LGBTQ+ Stories

This long acronym to refer to a diversity of historically marginalized gender and sexual identities has been developing for more than half a century and continues to evolve. The more clinical term “Homosexual” was among the first to be used and adopted by the early homophile organizations that emerged after World War II. However, the reclaimed term of “gay” became the most popular term for men (and women) who were attracted to people of the same gender starting in the 1960s, although many women preferred to refer to themselves as Lesbians based on the association with the Greek poet Sapho and the island of Lesbos. The term bi-sexual is preferred by many who are attracted both to men and to women, however the evolution of gender nonbinary identity has led some to prefer the term pansexual. Gender identity is a characteristic distinct from sexual orientation. The term transgender refers primarily to people who are assigned or identified as one gender at birth but who identify with another gender (often the “opposite” gender) as they gain consciousness and understanding of themselves. Some people identify as gender nonbinary rather than transgender. “Queer” is a term that has created some controversy within the community because it had pejorative connotations for a long time but was reclaimed in recent years by many. Some people prefer to use “queer” as a catch-all term for the various identities covered under LGBTQ+, including intersex, asexual, and questioning. The uniqueness of those identities contributed to the convention of add a “+” to the initial five letters of the acronym. However, many people are comfortable with the Q standing in for those additional identities. For that reason, we opted to use LGBTQ+ as the heading for this exhibit panel but keep most references to LGBTQ or specific to their individual identity group. As a complex set of identities, LGBTQ+ is continuing to evolve, but it remains a useful term when considering issues of civil rights and shared experiences.

For more background on this topic, please see:

Military OneSource. “LGBTQ in the Military • Military OneSource,” March 19, 2021. https://www.militaryonesource.mil/military-life-cycle/friends-extended-family/lgbtq-in-the-military/.

Rauch, Jonathan. “It’s Time to Drop the ‘LGBT’ From ‘LGBTQ.’” The Atlantic, December 14, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/dont-call-me-lgbtq/576388/.

“Teaching and Learning LGBTQ+ History of the United States | ASHP/CML.” Accessed February 4, 2022. https://ashp.cuny.edu/teaching-and-learning-lgbtq-history-united-states.

Waters, Michael. “We Finally Have Data about the Number of LGBT People in the Military.” The Outline. Accessed March 17, 2022. https://theoutline.com/post/5680/us-military-lgbt-population-size.