seeks to categorize and exclude, LGBTQ spaces provide sanctuary and support for individuals to embrace their true selves without fear of judgment or rejection. These communities offer a sense of belonging that is essential for mental health and well-being, reminding us all of the importance of acceptance and understanding.

Additionally, the LGBTQ community challenges us to rethink traditional notions of gender and sexuality, encouraging us to question societal norms and embrace the complexity of human desire and identity. By challenging the status quo, they invite us to envision a world where love knows no boundaries and where every individual is free to express themselves authentically.

And, the LGBTQ community is special and important because they embody the values of diversity, resilience, and authenticity. Their presence enriches our society in countless ways, reminding us of the beauty that lies in our differences and the strength that comes from embracing our true selves. As we continue to strive for a more just and inclusive world, let us honor and celebrate the LGBTQ community for the indelible mark they have left on our hearts and our collective consciousness.

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PBS: LGBTQ America by the Numbers

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Pride Primer

GLAAD Report: More Americans Understand LGBTQ People

More and more people are identifying as members of the LGBTQ community. Increased visibility educates non-LGBTQ people, but it also comes with a purported price, according to GLAAD's annual Accelerating Acceptance Study that came out in Nov 2021.

The report found that 43% of non-LGBTQ people think gender is not exclusively male and female, up from 38% in 2020. And 81% of non-LGBTQ people anticipate nonbinary and transgender people will become as familiar in everyday life as gay and lesbian people have. "Our community continues to grow, and we're seeing some growing acceptance of that," says Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD CEO. "We are seeing that the concept of gender, in terms of non-LGBTQ Americans, is evolving." A poll earlier this year found that 5.6% of adults in the US identify as LGBTQ – a record.

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But people are not all the way there. Among non-LGBTQ people, 45% admit they are confused by all the different terms to describe people in the LGBTQ community. Ellis says this requires education – the purpose of GLAAD's work. "We know when people meet us and connect, or even meet us through a television or now a phone screen, it builds understanding which builds acceptance," Ellis says.

GLAAD's research also found that six in 10 people said they faced discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity – an increase of 13% from last year. "That does bring up sort of the double-edged sword of visibility," Ellis says. "As our community continues to grow and become more visible, we're seeing greater acceptance in some areas, and then we are seeing these growing challenges for acceptance in others, which are then turning into discrimination and hate."

Ellis says this comes on the heels of four years of the anti-LGBTQ Trump administration and current mounting anti-trans legislation. Such hostility plays out in real life. "Anti-trans legislation are solutions to problems that don't exist," Ellis says. "There's no problems to solve that we need to be legislating against in the first place."

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Man Paints House Rainbow Colors as Revenge to Anti-Gay Neighbor

GLAAD Report: More Americans Understand LGBTQ People
LGBTQ Milestones We’re Thankful For This Year

DotGay Dictionary: Who Are Your LGBTQ Role Models?

Celebrities Who Came Out in 2021

Smoking Hot Gen Z Celebs Who Prove The Future Is Queer

And who's facing the consequences most harshly? Kids. "It's creating confusion for so many people, which creates an unaccepting environment, hands down, and puts targets squarely on the backs of most of our youth in our community, (especially) our trans youth," Ellis says.

GLAAD ran the Accelerating Acceptance study online in January 2021 and included a national sample of 2,517 US adults.

A lack of acceptance of the transgender community was on full display Dave Chappelle's transphobic Netflix special. It attempted to juxtapose the pace of civil rights gained by LGBTQ people over those fought for by the Black community. Chappelle repeatedly focused on jokes that targeted the trans community, doubling down on criticism that his sets punch down on the most vulnerable.

"What the Chappelle and Netflix response shows is that we are still up against an entertainment industry that's not equal for LGBTQ people of color, especially trans people of color," Ellis says. For GLAAD's part, "we are treating this as a moment of transformation and an opportunity to work with this community, specifically, the comedian community," she says.

Stars Who Came Out In 2023

Which US State Is The Queerest
HRC: LGBTQ Pride is More Than a Parade

Proposal to Create National LGBTQ History and Culture Museum

More Than 20 Million Americans Identify as LGBTQ
GLAAD Report: More Americans Understand LGBTQ People
LGBTQ Milestones We’re Thankful For This Year

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

Pew Research Center: Global Divide on Homosexuality

Celebrities, of course, can make a huge difference for LGBTQ young people. More than 80% of LGBTQ youth said celebrities who are LGBTQ positively impact how they feel about their queer identities, according to research from The Trevor Project. More and more celebrities have embraced their gender identities recently, too: Just look at Sam Smith, Elliot Page, Demi Lovato and Emma Corrin.

It also always helps to have affirming political leadership. During the Trump administration, GLAAD saw comfortability with queer people dip in its Accelerating Acceptance reports. This year comfortability stabilized: For example, 29% of non-LGBTQ people said they are or would be "very" or "somewhat" uncomfortable hearing a family member is LGBTQ, compared to 30% last year. "That shows the power of the leadership and how important that is," she says.

[Source: David Oliver, USA Today, Nov 2021]

LGBTQ People Have Been Around Forever, Historians Say

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

Pew Research Center: Global Divide on Homosexuality

LGBTQ Celebrities Who Came Out in 2020

Community vs Lifestyle

Do LGBTQ people represent a community or a lifestyle?

The question of whether LGBTQ people represent a community or a lifestyle is complex and often contentious. At its core, it hinges on how one defines both "community" and "lifestyle."

Firstly, LGBTQ individuals undeniably form communities based on shared experiences, struggles, and identities. These communities offer support, advocacy, and a sense of belonging to those who may feel marginalized or misunderstood in mainstream society. LGBTQ communities often foster social connections, provide resources, and advocate for rights and recognition.

However, labeling LGBTQ identity as merely a "lifestyle" can be reductive and misleading. It implies that being LGBTQ is solely a matter of personal choice or preference, rather than an inherent aspect of one's identity. Such framing overlooks the systemic discrimination and societal challenges that LGBTQ individuals face, reducing their experiences to a matter of lifestyle rather than recognizing the structural inequalities they confront.

Moreover, reducing LGBTQ identity to a lifestyle ignores the diversity within the community. LGBTQ individuals come from various cultural, racial, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and their experiences and identities cannot be homogenized into a singular lifestyle.

In conclusion, while LGBTQ individuals do form communities, characterizing their identity solely as a lifestyle oversimplifies the complexity of their experiences and diminishes the significance of their struggles for equality and recognition. It's essential to acknowledge the multifaceted nature of LGBTQ identity and respect the diverse communities and experiences within it.

LGBTQ Community Centers

After Pride Month, Let's Make Resolutions to Support Our Community

Resolutions will extend our pride past June and make us see how our queerness enhances our lives daily.

Pride Month is over. The rainbows in store windows and on garish socks have been cleared. This year, like the others before it, there was a robust debate about the commercialization of Pride (whether it’s a parade or march or both) in fact, each year these tensions are the perfect kickoff to Pride. But I am interested in the time after Pride; what happens when our designated month is over. I am calling for the institution of Pride resolutions. Each year at the end of June, we should all make a pledge to our queerness, a pact with our community, and over the next 12 months in good faith intend to fulfill it. It may be challenging like all those things we promise ourselves on New Year’s — How many new gym memberships go unused by March? How many cigarettes still lit? — but one way to reclaim Pride from the commercialization and frivolity is to turn it toward good for our community and for ourselves.

Advocate: Queer People Have Always Existed

78-Year-Old Man and 13-Year-Old Boy Talk About Being Gay

By making a Pride resolution, we will be expanding and expending our pride beyond just the confines of June, and we will see and feel how much our queerness enhances our lives daily. Since it is the inauguration of Pride resolutions, here are some examples to choose from or to help spark your own.

I resolve to help fight every heinous anti-LGBTQ bill everywhere (this year over 250 have been introduced in state legislatures).
I resolve to take the first step toward a 12-step program.
I resolve to read LGBTQ journalists so I get news about us from us.
I resolve to shop at LGBTQ-owned and -operated businesses.
I resolve to socialize in LGBTQ spaces.
I resolve to turn from LGBTQ ally to LGBTQ advocate.
I resolve to make one friend outside my own identity.
I resolve to help start a GSA at my school.
I resolve to take care of myself and my partners.
I resolve to bring my queerness to bear on everything I do.
I resolve to start therapy and set aside the shame others have placed upon me.
I resolve to be kind on hookup apps and not treat everyone like they are expendable.
I resolve to not treat myself as expendable.
I resolve to learn LGBTQ history, not as homework, but to understand the long line of extraordinary individuals that I am among.
I resolve to read queer books, watch queer movies, and expose myself to queer artists so I can see myself in the entertainment I consume.

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National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

I resolve to ask for help.
I resolve to come out to at least one person if I’m ready.
I resolve to join one LGBTQ service organization.
I resolve to work to get my local schools to teach LGBTQ history.
I resolve to work to get my local schools to teach inclusive sex ed.
I resolve to ask people their pronouns.
I resolve to help more people to learn about PrEP.
I resolve to not let the government or drug companies off the hook on finding a vaccine for HIV.
I resolve to listen to and amplify the voices of our most vulnerable.
I resolve to care for and about our long-term survivors.
I resolve not to minimize or diminish my queerness in order to go along to get along.
I resolve to make LGBTQ issues central to how I choose a candidate.
I resolve to run for office.
I resolve to stop my company’s pinkwashing.
I resolve to raise my LGBTQ child to understand that their queerness is their superpower.
I resolve to understand I am a stakeholder to everything that happens to all LGBTQ people everywhere.
I resolve not to measure myself against images I see online.
I resolve to treat myself kindly.
I resolve to treat others kindly.
I resolve to enjoy sex.
I resolve to try to be intimate.
I resolve to risk my heart and love.
I resolve to allow myself to be loved.

[Source: Richie Jackson, Advocate Magazine, July 2021]

Smoking Hot Gen Z Celebs Who Prove The Future Is Queer

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

Pew Research Center: Global Divide on Homosexuality

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Pew Research Center: LGBTQ Social and Demographic Trends

National Survey: State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

IMDB: Famous LGBTQ Celebrities

State of the LGBTQ Community in 2020

A National Public Opinion Survey: A Comprehensive New Study from the Center for American Progress

Overall, this study finds that many LGBTQ people continue to face discrimination in their personal lives, in the workplace and the public sphere, and in their access to critical health care. This experience of discrimination leads to many adverse consequences for their financial, mental, and physical well-being. Many LGBTQ people report altering their lives to avoid this discrimination and the trauma associated with unequal treatment. Younger generations generally report higher levels of discrimination and attendant problems than do older generations, and problems associated with discrimination are most pronounced among transgender individuals, individuals of color, and disabled individuals. Anxiety about the coronavirus adds another layer of concern in this community, particularly among those respondents who are the most exposed in terms of their health or front-line employment status.

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The remainder of this report will explore the results of the study across major areas such as experiences of overall discrimination, health care-specific experiences, avoidance behaviors, and the effects of the pandemic on LGBTQ Americans’ mental health. Major findings from the survey include:

--More than 1 in 3 LGBTQ Americans faced discrimination of some kind in the past year, including more than 3 in 5 transgender Americans.
--Discrimination adversely affects the mental and economic well-being of many LGBTQ Americans, including 1 in 2 who report moderate or significant negative psychological impacts.
--To avoid the experience of discrimination, more than half of LGBTQ Americans report hiding a personal relationship, and about one-fifth to one-third have altered other aspects of their personal or work lives.

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--Around 3 in 10 LGBTQ Americans faced difficulties last year accessing necessary medical care due to cost issues, including more than half of transgender Americans.
--15 percent of LGBTQ Americans report postponing or avoiding medical treatment due to discrimination, including nearly 3 in 10 transgender individuals.
--Transgender individuals faced unique obstacles to accessing health care, including 1 in 3 who had to teach their doctor about transgender individuals in order to receive appropriate care.
--LGBTQ Americans have experienced significant mental health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report is an overview of survey responses, covering several major demographic differences within the LGBTQ community. These findings provide crucial insights into the experiences of LGBTQ people to inform policy responses to the disparities highlighted and avenues for future research. The Center for American Progress plans to track these attitudes and experiences over time to assist policymakers and leaders in their efforts to ensure full participation and equality for all LGBTQ people, both legally and in their daily lives.

[Source: Sharita Gruberg, Lindsay Mahowald, John Halpin, Center for American Progress, October 2020]

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Acceptance and Equality in the LGBTQ Community

Equality of LGBTQ People

The history of the LGBTQ community is complex, because in the past society did not perceive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people as a norm. Despite the fact that according to the Declaration of Independence, “all men are created equal,” the LGBTQ community still has to struggle for true equality. Over the years there have been various forms of LGBTQ discrimination. It varies from an unfriendly attitude to such serious problems as the refusal to employ LGBTQ individuals. Clearly discrimination, and unfair and oppressive treatment, has been, and in some cases, still is, an ongoing and persistent problem for those who belong to the LGBTQ community. However, the LGBTQ acceptance process observed during the last few years proves that the LGBTQ community will achieve real equality in the near future.

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Accepting Oneself

When an individual realizes that his/her sexual orientations are different from those considered normal by society, he/she may have some personal difficulty admitting such a fact. Some people start questioning their sexuality and some try to hide it so as not to be rejected by the society. According to a survey conducted among adult members of the LGBTQ community, almost 40% stated that they were not accepted by their family or friends due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. Such situations cause serious self-acceptance and self-esteem problems in the LGBTQ community, which can lead to depression. According to the survey, only 56% of individuals informed their mothers about their sexual orientation and less than 40% were courageous enough to tell this to their fathers. The fact that people with non-traditional orientations and identities had to struggle to inform their parents about their orientation proves that LGBTQ members have to overcome more obstacles in order to become open about their sexuality in public. Consequently, the full equality of the LGBTQ community remains under the question even today.

Discrimination Issues

The discrimination of LGBTQ people is a serious concern in all areas of LGBTQ life. For those individuals who consider themselves homosexual or still have to understand and accept their non-traditional sexual orientation, social discrimination, homophobia, and other forms of heterosexism and oppression, is their major fear. Although the societal situation has greatly improved, openly LGBTQ people are still at risk, in certain sectors, of receiving unfriendly stares or even negative remarks regarding their sexual orientation. Many traditionally-minded people feel uncomfortable about the LGBTQ topic, so they choose not to accept rather than to seek to understand. The American Civil Liberties Union has made it clear that discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation is illegal. Such organizations as ACLU are focused on raising awareness regarding this problem and they seek to inform the public about how it can impact business, employment, housing, social systems, and work environments and many other daily life aspects. And the harmful effects of LGBTQ discrimination are not limited to the individual. This problem has considerable effects on all of society.

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Info: LGBTQ Biographies

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Acceptance Issues

An online survey was conducted among the LGBTQ members and almost 90% admitted that modern society has become more accepting during the last few years. They are also positive about the fact that the LGBTQ acceptance will continue to increase over the years. Such results show that LGBTQ equality is a real and achievable task. Despite the fact that we can see some progress in the acceptance of the LGBTQ community, it is still considered to be slow and controversial. Gary J. Gates, a researcher at the Williams Institute, says, that stigmatization of the LGBTQ community will continue in some form even as societal acceptance improves. But, the more the LGBTQ community feels accepted, the more individuals will become open about their sexual orientation.

What Changes will Occur?

LGBTQ community still faces discrimination in some sectors on a daily basis, which shows that equality has not yet been fully achieved. However, there are many positive signs for the LGBTQ community. The recent legalization of same-sex marriage is an important milestone in LGBTQ equality. The increase in LGBTQ visibility in the media (including television, film, and music) has been a positive step in normalizing the queer experience. LGBTQ individuals in prominent positions in business and politics have yielded positive role models. The latest generation of young people seem to be more open-minded than their parents about LGBTQ issues. And it appears, with the growing acceptance of LGBTQ rights, that controversy about LGBTQ equality will not even be an issue in the future.

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According to the 2015 Pew Research Center survey, an overwhelming share of America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer adults (92%) say society has become more accepting of them in the past decade and an equal number expect it to grow even more accepting in the decade ahead. They attribute the changes to a variety of factors, from people knowing and interacting with someone who is LGBTQ, to advocacy on their behalf by high-profile public figures, to LGBTQ adults raising families.

At the same time, however, a new nationally representative survey of 1,197 LGBTQ adults offers testimony to the many ways they feel they have been stigmatized by society. About four-in-ten (39%) say that at some point in their lives they were rejected by a family member or close friend because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 30% say they have been physically attacked or threatened. 29% say they have been made to feel unwelcome in a place of worship. And 21% say they have been treated unfairly by an employer. About six-in-ten (58%) say they’ve been the target of slurs or jokes.

The survey finds that 12 is the median age at which lesbian, gay and bisexual adults first felt they might be something other than heterosexual or straight. For those who say they now know for sure that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, that realization came at a median age of 17. Among those who have shared this information with a family member or close friend, 20 is the median age at which they first did so.

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The survey finds that the LGBTQ population is distinctive in many ways beyond sexual orientation. Compared with the general public, Pew Research LGBTQ survey respondents are more liberal, more Democratic, less religious, less happy with their lives, and more satisfied with the general direction of the country. On average, they are younger than the general public. Their family incomes are lower, which may be related to their relative youth and the smaller size of their households. They are also more likely to perceive discrimination not just against themselves but also against other groups with a legacy of discrimination.

The survey finds that 16% of LGBTQ adults (mostly bisexuals with opposite-sex partners) are currently married, compared with about half the adults in the general public. Overall, a total of 60% of LGBTQ survey respondents are either married or say they would like to marry one day, compared with 76% of the general public.

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The survey finds that lesbians are more likely than gay men to be in a committed relationship (66% versus 40%). Likewise, bisexual women are much more likely than bisexual men to be in one of these relationships (68% versus 40%). In addition women, whether lesbian or bisexual, are significantly more likely than men to either already have children or to say they want to have children one day.

As LGBTQ adults become more accepted by society, the survey finds different points of view about how fully they should seek to become integrated into the broader culture. About half of survey respondents (49%) say the best way to achieve equality is to become a part of mainstream culture and institutions such as marriage, but an equal share say LGBTQ adults should be able to achieve equality while still maintaining their own distinct culture and way of life.

Overall, many LGBTQ adults say they have used their economic power in support or opposition to certain products or companies. About half (51%) say they have not bought a product or service because the company that provides it is not supportive of LGBTQ rights. A similar share (49%) says they have specifically bought a product or service because the company is supportive of LGBTQ rights.

Some 52% have attended an LGBTQ pride event, and 40% have attended a rally or march in support of LGBTQ rights. About four-in-ten (39%) say they belong to an LGBTQ organization and roughly three-in-ten (31%) have donated money to politicians who support their rights.

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LGBTQ Lifestyle

In current usage, the term “lifestyle” refers to the ensemble of choices that an individual may make in employment, leisure activities, dress, and self-presentation that serve to link him or her with a larger group in society (hippies, yuppies, goths, geeks, jocks, hipsters, leather). The element of choice is central. Although an individual may have been raised in one lifestyle, he or she may elect to join another.

This usage contrasts with the meaning of the term when first introduced in the early part of the 20^th century, denoting an individual's basic character or “way of life,” as formed in childhood, after which it cannot be changed.

There are problems associated with the definition of the word “lifestyle.” Lifestyle is currently a journalistic rather than a social science term. For this reason its definition and boundaries are not always easy to determine. In theory everyone has a lifestyle, but in practice the word attaches to those who have departed from mainstream conventionality.

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Adding to the difficulty is the recognition that lifestyles may overlap. A motorcyclist may participate both in the leather gay subculture and the biker subculture. A gay musician may be simultaneously involved in a variety of subcultures that can be separately defined by types of leisure, entertainment, fashion, art, and religious expression. Finally, on closer inspection what appears to be one lifestyle, may break up into a bundle of related phenomena. Although the gay lifestyle may be discussed in a unitary fashion, one should bear in mind that it has many subcomponents, so that the lifestyle of a lesbian businesswoman is very different from that of a lesbian S&M adept. Neglect of these very real differences has sometimes hobbled the effectiveness of gay and lesbian activist organizations, which tend to assume a greater social homogeneity than actually exists.

The affirmation of a lifestyle is oftentimes a reflection of social class and socioeconomic status. Sometimes it is based on the type of leisure activities a specified group engages in. Adopting a lifestyle proclaims one's value system and one's personal self-definition to the world at large. Hence the term "alternative lifestyle," which connotes that its bearer dissents from the conventional wisdom of society's mainstream. In this sense a lifestyle may be a new form of heresy, one expressed in conduct rather than formal belief system.

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A lifestyle includes modes of behavior, speech, dress, thought, and social attitudes that define a segment of the population and serve as a model for those who seek acceptance by the peer group. At the same time it may have an individual aspect that serves to distinguish the subject from others of his or her social class and ethnic group. This phenomenon is seen, for example, in some types of teenage rebellion.

What is the “gay lifestyle?” Attainment of increased leisure and of greater discretionary income undoubtedly furthered the emergence of the contemporary gay lifestyle. The earlier part of this century witnessed a clandestine homosexual subculture in the big cities of the Western world, but it was the gay liberation movement of the late 1960s that created a self-conscious public with its own media and its own social identity. The rejection of heterosexuality with all that it implied (including participation in activities traditionally defined as appropriate for male-female couples) was matched by the growth of a new set of values and standards shared by the emerging gay world of metropolitan America. A characteristic style of dress, patronage of particular bars, bathhouses, and resorts, subscription to the gay mass media, and participation in community events of a more or less political content were the criteria of a gay lifestyle. At the same time a lifestyle could also be symbolic behavior aimed at attracting sexual partners of one's preference.

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