Portal:LGBTQ


	The LGBTQ+ Portal

Introduction

A six-band rainbow flag representing the LGBTQ community

LGBTQ (also commonly seen as LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, and LGBTQIA+) is an initialism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. It is an umbrella term, broadly referring to all sexualities, romantic orientations, and gender identities which are not heterosexual or cisgender.

In the 1990s, gay, lesbian, and bisexual activists adopted the term LGB, supplanting narrower terms such as "gay or lesbian". Terminology eventually shifted to LGBT, as transgender people became more accepted within the movement. Around that time, some activists began to reclaim the term queer, seeing it as a more radical and inclusive umbrella term, though others reject it, due to its history as a pejorative. In recognition of this, the 2010s saw the adoption of LGBTQ, and other more inclusive variants.

Some versions of the term, such as LGBT+ and LGBTQ+ add a plus sign, to represent additional identities not captured within the acronym. Many further variants exist which add additional identities, such as LGBTQIA+ (for intersex, asexual, aromantic, and agender) and 2SLGBTQ+ (for two-spirit), LGBTQQ (for queer and questioning), or which order the letters differently, as in GLBT and GLBTQ.

The collective of all LGBTQ people is often called the LGBTQ community. These labels are not universally agreed upon by everyone that they are intended to include. For example, some intersex people prefer to be included in this grouping, while others do not. Various alternative umbrella terms exist across various cultures, including queer, same gender loving (SGL), Gender, Sexual and Romantic Minorities (GSRM). (Full article...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

edit

Selected article - show another

Japan does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions. Several municipalities and prefectures issue same-sex partnership certificates, which provide some benefits, but do not offer equal legal recognition. Polling suggests that a significant majority of Japanese people support the legalization of same-sex marriage or partnerships, particularly the younger generation. Politically, the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, and Komeito support legalizing same-sex marriage. Nippon Ishin no Kai also supports same-sex marriage, but believes a constitutional amendment is necessary to legalize it. However, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power almost continuously since 1958, remains opposed to it.

On 17 March 2021, a district court in Sapporo ruled the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, arguing that laws or regulations that deprive same-sex couples of the legal benefits of marriage constitute "discriminatory treatment without a rational basis" and as such violate Article 14 of the Constitution of Japan. The court also ruled that Article 24 of the Constitution, which defines marriage as "based only on the mutual consent of both sexes", does not prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages. Over the following two years, five other district courts issued rulings either upholding the ban or declaring it unconstitutional. In March 2024, the Sapporo High Court issued a verdict stating that the same-sex marriage ban violated the Constitution, the first time an appellate court had reached such a conclusion. While these rulings did not legalise same-sex marriage in Japan, it is anticipated that they may pressure the National Diet to act on legislation opening marriage to same-sex couples. Bills were introduced to the Diet in 2019 and 2023. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Selected biography - show another

Josef Kohout (24 January 1915 – 15 March 1994) was an Austrian Nazi concentration camp survivor, imprisoned for his homosexuality. He is best known for the 1972 book Die Männer mit dem rosa Winkel (The Men With the Pink Triangle), which was written by his acquaintance Hans Neumann using the pen name Heinz Heger, which is often falsely attributed to Kohout. The book is one of very few first-hand accounts of the treatment of homosexuals in Nazi imprisonment. It has been translated into several languages, and a second edition published in 1994. It was the first testimony from a homosexual survivor of the concentration camps to be translated into English, and is regarded as the best known. Its publication helped to illuminate not just the suffering gay prisoners of the Nazi regime experienced, but the lack of recognition and compensation they received after the war's end.

Kohout's book inspired the 1979 play Bent, by Martin Sherman, which was made into the movie Bent, directed by Sean Mathias, in 1997. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies

edit

Selected quote - show another

“

It is better to be hated for what one is than to be loved for what one isn’t.

”

—André Gide (1869–1951)

More quotes…

edit

Current events

See also: 2024 in LGBT rights

edit

Selected image - show another

Credit: Jastrow

The Warren Cup, a Roman skyphos (drinking cup) featuring two representations of homoerotic sexual acts. It was most likely commissioned from Greek craftsmen between 1–20 CE.

All selected pictures
See Category:LGBT for more LGBT-related images

edit

Did you know… - show different entries

Question mark

...that Tanaz Eshaghian's film Be Like Others explores the experiences of transsexuals in Iran, a country that outlaws homosexuality but sanctions sex-reassignment surgery?
... that horror novelist Anne Rice has cited the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter as an inspiration for her own homoerotic vampire fiction?
... that Silverton, Oregon has elected the first openly transgender mayor in the United States?
... that after initially deciding not to air the Roseanne episode "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because it included Mariel Hemingway kissing Roseanne Barr, ABC promoted it as "the lesbian kiss episode"?

More did you know facts

edit

This month's birthdays

1 – Klaus Wowereit (1953–), German politician and former Governing Mayor of Berlin
2 – Annie Leibovitz (1949–), American portrait photographer
3 – Erik Bruhn (1928–1986), Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, artistic director, actor, and author
3 – Eleonora Duse (1858–1924), Italian actress
3 – Gore Vidal (1925–2012), American author, essayist, and political activist
4 – Alan L. Hart (1890-1962), American physician, radiologist, tuberculosis researcher, and novelist
4 – Terri L. Jewell (1954–1995), American author, poet and Black lesbian activist
4 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir (1942–), Icelandic politician, former Prime Minister of Iceland, world's first openly gay head of government
5 – Chevalier d'Éon (1728-1810), French diplomat, spy, and soldier
5 – John Addington Symonds (1840–1893), English poet and literary critic
6 – Bruno Balz (1902-1988), German songwriter
6 – Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), Polish composer and pianist
7 – Dan Savage (1964–), American sex advice columnist
8 – Kristanna Loken (1979–), American model and actress
10 – Wade MacLauchlan (1954–), Canadian politician, Premier of Prince Edward Island
11 – Jerome Robbins (1918–1998), American theater producer, director, and choreographer
11 – Matt Bomer (1977–), American actor
11 – Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962), former First Lady of the United States and human rights activist
12 – Xulhaz Mannan (1976–2016), Bangladeshi magazine editor and LGBT activist
13 – Ian Thorpe (1982–), Australian freestyle swimmer, five-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2000 & 2004)
14 – Isaac Mizrahi (1961–), American fashion designer & TV presenter
14 – Ben Whishaw (1980–), English actor
15 – Michel Foucault (1926–1984), French philosopher
15 – Jenna Talackova, Canadian beauty pageant contestant, model and TV personality
16 – Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), Irish writer, poet, and aesthete
16 – Cressida Dick (1960–), British police commissioner
17 – Montgomery Clift (1920–1966), American actor
17 – Mark Gatiss (1966–), English actor, screenwriter and novelist
17 – Ryan McGinley (1977–), American photographer
17 – Laura Nyro (1947–1997), American songwriter, singer, and pianist
18 – Uzi Even (1940–), Israeli professor, former politician and first openly gay member of Israeli parliament
18 – Brittney Griner (1990–), American basketball player
18 – Martina Navratilova (1956–), American tennis player
19 – George Nader (1921–2002), American actor
19 – Robert Reed (1932–1992), American actor
20 – Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891), French poet
21 – William Dale Jennings (1917–2000), American LGBT rights activist, playwright, and author
21 – Peter Mandelson (1953–), British Labour politician and former European Commissioner for Trade
21 – Megan Smith (1964–), American technology corporate executive, and former Chief Technology Officer of the United States (2014-2017)
21 – Andrew Scott (1976–), Irish actor
22 – Brian Boitano, American figure skater, 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist
22 – Saffron Burrows (1972–), English actress
22 – Lord Alfred Douglas (1870–1945), British poet and translator
22 – Marc Shaiman (1959–), American film/TV/theatre composer, lyricist & arranger
23 – Jean Acker (1893–1978), American actress
23 – Ireland Baldwin (1995–), American model
23 – Lilyan Tashman (1896–1934), American actress
24 – Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois (1895–1964), French aristocrat & Monegasque royalty
24 – August von Platen-Hallermünde (1796–1835), German poet
25 – Claude Cahun (1894–1954), French artist, photographer, and writer
25 – Chely Wright (1970–), American country singer-songwriter
26 – Liliane Maestrini (1987–), Brazilian beach volleyball player
26 – Glen Murray (1957–), Canadian politician, world's first openly gay mayor of a major city (Winnipeg, MB)
27 – Katherine Bradley (1846–1914), English poet
28 – Francis Bacon (1909–1992), Irish painter
28 – Caitlyn Jenner (1949–), American TV personality & Olympic Gold Medalist in Decathlon (1976)
28 – Frank Ocean (1987–), American singer-songwriter
29 – Michelle Brooke-Marciniak (1973–), American business executive and former WNBA basketball player
29 – Ann-Marie MacDonald (1958–), Canadian playwright, novelist, actress & broadcast journalist
30 – Timothy Findley (1930–2002), Canadian novelist & playwright
31 – Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972), American playwright, poet and novelist