Portal:LGBT


	The LGBTQ+ Portal

Introduction

LGBT is an initialism that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender". It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual, non-heteroromantic, or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The variant LGBTQ adds a Q for those who identify as queer (which can be synonymous with LGBT) or are questioning their sexual or gender identity, while LGBTQ+ adds a plus sign for "those who are part of the community, but for whom LGBTQ does not accurately capture or reflect their identity". Many further variations of the acronym exist, such as LGBT+ (simplified to encompass the Q concept within the plus sign), LGBTQIA+ (adding intersex, asexual, aromantic and agender), and 2SLGBTQ+ (adding two-spirit for a term specific to Indigenous North Americans). The LGBT label is not universally agreed to by everyone that it is generally intended to include. The variations GLBT and GLBTQ rearrange the letters in the acronym. In use since the late 1980s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for marginalized sexualities and gender identities.

The earlier initialism LGB began to replace the term gay (or gay and lesbian) in the late 1980s to reference the broader community. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter LGB is still used. (Full article...)

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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a 2006 graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, United States, focusing on her complex relationship with her father. The book addresses themes of sexual orientation, gender roles, suicide, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the role of literature in understanding oneself and one's family.

Writing and illustrating Fun Home took seven years, in part because of Bechdel's laborious artistic process, which includes photographing herself in poses for each human figure. Fun Home has been the subject of numerous academic publications in areas such as biography studies and cultural studies as part of a larger turn towards serious academic investment in the study of comics/sequential art. (Full article...)

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Baez in 2016

Joan Chandos Baez (/baɪz/ BYZE, Spanish: [ˈbaes]; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more than 30 albums.

Baez is generally regarded as a folk singer, but her music has diversified since the counterculture era of the 1960s and encompasses genres such as folk rock, pop, country, and gospel music. She began her recording career in 1960 and achieved immediate success. Her first three albums, Joan Baez, Joan Baez, Vol. 2 and Joan Baez in Concert, all achieved gold record status. Although a songwriter herself, Baez generally interprets other composers' work, having recorded songs by the Allman Brothers Band, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, Woody Guthrie, Violeta Parra, the Rolling Stones, Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, and many others. She was one of the first major artists to record the songs of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s; Baez was already an internationally celebrated artist and did much to popularize his early songwriting efforts. Her tumultuous relationship with Dylan later became the subject of songs from both and generated much public speculation. On her later albums she has found success interpreting the work of more recent songwriters, including Ryan Adams, Josh Ritter, Steve Earle, Natalie Merchant, and Joe Henry. (Full article...)

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“

When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.

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—Tombstone of Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988)

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Current events

October 5: Supreme court of Mauritius rules the colonial era law criminalizing homosexuality unconstitutional
August 5: DaBaby Levitating remix losing US radio audiences after the rapper's comments on HIV/AIDS
May 19: Taiwan's legislature first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage
February 1: Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight murders
October 30: 22nd annual ILGA-Europe conference meets in Brussels: in pictures
October 30: In pictures: thousands attend 16th annual Taiwan Pride

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Street sign in Philadelphia's gay village, incorporating the colors of the gay pride flag.

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... that the Heian period Japanese story Torikaebaya Monogatari is the tale of a man who lives as a woman and his sister who lives as a man, who eventually swap places in order to lead happy lives?
... that in his 1999 book The Trouble With Normal, gay author Michael Warner argued that same-sex marriage is an undesirable goal for the gay rights movement?
... that the 2009 book Unfriendly Fire argues that bans on gays in the military were based on prejudices and fears, not empirical data?
... that sexual activism group Sex Panic! criticized the efficacy of 1990s US anti-HIV campaigns that, they argued, demonized public sexual culture?

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This month's birthdays

1 – Charles Laughton (1899–1962), English-American actor, screenwriter, producer, and director
1 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (1654–1712), French military commander
1 – Orlando Cruz (1981–), Puerto Rican professional boxer
2 – Daniel Kowalski (1975–), Australian freestyle swimmer
2 – Liane de Pougy (1869–1950), French cabaret artist/dancer and courtesan
2 – Johnny Weir (1984–), American figure skater, 2008 World Bronze Medalist
2 – Sylvia Rae Rivera (1951–2002), Civil Rights activist who advocated for Transgender rights
4 – Stephen Boyd (1931–1977), British actor
4 – Steven Cojocaru (1970–), Canadian fashion critic/TV personality
5 – Jean Cocteau (1889–1963), French poet, artist, and director
5 – Megan Rapinoe (1985–), American professional soccer midfielder
5 – Hein Vos (1903–1972), Dutch politician and economist, first gay member of Cabinet of the Netherlands
6 – Merv Griffin (1925–2007), American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul
6 – Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), Mexican artist
7 – George Cukor (1899–1983), American film director
7 – Kirsten Vangsness (1972–), American actress
8 – Silvia Modig (1976–), Finnish politician, radio and TV journalist
9 – David Hockney (1937–), English painter and photographer
9 – Kelly McGillis (1957–), American actress
9 – Vanessa Selbst (1984–), American hedge fund manager and professional poker player
10 – Marcel Proust (1871–1922), French novelist
10 – Fiona Shaw (1958–), Irish actress and theatre-opera director
10 – Zoe Dunning (1963–), American retired naval officer, and LGBTQ activist
10 – Alexandra Hedison (1969–), American photographer and actress
10 – Angel Haze (1991–), American rapper and singer
11 – Giorgio Armani (1934–), Italian fashion designer
11 – Leisha Hailey (1971–), American actress and musician
11 – Dorothy Wilde (1895–1941), Anglo-Irish socialite, niece of Oscar Wilde
12 – Van Cliburn (1934–2013), American pianist
12 – Michelle Rodriguez (1978–), American actress
12 – Kyrsten Sinema (1976–), American congresswoman (Arizona)
13 – Mary Emma Woolley (1863–1947), American educator, peace activist & women's suffragist
14 – Randy Boissonnault (1970–), Canadian politician
14 – Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1610–1670), Italian aristocrat
14 – Jane Lynch (1960–), American actress
15 – David Cicilline (1961–), American Democratic congressman (Rhode Island)
15 – Allison Brewer (1954–), Canadian social activist and politician
15 – Olly Alexander (1990–), British singer (Years & Years)
16 – Reinaldo Arenas (1943–1990), Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright
16 – Tony Kushner (1956–), American playwright and screenwriter
17 – Charles Lapointe (1944–), Canadian business executive and politician
18 – Elio Di Rupo (1951–), Prime Minister of Belgium
18 – Lillian Faderman (1940–), American scholar, historian and writer
19 – Joseph Hansen (1923–2004), American crime writer and poet
19 – Jaiyah Saelua (1988-), Samoan international football player
20 – Roberta Achtenberg (1950-), American federal politician & civil rights attorney
20 – Rokas Žilinskas (1972-2017), Lithuanian journalist and politician
21 – Rufus Wainwright (1973–), American/Canadian singer-songwriter
22 – Emily Saliers (1963–), American singer-songwriter and member of Indigo Girls
24 – Gus Van Sant (1952–), American director
24 – Anna Paquin (1982–), Canadian-New Zealander Actress
25 – Christine Quinn (1966–), American politician, former Speaker of the New York City Council
26 – Nikki Sinclaire (1968-), English politician, UK's first openly transgender parliamentarian
28 – Judy Grahn (1940–), American poet
28 – Imke Duplitzer (1975–), German épée fencer
29 – Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–1961), Swedish diplomat & 2nd Secretary-General of the U.N.
29 – Paul Taylor (1930–), American choreographer
30 – Sean Patrick Maloney (1966–), American Democratic congressman (New York)
30 – Pascal Smet (1967–), Belgian politician
31 – Susan Flannery (1939–), American actress
31 – Barbara Gittings (1932–2007), American gay rights activist