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. A variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer (which can be synonymous with LGBT) or are questioning their sexual or gender identity. Another variation, LGBTQ+, adds a plus sign "represents 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.

LGBT is an adaptation of LGB, which in the mid-to-late 1980s began to replace the term gay (or gay and lesbian) in reference to the broader LGBT community. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter LGB is still used. (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article - show another

A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction. The concept of "lesbian" to differentiate women with a shared sexual orientation evolved in the 20th century. Throughout history, women have not had the same freedom or independence as men to pursue homosexual relationships, but neither have they met the same harsh punishment as gay men in some societies. Instead, lesbian relationships have often been regarded as harmless, unless a participant attempts to assert privileges traditionally enjoyed by men. As a result, little in history was documented to give an accurate description of how female homosexuality was expressed. When early sexologists in the late 19th century began to categorize and describe homosexual behavior, hampered by a lack of knowledge about homosexuality or women's sexuality, they distinguished lesbians as women who did not adhere to female gender roles. They classified them as mentally ill—a designation which has been reversed since the late 20th century in the global scientific community.

Women in homosexual relationships in Europe and the United States responded to the discrimination and repression either by hiding their personal lives, or accepting the label of outcast and creating a subculture and identity. Following World War II, during a period of social repression when governments actively persecuted homosexuals, women developed networks to socialize with and educate each other. Gaining greater economic and social freedom allowed them to determine how they could form relationships and families. With second-wave feminism and the growth of scholarship in women's history and sexuality in the late 20th century, the definition of lesbian broadened, leading to debate about the term's use. While research by Lisa M. Diamond identified sexual desire as the core component for defining lesbians, some women who engage in same-sex sexual activity may reject not only identifying as lesbians but as bisexual as well. Other women's self-identification as lesbian may not align with their sexual orientation or sexual behavior. Sexual identity is not necessarily the same as one's sexual orientation or sexual behavior, due to various reasons, such as the fear of identifying their sexual orientation in a homophobic setting. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected biography - show another

photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1955

Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (later Ailey School) as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance.

Ailey's work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with Black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of Black life in America. Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

edit

Selected quote - show another

“

I am the most well-known homosexual in the world.

”

—Elton John

edit

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

edit

Selected image - show another

U.S. president Jimmy Carter with Andy Warhol in 1977. Warhol was famous worldwide for his work as a painter, an avant-garde filmmaker, a record producer, an author and a public figure. He was one of the first major U.S. artists to be open about being gay.

edit

Did you know… - show different entries

Question mark

... that The Pittsburgh Courier crusaded against the blue discharge, calling it "a vicious instrument that should not be perpetrated against the American Soldier"?
...that Nireah Johnson was murdered by Paul Moore after Moore discovered Johnson was transgender?
... that the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club developed some of the earliest safe sex education material in the United States?
... that the success of Gay Weddings as counterprogramming to Super Bowl XXXVII led television network Bravo to develop additional LGBT-interest programming, including Queer Eye and Boy Meets Boy?
... that Freeheld is an Academy Award winning documentary by Cynthia Wade that follows a New Jersey detective fighting for the right to pass on her pension to her female domestic partner?

edit

This month's birthdays

1 – Brandi Carlile (1981–), American alternative country and folk rock singer-songwriter
1 – Ferron (1952–), Canadian folk singer and songwriter
2 – Brent Hawkes (1950–), Canadian pastor & LGBT rights activist
2 – Wentworth Miller (1972–), English-born American actor and screenwriter
2 – Zachary Quinto (1977–), American actor
2 – Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer
3 – Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), American beat poet
3 – Josephine Baker (1906–1975), American dancer, singer and actress
3 – Anderson Cooper (1967–), American journalist, author, and television personality
3 – Alla Nazimova (1879–1945), Russian actress
4 – Val McDermid (1955–), Scottish suspense novel writer
5 – Lisa Cholodenko (1964–), American film and television writer-director
5 – Federico García Lorca (1898–1936), Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director
5 – Suze Orman (1951–), American financial advisor, author, columnist and TV host
5 – Troye Sivan (1995–), Australian actor and singer
5 – Gustáv Slamečka (1959–), Czech politician
5 – Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (1926–1990), German aristocrat and businessman
6 – Annie Adams Fields (1834-1915), American poet, essayist, memoirist, and biographer
6 – Sandra Bernhard (1955–), American comedian, actress, singer and writer
6 – Harvey Fierstein (1952–), American actor and playwright
6 – Violet Trefusis (1894–1972), English writer and socialite
7 – James Ivory (1928–), American film director
7 – Anne McClain (1979–), American engineer, military officer, and astronaut
8 – Kim Stolz (1983–), American model, TV personality, author and finance executive
8 – Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), French novelist
9 – Parinya Charoenphol (1981–), Thai boxer, model and actress
9 – Bülent Ersoy (1952–), Turkish singer & actress
9 – Cole Porter (1891–1964), American composer and songwriter
10 – Maurice Sendak (1928–2012), American children's writer
10 – Dustin Lance Black (1974–), American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist
11 – Mario Silva (1966–), Portuguese-Canadian legal scholar and politician
11 – Renée Vivien (1877-1909), British poet
12 – Djuna Barnes (1892–1982), American writer
12 – Jim Nabors (1930–), American actor and singer
13 – Paul Lynde (1926–1982), American comedian and actor
14 – Paul O'Grady (1955–2023), British broadcaster, comedian and drag artist (Lily Savage)
14 – Boy George (1961–), British singer-songwriter
15 – Neil Patrick Harris (1973–), American actor, singer, director, and magician
15 – Bif Naked (1971–), Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and motivational speaker
16 – Lou Sullivan (1951-1991), American author and trans activist
16 – Jenny Shimizu (1967–), American model and actress
16 – Joe McElderry (1991–), British singer and model
17 – Clodovil Hernandes (1937–2009), Brazilian fashion stylist, television presenter, and politician
17 – Evelyn Irons (1900–2000), Scottish journalist and war correspondent
17 – Steven Davies (1986–), English cricketer
17 – Phyllida Lloyd (1957–), English theatre and film director
17 – Carl Van Vechten (1880–1964), American writer and photographer
19 – Elisabeth Marbury (1856–1933), theatrical/literary agent and author
20 – Allan Bell (1947–), Manx politician and Chief Minister of the Isle of Man
20 – E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009), American Author
21 – Meredith Baxter (1947–), American actress and producer
21 – Kate Brown (1960–), American politician and Governor of Oregon
21 – Lana Wachowski (1965–), American film director, screenwriter and producer
22 – Václav Fischer (1954–), Czech-German businessman and politician
22 – Jimmy Somerville (1961–), Scottish pop singer
23 – Alan Turing (1912–1954), English mathematician and computer scientist
24 – Stacy Sykora (1977–), retired American volleyball player
25 – George Michael (1963–2016), British singer-songwriter
25 – Larry Kramer (1935–), American playwright, novelist, and LGBT rights activist
26 – Sean Hayes (1970–), American actor and comedian
28 – Sunil Babu Pant (1972–), Nepalese politician and LGBT rights activist
28 – Jim Kolbe (1942–), American politician, Republican congressman (Arizona) (1985–2003)
28 – David Kopay (1942–), American football player
30 – Alan Joyce (1966–), Australian business executive and CEO of Qantas Airways