Identity Politics

(source)

GLBT?

LGBT?

LGBTQ?

LGBTQI?

LGBTQIA?

LGBTQ2IA?

When I attended the 2008 "All School Day" at USC as part of my clinical social work program, I was able to witness a wonderful panel of activists speak out about their experiences as a gay or transgender individual.

I believe it was Reverend Neil Thomas, senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Los Angeles that made the comment that the acronym that often represents the gay community has become so long that you can't even fit it on a t-shirt anymore.

When I was in college I was most famliar with "GLBT" which stands for Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender.

Later I heard people using LGBT. Perhaps this was an attempt to move away from the sexism of more often placing a male ahead of females.

In grad school I noticed a "Q" was tacked on the end to represent the word "Queer". This made sense to me as many individuals feel more comfortable with the term queer as it is more fluid and not so specific and boxed in.

Even later in grad school I learned of an "I" that some also tacked on to the acronym which included intersex individuals.

And then when listening to the keynote speech of West Hollywood mayor at the USC "All School Day" event, I was introduced to "Q2" or Q squared which represented individuals who do not necessary feel that they are gay or straight but are questioning their sexuality.

And lastly I was introduced by a classmate to the letter "A" which stood for "Androgynous".

I feel comfortable using the acronym "LGBTQI". I feel that "Queer" encompases androynous and questioning individuals.

I am no expert on the subject as a straight individual but I don't think a gay individual would necessarily be considered an expert either.

I think that each person must decide what their sexuality means to themselves and figure out what they are comfortable with.


(source)

I think that the many acronyms are attempts to be inclusive of all individuals and to fight against discrimination. While I think this effort is rooted in good, I also think that people become hung up on political correctness to the point where real issues are ignored. The focus is equality right? So, let us be accepting of all, regardless of whether one appreciates one acronym over the other.