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LGBTQ

LGBTQ is an acronym for the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender/transsexual, and queer, a term with historical roots in the political and social activism of the industrialized world over the last century. LGBTQ is intended to encompass a broad range of individuals who are conceptualized as part of a sexual and gendered minority for whom various rights and protections are sought.

Some variation of the term LGBTQ is used by grassroots local, national, and global political and social organizations to indicate the individuals and groups forming their constituency. Depending on the context, groups might order the letters in distinctive formulations, for example, using LGB to identify a constituency that includes lesbian, gay, and bisexual but that may not directly be concerned with trans-gender, transsexual or queer issues. In the contemporary era, LGBT/GLBT is most commonly used in the English-speaking nations of the global north, or industrialized world. Placing lesbians first in the term LGBT is seen as an important political move for some groups in redressing the dominance of gay men and celebrating the place of women.

Categories like lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer are far from universal, cross-culturally understood terms. On the contrary, these ways of understanding and manifesting sexual and gender difference are specific to particular cultural contexts. With globalization, the spread of particular sexual identities has been uneven and adapted distinctly to reflect local circumstances. This entry highlights some of the key ways that LGBTQ has been developed in the global north and critically examines the worldwide relevance of the acronym.

LGBTQ Worldwide

The term LGBTQ is not a worldwide term. On the contrary, it is a historically and culturally specific way of identifying and labeling gender and sexual difference. Currently, worldwide, there are significant variations in how sexual identity, attraction, and desire are named and understood, and how this relates to gender, family and kinship forms. Thus, while desire and sex might happen between men and between women across the world, it is not always understood as a defining feature of one's identity, nor as a way of organizing familial/kinship relationships. Similarly, solely understanding gender within binary categories of male-man/female-woman is not a universal understanding found worldwide.

It is often assumed that countries in the global north, such as the United States, are “better” and “more developed” in terms of the rights of LGBTQ people, and that those in the global south (or “developing nations”) repress LGBTQ people. While there is evidence of this, for example in the United Kingdom (UK), the Equalities Act 2010 makes public bodies accountable for their LGBT populations, there are also challenges to these rights and protections. In 2009, there were a spate of homophobic beatings and killings in London, England. Contrasting this, South Africa has some of the most liberal laws in relation to sexuality, and has led the way in legislative progress.

History of LGBTQ Activism

In its current configuration, LGBTQ reflects accumulated and sometimes contested sets of meanings, stemming from the emergence of globally distinctive gay and lesbian rights movements. The labeling of sexual and gender identities as LGBT is relatively recent, evolving from the medical categorization of homosexuality in the 19th century. Visible homosexual activism emerged as early as the 1800s in Europe and in the post-World War II era in North America, the UK, and Australia. In the UK, a secret society, the Order of Chaeronea, was established in 1897, “for the cultivation of a homosexual moral, ethical, cultural and spiritual ethos.” Activist organizations in North America, Scandinavia, Britain, and other European countries after World War II used the word homophile to refer to both homosexuals (men and women) and to those heterosexuals who were interested in or supported their political and social causes. In Canada, the Community Homophile Association of Toronto (CHAT) and the University of Toronto Homophile Association (UTHA) were established in the late 20th century, and provided local community center space for socializing, education, political activism, and support.

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