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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A pink triangle has been a symbol for the LGBT community, initially intended as a badge of shame, but later reappropriated as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, it began as one of the Nazi concentration camp badges, distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as gay men or trans women. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has since been adopted by the larger LGBT community as a popular symbol of LGBT pride and the LGBT movements and queer liberation movements. (Full article...)

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Aiken at Politicon in 2016

Clayton Holmes Aiken (né Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of American Idol in 2003, and his debut album, Measure of a Man, went multi-platinum. He released four more albums on the RCA label, Merry Christmas with Love (2004), A Thousand Different Ways (2006), the Christmas EP All is Well (2006), and On My Way Here (2008). Since then he has released two more albums, both with Decca Records: Tried and True (2010) and Steadfast (2012). Aiken has also had eleven tours in support of his albums. In all, he has sold over 5 million albums, and is the fourth-highest-selling American Idol alumnus.

Aiken co-wrote a bestselling memoir in 2004, Learning to Sing. In 2004, he also had a televised Christmas special, A Clay Aiken Christmas. During much of 2008 he appeared on Broadway in the musical comedy Spamalot, in the role of Sir Robin. In 2010 he hosted the PBS special Tried & True Live! He has also had numerous cameo and guest appearances on TV shows. In 2012 he competed in the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, coming in second to Arsenio Hall. (Full article...)

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“

Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?

”

—Ernest Gaines

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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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...the first edition of Patience and Sarah, winner of the 1971 Stonewall Book Award, was self-published and all copies sold by the author after six publishers rejected it for not being marketable?
... that Jim Foster and Madeline D. Davis were the first openly LGBT people to address a major U.S. national political convention when they spoke to the 1972 Democratic National Convention?
...that openly-gay actor Robert La Tourneaux considered his role as the gay hustler in the 1970 film The Boys in the Band to be the "kiss of death" for his career?
... that Norman Lear's 1977 soap opera spoof All That Glitters featured Linda Gray as the first recurring transgender character on American television?

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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