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...)

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The Washington Blade is an LGBT newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the Philadelphia Gay News and the Gay City News of New York City. The Blade is often referred to as America's gay newspaper of record because it chronicled LGBT news locally, nationally, and internationally. The New York Times said the Blade is considered "one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience."

The paper was originally launched as an independent publication in October 1969 with a focus on bringing the community together. In 2001, the Blade was purchased by Window Media LLC, a group of gay-oriented newspapers circulated throughout the United States with a staff composed of professional journalists, becoming a leading source of news for the readers both in Washington and around the nation. The paper publishes weekly on Fridays and celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2019. (Full article...)

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Photo by Tee Corinne, 1983

Ann Weldy (born September 15, 1932), better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. The books' enduring popularity and impact on lesbian identity has earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction". Bannon was a young housewife trying to address her own issues of sexuality when she was inspired to write her first novel. Her subsequent books featured four characters who reappeared throughout the series, including her eponymous heroine, Beebo Brinker, who came to embody the archetype of a butch lesbian. The majority of her characters mirrored people she knew, but their stories reflected a life she did not feel she was able to live. Despite her traditional upbringing and role in married life, her novels defied conventions for romance stories and depictions of lesbians by addressing complex homosexual relationships.

Her books shaped lesbian identity for lesbians and heterosexuals alike, but Bannon was mostly unaware of their impact. She stopped writing in 1962. Later, she earned a doctorate in linguistics and became an academic. She endured a difficult marriage for 27 years and, as she separated from her husband in the 1980s, her books were republished; she was stunned to learn of their influence on society. They were released again between 2001 and 2003 and were adapted as an award-winning Off-Broadway production. They are taught in women's and LGBT studies courses, and Bannon has received numerous awards for pioneering lesbian and gay literature. She has been described as "the premier fictional representation of US lesbian life in the fifties and sixties", and it has been said that her books "rest on the bookshelf of nearly every even faintly literate Lesbian". (Full article...)

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“

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.

”

—Harvey Fierstein

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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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Lesbian and gay students kissing in front of anti-homosexuality protesters at Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio, USA) in May 2000. Several hundred Oberlin College students turned out to rally against the protesters. The protesters—from Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas—also protested the General Conference of the United Methodist Church while in Ohio.

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Did you know… - show different entries

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... that when Dan Savage's book Savage Love was published, his advice column of the same name had 4 million readers?
... that Anita Bryant's participation in Save Our Children, a coalition working to overturn gay rights ordinances in Miami and other cities in 1977 and 1978, destroyed her career?
...that the GayFest of 2005 was the first LGBT pride parade in Romania?
... that African American civil rights activist Mel Boozer was the first openly gay person nominated for the office of Vice President of the United States?
... that the first same-sex kiss on an American soap opera was between fictional characters Lena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery in 2003, who were also American soap opera's first lesbian couple?

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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