LGBT

LGBT or GLBT are the most common terms and the ones most frequently seen in current usage. Although identical in meaning, LGBT may have more feminist connotation than "GLBT" as it places the "L" for lesbian first.


Is an initialism of Lesbian,Gay,Bi-Sexual & Transgender or Queers with a Q at the end.
In use since the 1990s, itself started replacing the phrase gay community which many within the LGBT communities felt did not represent accurately all those to which it referred. In modern use, LGBT relates to the diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures, and is sometimes used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual, and not exclusively people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender. LGBT is presently so mainstream that it has been adopted by the majority of the LGBT community centres and LGBT media in most English-speaking countries.

The first term used, homosexual, was thought to carry negative connotations and tended to be replaced by homophile and then gay. As lesbians forged their own identity, the phrase gay and lesbian became more common. This was soon followed by bisexual and transgender people also asking for recognition as legitimate categories within the larger community. However, after the initial euphoria of the beginnings of the Stonewall riots wore off, starting in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there was a change in perception and some gays and lesbians were not very accepting of bisexual or transgender people. It was thought that transsexual people were acting out stereotypes; and bisexuals were simply gay men or lesbian women who were simply afraid to "come out" and be honest about their identity. The movement underwent growing pains, and these continue to this day.

Not until the 1990s did it become common to speak of "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people" with equal respect within the movement. Although the LGBT community has seen some controversy regarding universal acceptance of different members (transgender individuals, in particular, have sometimes been marginalized by the larger LGBT community), the term LGBT has been a positive symbol of inclusion. Despite the fact that LGBT does not nominally encompass all individuals in the queer communities. Overall, the use of the term LGBT has, over time, largely aided in bringing otherwise marginalized individuals into the general community.