Portal:LGBT


	The LGBTQ+ Portal

Introduction

LGBT is an initialism that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender". It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual, non-heteroromantic, or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. A variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer (which can be synonymous with LGBT) or are questioning their sexual or gender identity. Another variation, LGBTQ+, adds a plus sign "represents those who are part of the community, but for whom LGBTQ does not accurately capture or reflect their identity". Many further variations of the acronym exist, such as LGBT+ (simplified to encompass the Q concept within the plus sign), LGBTQIA+ (adding intersex, asexual, aromantic and agender), and 2SLGBTQ+ (adding two-spirit for a term specific to Indigenous North Americans). The LGBT label is not universally agreed to by everyone that it is generally intended to include. The variations GLBT and GLBTQ rearrange the letters in the acronym. In use since the late 1980s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for marginalized sexualities and gender identities.

LGBT is an adaptation of LGB, which in the mid-to-late 1980s began to replace the term gay (or gay and lesbian) in reference to the broader LGBT community. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter LGB is still used. (Full article...)

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The Washington Blade is an LGBT newspaper in the Washington metropolitan area. The Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States and third largest by circulation, behind the Philadelphia Gay News and the Gay City News of New York City. The Blade is often referred to as America's gay newspaper of record because it chronicled LGBT news locally, nationally, and internationally. The New York Times said the Blade is considered "one of the most influential publications written for a gay audience."

The paper was originally launched as an independent publication in October 1969 with a focus on bringing the community together. In 2001, the Blade was purchased by Window Media LLC, a group of gay-oriented newspapers circulated throughout the United States with a staff composed of professional journalists, becoming a leading source of news for the readers both in Washington and around the nation. The paper publishes weekly on Fridays and celebrated its 50th anniversary in October 2019. (Full article...)

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Photo by Tee Corinne, 1983

Ann Weldy (born September 15, 1932), better known by her pen name Ann Bannon, is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. The books' enduring popularity and impact on lesbian identity has earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction". Bannon was a young housewife trying to address her own issues of sexuality when she was inspired to write her first novel. Her subsequent books featured four characters who reappeared throughout the series, including her eponymous heroine, Beebo Brinker, who came to embody the archetype of a butch lesbian. The majority of her characters mirrored people she knew, but their stories reflected a life she did not feel she was able to live. Despite her traditional upbringing and role in married life, her novels defied conventions for romance stories and depictions of lesbians by addressing complex homosexual relationships.

Her books shaped lesbian identity for lesbians and heterosexuals alike, but Bannon was mostly unaware of their impact. She stopped writing in 1962. Later, she earned a doctorate in linguistics and became an academic. She endured a difficult marriage for 27 years and, as she separated from her husband in the 1980s, her books were republished; she was stunned to learn of their influence on society. They were released again between 2001 and 2003 and were adapted as an award-winning Off-Broadway production. They are taught in women's and LGBT studies courses, and Bannon has received numerous awards for pioneering lesbian and gay literature. She has been described as "the premier fictional representation of US lesbian life in the fifties and sixties", and it has been said that her books "rest on the bookshelf of nearly every even faintly literate Lesbian". (Full article...)

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“

If you had told me 28 years ago that the largest organization in the world touching the lives of gays and lesbians would be a church, I would not have believed you.

”

—Troy Perry, Metropolitan Community Church founder

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Current events

October 5: Supreme court of Mauritius rules the colonial era law criminalizing homosexuality unconstitutional
August 5: DaBaby Levitating remix losing US radio audiences after the rapper's comments on HIV/AIDS
May 19: Taiwan's legislature first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage
February 1: Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight murders
October 30: 22nd annual ILGA-Europe conference meets in Brussels: in pictures
October 30: In pictures: thousands attend 16th annual Taiwan Pride

See also: 2024 in LGBT rights

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Credit: Paul M. Walsh

Lesbian and gay students kissing in front of anti-homosexuality protesters at Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio, USA) in May 2000. Several hundred Oberlin College students turned out to rally against the protesters. The protesters—from Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas—also protested the General Conference of the United Methodist Church while in Ohio.

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... that when Dan Savage's book Savage Love was published, his advice column of the same name had 4 million readers?
... that Anita Bryant's participation in Save Our Children, a coalition working to overturn gay rights ordinances in Miami and other cities in 1977 and 1978, destroyed her career?
...that the GayFest of 2005 was the first LGBT pride parade in Romania?
... that African American civil rights activist Mel Boozer was the first openly gay person nominated for the office of Vice President of the United States?
... that the first same-sex kiss on an American soap opera was between fictional characters Lena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery in 2003, who were also American soap opera's first lesbian couple?

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This month's birthdays

1 – Rachel Maddow (1973–), American cable television host
2 – Linda Hunt (1945–), American actress
3 – Anne Lister (1791–1840), English landowner and diarist
3 – Marlon Brando (1924–2004), American actor
3 – Cat Cora (1967–), American chef and TV personality
3 – David Hyde Pierce (1959–), American actor
4 – Robert Bauman, American politician and author, former Republican congressman (Maryland) (1973–1981)
4 – Clive Davis (1932–), American record producer and music industry executive
4 – Anthony Perkins (1932–1992), American actor
5 – Nigel Hawthorne (1929–2001), British actor
5 – Thomas Hitzlsperger (1982–), retired German soccer player
6 – Gale Wilhelm (1908–1991), American writer
7 – Harry Hay (1912–2002), American labor advocate, teacher, and LGBT rights activist
7 – Janis Ian (1951–), American singer-songwriter and musician
8 – Roberta Cowell (1918–2011), British racing driver and WWII fighter pilot
9 – Marc Jacobs (1963–), American fashion designer
9 – Cynthia Nixon (1966–), American actress
9 – Kristen Stewart (1990–), American actress
9 – Harris Wofford (1926–2019), American attorney & politician, U.S. Senator (Pennsylvania) (1991–1995)
10 – Gro Hammerseng-Edin (1980–), Norwegian handball player
10 – Tom Spencer (1948–2023), British politician and former Member of European Parliament
11 – Glenway Wescott (1901–1987), American writer
12 – Amy Ray (1964–), American singer-songwriter and member of Indigo Girls
12 – Magda Szubanski (1961–), Australian actress, comedian and writer
13 – Ole von Beust (1955–), German politician and former First Mayor of Hamburg
14 – Sir John Gielgud (1904–2000), English actor
14 – José María Mendiluce (1951–2015), Spanish writer and politician
14 – André Boisclair (1966–), Canadian politician & former leader of the Parti Québécois
14 – Da Brat (1974–), American rapper and actress
14 – Larissa França (1982–), Brazilian beach volleyball player
15 – Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance polymath
15 – Luke Evans (1979–), Welsh actor and singer
15 – George Platt Lynes (1907–1955), American fashion photographer
15 – Bessie Smith (1894–1937), American blues singer
16 – Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (1984–), American fantasy/young adult lit author
16 – Raymond Chan Chi-chuen (1972–), Hong Kongese politician and radio host
16 – Dusty Springfield (1939–1999), English singer
17 – Thornton Wilder (1897–1975), American playwright and novelist
17 – Michal Jagelka (1977–), Czech actor and voice actor
18 – Alice Blinn (1889-1982), American educator, home efficiency expert, and magazine editor
18 – Maria Bello (1967–), American actress
19 – Prince Edmond de Polignac (1834–1901), French aristocrat & composer
19 – Dick Sargent (1930–1994), American actor
20 – Henry de Montherlant (1895–1972), French essayist and novelist
20 – Toller Cranston (1949–2015), Canadian figure skater and artist, 1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist
21 – Jessica Clark (1985–), English actress, model, and video blog host
22 – John Waters (1946–), American director, writer, visual artist, and media personality
23 – Élisabeth de Gramont, Duchess of Clermont-Tonnerre (1875–1954), French writer and aristocrat
23 – Halston (1932–1990), American fashion designer
23 – Dame Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), English composer and suffragist
24 – Jean-Paul Gaultier (1952–), French fashion designer
25 – Edward II (1267–1327), King of England
25 – Anja Pärson (1981–), Swedish alpine skier, 2006 Olympic Gold Medalist in Slalom
26 – Lily Parr (1905–1978), English professional women's association football player
26 – Ma Rainey (1886–1939), American singer
26 – Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), Austrian philosopher
27 – Russell T Davies (1963–), British television producer and screenwriter
27 – Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1893–1976), Yugoslavian (Serbian) royalty
29 – Garrison Starr (1975–), American singer-songwriter
30 – Onir (1969–), Bengali Indian film director, editor, writer, and producer
30 – Alice B. Toklas (1877–1967), American-born member of Parisian avant-garde