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DotGay Dictionary: What is the Alphabet?
Info: Profile of LGBTQ Community

Seeking Inclusivity

Why Representation Matters

The LGBTQ abbreviation serves an important purpose. Not only is it designed to be more inclusive, but it also represents the self-identities of people who are transgender and/or similar gender attracted.

The use of the acronym is intended to be an all-encompassing way to recognize different gender identities and sexual orientations. The addition of other identities to the LGBT acronym also plays an important role in recognizing and connecting them to a larger community. It also means that these individuals are able to gain greater recognition by society as a whole. Rather than being erased, ignored, or denied, acknowledgment can help foster greater visibility of marginalized identities.

Visibility can also help create a greater sense of self-affirmation of a person's identity. Research has found that offering inclusive and affirmative environments is important for LGBTQ youth. Research also suggests that despite safety concerns, being visible as a member of the LGBTQ community can be an important way to feel a sense of pride in individual identity. Affirming self-identity can help people feel greater self-esteem, self-worth, and boost overall mental well-being. This can be particularly important since representation has long been lacking in mainstream media.

The good news is that there have been improvements made in recent years to change this. A recent GLAAD report suggests that the representation of LGBTQ characters and relationships on television is higher than ever previously seen on TV. This includes greater diversity and visibility of non-binary identities, although the report notes that BIPOC characters are still underrepresented.

Research and statistics suggest that LGBTQ youth have an increased risk of a range of mental health and social issues, often due to or exacerbated by isolation, marginalization, and discrimination based on their orientation or identity. Fostering inclusivity and acceptance may be one way to help combat some of these issues.

Wikipedia: LGBTQ
LGBTQ Alphabet

LGBTQ: Strength and Solidarity

Video: LGBTQ Facts to Celebrate

Info: Sexual Identity

Kinsey Institute: Who Are These LGBTQ Americans?

Initials and Acronyms

The Basics of LGBTQ

Info: Profile of LGBTQ Community

Video: The ABCs of LGBTQ

List:Famous LGBTQ People

DotGay Dictionary: What is the Alphabet?

Initials and Acronyms
List:Famous LGBTQ People

LGBTQ Acronyms

The act of politically grouping all non-heterosexual and non-cisgender people into the acronym LGBTQ is an act of exclusion. The LGBTQ acronym has expanded to LGBTQIA and more, in an attempt to be as representative as possible. But as the language used to describe these identities continues to grow, so does the need for more appropriate identification.

Currently, the acronym could easily be expressed as a whopping 14 letters long: LGGBBTTQQIAAPP. This lengthy acronym stands for lesbian, gay, genderqueer, bisexual, bigender, transgender, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, agender, pansexual and polyamorous. Some versions include "2S" for two-spirit.

Not surprising, to avoid an endless list of letters, you will sometimes see the acronym expressed with a plus sign as in: LGBTQ+. It is very appropriate, and a sign of inclusiveness, to express the acronym as LGBTQ+.

One advocacy group offers this initialism: LGBT2SGEQIAP+. They define the letters as follows:

L
G
B
T

Q
Q

A
A
A
P
P
P

Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender

Two-Spirit
Gender Expansive
Queer

Questioning
Intersex
Agender

Asexual

Aromantic
Pansexual

Pangender, Polygender

Polyamorous

LGBTQ Alphabet

Info: Sexual and Gender Diversity

Info: Profile of LGBTQ Community

Putting the "+" at the end of the acronym signifies a sincere and continuous effort to be inclusive of other related identities and a commitment to an understanding of identities that is ever-expanding, always learning, always growing.

Some suggest using shorter, more general abbreviations, like GSM, which stands for gender and sexual minorities. GSM serves as a much better acronymic blanket statement than LGBTQ, because it does not specify any gender or sexual identity whatsoever. In its ambiguity, GSM is not only more accurate, but it’s flexible. The name does not need to be updated at the rapid pace of language proliferation.

GSD (Gender and Sexual Diversities) has been suggested as a more inclusive shorthand term. This designator would include people who might be asexual, members of the BDSM/kink community, and people who were in non-traditional relationships that might be polyamorous or swingers.

At one point, GSRM (Gender, Sexuality, and Romantic Minorities) was also proposed. Some also recommended MOGA (Marginalized Orientation and Gender Alignments) and MOGII (Marginalized Orientations, Gender Identity, and Intersex).

Looking for a good all-around inclusive umbrella term, SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) or SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Sex Characteristics) was also suggested in some circles.

And if you want to expand the umbrella and include the BDSM community in the acronym, you can include a "K" for kink or an "F" for fetish. You can add a "P" for polyamorous. you could add a "B" for bears.

LGBTQ: Strength and Solidarity

Video: The ABCs of LGBTQ

The Basics of LGBTQ

List: Famous LGBTQ People

DotGay Dictionary: What is the Alphabet?

Wikipedia: LGBTQ
LGBTQ Alphabet

Initialism Options

LGBTQ

LGBTQAI

GSM
GSD
GSRM
MOGA
MOGII

SOGI

SOGIE
SOGIESC
BIGLAT

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Asexual, Intersex
Gender and Sexual Minorities
Gender and Sexual Diversities
Gender, Sexuality, Romantic Minorities
Marginalized Orientation and Gender Alignments
Marginalized Orientations, Gender Identity, Intersex
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity/Expression
Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Sex Characteristics
Bisexual, Intersex, Gay, Lesbian, Asexual, Transgender

Sexual Minority

For purposes of sociological categorization, homosexual, transgender, and queer people are considered to be members of a sexual minority. The term sexual minority refers to any identity, orientation, lifestyle, or practice that doesn’t comply with the mainstream heterosexual or cisgender concept of normal sexual or gender behavior.

The term sexual minority can be used as an umbrella term to encompass any group or individual who identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, polysexual, asexual, transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, gender-nonconforming, gender variant, agender, intersex, polyamorous, kinky, or otherwise queer.

Video: LGBTQ Facts to Celebrate

Info: Sexual Identity

Kinsey Institute: Who Are These LGBTQ Americans?

Initials and Acronyms

As members of a sexual minority, LGBTQ people are often subject to the rules and attitudes of the majority heterosexual or straight community. There is a potential in a heterocentric environment (or ideology) to breed heterosexism (or a heterosexist system) that results in heterosexual privilege and homophobia. As with any minority group, there is risk of oppression from members of the majority group.

Using the term sexual minority in certain conversations helps to focus on the potential for oppression, prejudice, and discrimination by the majority group. A civilized society recognizes that minority voices must be heard and that members of the minority community must be included.

Some LGBTQ people object to using the term sexual minority and prefer the term LGBTQ. Reasons for these objections may vary. For example, some LGBTQ people feel that the term sexual minority reminds them about discrimination and about being a minority. They want to be not a distinct minority but an integral and respectable part of the society. Some other LGBTQ people dislike the term for being too inclusive, including swingers, polyamorists, BDSM people and other perceived "sexual strangers". These LGBTQ people want to make a larger distance between these sexual practices and sexual orientation/gender identity.

Some transgender and transsexual people dislike the term sexual minority for yet another reason. They argue that the phenomenon of transsexuality or transgender has nothing to do with sex, sexual practices or sexual orientation, but it relates to the gender, gender dysphoria and gender-variant behavior or feelings. Thus, they feel it is incorrect to classify them as "sexual minority," when, in fact, they are a gender-variant minority.

Wikipedia: LGBTQ
Video: LGBTQ Facts to Celebrate

Kinsey Institute: Who Are These LGBTQ Americans?

LGBTQ: Strength and Solidarity

DotGay Dictionary: What is the Alphabet?
Info: Profile of LGBTQ Community

Initials and Acronyms
List:Famous LGBTQ People

LGBTQ Alphabet

Info: Sexual and Gender Diversity

The Basics of LGBTQ

I Don't Do Boxes: The Queer Umbrella

Impact and Challenges

LGBTQ and related acronyms have become widely used in recent years. It has also played a role in raising the visibility of marginalized groups, including transgender individuals.

Research suggests that while attitudes have shifted towards greater acceptance, LGBTQ people still face considerable homophobia and discrimination. Harassment, bullying, and workplace discrimination are not uncommon.

One advantage of utilizing a unified terminology is the ability to engage in political advocacy. Social solidarity can be used to improve visibility, combat discrimination, and advance causes including anti-discrimination and equality laws.

Unifying terms like LGBTQ can help people feel connected to a larger group of people with shared experiences. But the term can sometimes seem to imply that there is a single, homogenous group when there are actually many individual communities made up of diverse individuals. These communities has some things in common, but each identity has its own unique experiences and needs.

While the goal of this initialism is to raise visibility and boost inclusivity, not everyone agrees about what term or variation to use. The community has been referred to by many words over the years, including many that were intended to be hurtful. So it’s not unusual that the self-descriptors that people use can vary, particularly when it comes to issues related to self-expression, sexuality, and identity.

The LGBTQ Umbrella

How broad is the LGBTQ+ umbrella? What sexual minorities should be included under the Queer umbrella? Is the LGBTQ/Queer community represented by more than just sexual orientation and gender identity? Should the kink community be included? Should asexuals be included? Should the poly community be included? Should intersex people be included?

Orientation and Identity Under One Queer Umbrella

Farrago Mag: The Queer Umbrella

Video: The Queer Umbrella

Should BDSM be Included Under the LGBTQ Umbrella?

Does Asexuality Fall Under the Queer Umbrella?