Wondering about the initials?

[Sequoia]

For those reading this forum who may be curious about the various initials being used, I thought I'd do a quick explanation.

G = Gay
L = Lesbian
B = Bisexual, and sometimes Bi-Gender
T = Transgender, Transsexual, Transvestite
Q = Queer, and sometimes Questioning
I = Intersex

LGBT is often used instead of GLBT. Where I live, LGBT is the preferred form. But they both mean pretty much the same thing.

LGBTQ and LGBTQI are used in some places to be even more inclusive of all non-heterosexuals.

Also, the umbrella word that covers all non-heterosexuals is either Gay or Queer...depending on where you live, and to some extent on how old you are (to my generation it was Gay; to my daughter and her friends it's Queer, a term I prefer myself).

[Chais Papa]

I Guess there has to be labels. They can help a person with the reality of being "different" and find a place in the world.
For me labels have seemed to always add to my confusion. I would get comfortable with one then my mind would morph to the next. On that note, whatever the name or the initials it's good to see people come together and share their experience.

Anyway, thanks for clarifying the terminology, Sequoia.

[Sequoia]

I'm not fond of labels myself, Chais Papa. In a better world, maybe we wouldn't need them so much.

But they're out there, and for many they do seem to serve a purpose. If nothing else, they can serve as a way of finding other people like ourselves...just as is happening here on MS World.

[technogay]

Labels

2010 and we still need to be labelled. I'm thinking of giving the "normal" people a label. Any ideas?

Oh yes, I forgot, the label queer or *** or dyke really make's me sick to my stomach.

Technogay,

Gay and Proud of it

[Sequoia]

Sorry the word "queer" bothers you, technogay.

For many of us, it's a positive thing. Oftentimes, minorities co-opt labels that are used against them by the dominant majority, making the words their own in an act of pride and defiance.

"We're here, we're queer, get over it!" I can't count how many times I've heard that, or a similar chant, at pride events.

[Sequoia]

Well, I guess I can blame MS brain fog for that quote.

It should have been "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!"

Sigh.

[Chais Papa]

Well, the word queer used to rub me the wrong way but the word is now used commonly to describe the entire spectrum of gender and sexuality issues.

I have gotten used to it and no longer find it offensive.

[Sequoia]

I just did a little online sleuthing, and it turns out that "We're here! We're queer! Get used to it!" has been in use for 20 years and was originated by "Miss Jane" Sheehan of Queer Nation San Francisco.

Queer Nation was founded that year at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Services Center in Greenwich Village, NYC. It mission was to fight for LGBT rights via direct action and other tactics.

And that's how the reclaiming of the word "queer" got started.

[Akasha]

We tweeked the cheer a bit...It goes like this..."We're here! We're queer! Get used to us! We're FABULOUS!!!!"

[Sequoia]

We tweeked the cheer a bit...It goes like this..."We're here! We're queer! Get used to us! We're FABULOUS!!!!"

I love it!

[Chais Papa]

Over the weekend I got hugely dissed because I used the word queer to describe a gay man on another MS forum. It was like I used the N or the C word.
People were so vexed I couldn't understand. I made an effort to explain the usage and context but that had little effect. crazy

[Sequoia]

Over the weekend I got hugely dissed because I used the word queer to describe a gay man on another MS forum. It was like I used the N or the C word.
People were so vexed I couldn't understand. I made an effort to explain the usage and context but that had little effect. crazy

Sounds like the people on that forum were unaware of the relatively recent (in the grand scheme of things, 20 years is recent) change in usage. At least their hearts were in the right place...they didn't like to see GLBT people being disrespected (as they saw it).

It's a shame they weren't able to hear you, though.

For people whose association with the word queer is nastiness like "smear the queer," I sometimes point out that the word gay is still widely used against us, as in "that's so gay," meaning "that's so lame."

[fishead]

Sequoia, it has always been my urge to hold back and learn what one wishes to be called. As any racial group, it seems persons of diversity each have their own preferred words. I believe it may be based on regions, words that, in the past, have been used in anger or as slurs, and a lot to do with respect. Most people, regardless of economical status/age/ethnicity/gender/diverseness want to be respected.

I have found in MSWorld, that there is, seemingly, an "unwritten" rule about respect that most here abide by. It delights me to see this, and hope it continues!

[Sequoia]

Sequoia, it has always been my urge to hold back and learn what one wishes to be called. As any racial group, it seems persons of diversity each have their own preferred words.

I completely agree that it's best to call people of any group what they wish to be called, and to hold back (whenever possible) until we know what's preferred.

It's not always easy, though, to know what that is. For example, I know from personal experience that some members of that racial/ethnic group prefer to be called Hispanic, some prefer Latino, and some prefer Chicano.

Also, again from personal experience, some members of that racial/ethnic group prefer to be called Native American, and some prefer to be called Indian.

In the LGBT community, some prefer Gay as the umbrella term, while others prefer Queer. Some prefer GLBT, some prefer LGBT, some add a Q &/or an I at the end, and so forth.

All we can do is attempt to be respectful of others' preferences, while knowing that we won't always get it right for any given individual. And, of course, keep listening to each other!

[Chais Papa]

yes respect is huge. One reason I live where I do is the respect that people here show to one another. I just spent two weeks in the states and I forgot how disassociated people are up there, no greetings, no eye contact. I was hard to get used to.
Being bi-gender I am somewhat out of the normal gay spectrum. I have no issue being described as gender queer or just queer. Labels are tough and can be location or culturally specific. Here I would be called an"anti-man" which is the general term for male LBGT person.