Even though the phrase is very common and I even occasionally use it myself, I’m not a big fan of the phrase “LGBTQ community”. It makes it sound like we all live in the same part of town or something! More importantly its abstraction also blurs the point that we’re talking about individual people.
Sometimes, students tell me they are "a part of the LGBTQ community" but I have no idea what that means, to be honest! Can you be more specific, please? On the other hand, the first time a student introduced themself to me as a "gray-asexual" or a "demisexual", I had to say, "Wow! What is that?" It seems to me that young people these days are either very vague or very specific when describing their sexual orientation and/or gender identities. So when in doubt, it's OK to ask (with respect)!
Soon you will begin reading about the language used (by themselves and by others) to describe LGBTQ people. Here's a very brief history: Once upon a time we were all homosexuals. But once “gay” became synonymous with homosexual post WWII, we called ourselves gay men and gay women. But in the 1970’s, many gay women wanted to emphasize their political identity as separate from gay men and began to adopt the word “lesbian” (although the terms “Gay Pride” and “Gay Rights” were used well into the 1980’s). So we were then known as the “Gay and Lesbian” community for a while, until bisexuals received a seat at the socio-political table, thus creating the “GLB” community (whose members were still operating within a gender binary of men and women.) Adding the “T” to the political acronym in the 1990's was the biggest change of all. Up till then, political activism and social change had focused on issues of sexual orientation, whereas taking up the Transgender Flag introduced issues of gender identity into the social/political mix (which, while sharing some similarities, are unique and distinct from issues of sexual orientation). At this time, most trans people were still presenting within the gender binary, but sometime in the 2000’s, the binaries of gender and sexual orientation began to break down, led by the emerging academic field of Queer Studies. Many activists (including myself) began to use the term “queer" (meaning not heterosexual and/or not gender-normative) as a broad umbrella term to include EVERYONE in the queer community. (See how I did that?) It also avoids the ridiculous acronyms that go on forever, like LGBTQIAAI2S#LMNOP!
(At some point the “G” and “L” got switched as the preferred order, so unfortunately the letters are no longer in chronological order.)
(At some point the “G” and “L” got switched as the preferred order, so unfortunately the letters are no longer in chronological order.)
You can see why I still prefer “Queer” as a political term! But as a personal descriptor, “queer” isn’t much better than “a member of the LGBTQ community”. So, to be precise, I am a gay, cisgender man.
Just in case you've forgotten my original point after all that: Avoid using the phrase "LGBTQ Community" in a vague, abstract way. Try to be more specific, when possible. Try "LGBTQ people" if you want to stay broad and all-inclusive.
OK. You may now resume your regular programming.
-- Professor Matthews
