It's LGBTQI, not just Gay.

[lightningandsnow]

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning and Intersex.

If you're going to be an ally, be an ally to all of us. That includes acknowledging all of us first.

[cliffordu]

1. Yep.

[pinboy3niner]

5. Absolutely

:hi:

[cliffordu]

8. YO!!!

:patriot:

[xchrom]

2. Recommend - don't forget I - intersex folk. Nt

[lightningandsnow]

6. Thanks! I edited it.

[SidDithers]

3. K&R...nt

Sid

[uppityperson]

4. Question, I haven't heard the Queer/Questioning before. What is this?

I don't want to assume but am thinking the Questioning is being unsure, or being open to whatever. Not sure and would like to find out. What is the "queer" bit as that has been a slur word.

Thank you.

[xchrom]

9. Queer came back at the height or before of the HIV epidemic.

Younger people wanting to take back the word - some not
Wanting to be associated with the old school gay and
Lesbian folk. As in Queer Nation.

I personally don't love it - but it's not my life.

Oh and btw - there can be straight queers.
Straights who heavily identify with our culture.

Questing is just that - not sure - often young people.

[uppityperson]

10. Thank you, didn't want to assume.

It comes down to it really isn't anyone else's issue beyond those involved. We live in an odd country, odd world. Thanks.

[Mimosa]

24. Never liked the word queer

I never liked the word queer as a noun or adjective applied to gay people and never will.

I'm not so sure I'm fond of being boxed in by letters. The day when people are just people, accepted for their characters and individual gifts, can't arrive soon enough.

[whopis01]

32. I am queer and proud to be queer.

Fuck what anyone else thinks about this word. It is what I choose to apply to myself.

[Amaril]

39. +1,000,000,000 n/t

[Roon]

31. I know a woman who divorced her husband

because he nagged her about going out with her gay male friends all the time.

[xchrom]

35. lol! nt

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Consider yourself acknowledged

[Stinky The Clown]

11. I remain on your side and get your message, but I gotta chuckle a little . . . .

. . . . you had to go back and edit because your letter string was shy one letter.

The unwieldiness of the shorthand of inclusion.

[unblock]

12. what about asexuals?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexuality

[undergroundpanther]

22. transgender,asexuals and fur

like,meow? I'm with y'all 100% I include asexuals and furries ..Adding gbltqi + an "af " in the mix too.It's a rainbow even if human eyes don't recognize infrared and gamma rays and xrays as colored light yet. The truth is,it's a spectrum that goes farther than the visible and recognized colors..

[w8liftinglady]

47. sexuality between consenting adults should be off-limits..including marriage/civil relationships

it should be a non-issue.

[snooper2]

48. furries get their own letter?

Is it different if a male and female furry have sex vs. two male furries?

Or is it all just furry love? I know furries are actually becoming one with their furryness inside...so really if it's lion on chipmunk that would be interspecies sex. I don't know if there is a single word for interspecies sex. One search I did showed up bestiality but dictionary.com states specifically human on animal.

Maybe just add an I for interspecies or do we keep a F for furry? Interspecies sounds a little more "formal"...


ON EDIT: corrected spelling of "chipmunk" as I had transposed the p and m :)

[ZombieHorde]

13. Your point is spot on, but LGBTQI looks like a Lovecraftian God.

Unfortunately, marketing is important. I hope a simpler way is created to say, "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning and Intersex."

[lightningandsnow]

14. I often say "queer and trans".

In my city, people don't have an issue with it generally, but I know a lot of older LGBTQI folks don't like the term "queer".

[Dappleganger]

16. +1000

just for referencing H.P. Lovecraft!

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

17. I agree.

It is hard to get all the letters right (witness the OP's edit). It appears to be an unwieldy attempt to be accurate and inclusive that just makes weaker supporters say "fuck it".

I am no expert, but a one word way to include everyone is really better when it comes to advancing the cause. I know that I, personally, use the word "gay" but mean it as inclusive of the litany of initials.

Again and to be clear, this is not about the people. It is about the marketing.

[Scruffy1]

15. Thanks for reminding us.

Sexuality is a complex subject.

[jaxx]

18. Rec for being all inclusive.

[nemo137]

19. K&R n/t

[mitchtv]

20. I won't be using the Q initial

that's that

[Mimosa]

25. Same here.

Wouldn't use F for fag, either.

[TriMera]

26. I use the Q in my research papers for school.

But I also make sure that people know that it stands for Questioning.

[TBF]

21. Solidarity K&R nt

[derby378]

23. Actually, the G goes before the L

:hide:

And you forgot two initials: "S" for Sapphic and "A" for Androphile. :P

[xchrom]

36. that changed years ago -- the L in front.

it's sometimes hard to keep up -- but i think it's all very cool.

[guardian]

43. You're right ... it IS hard to keep up.

You're wrong...it is NOT cool. It dilutes the message and causes people to focus on trying to figure out the acronym instead of focusing on the goal of equal rights.

You are just shooting yourselves in the foot by all this name changing, and switching the 'L' before the 'G'. What horseshit. Focus on what is important not this schoolroom bullshit.

[xchrom]

45. ...

:rofl: that was quite ridiculous.

[guardian]

50. Laugh all you want

You are just ignoring reality. 90% of the replies in this very thread show confusion over the acronym. Here is a sampling of what others wrote:

* I haven't heard the Queer/Questioning before. What is this?
* What is the "queer" bit as that has been a slur word.
* Queer came back at the height or before of the HIV epidemic.
* I'm not so sure I'm fond of being boxed in by letters.
* I gotta chuckle a little ... you had to go back and edit because your letter string was shy one letter.
* The unwieldiness of the shorthand of inclusion.
* what about asexuals?
* LGBTQI looks like a Lovecraftian God. marketing is important. I hope a simpler way is created
* I know a lot of older LGBTQI folks don't like the term "queer".
* It appears to be an unwieldy attempt to be accurate and inclusive that just makes weaker supporters say "fuck it".
* I won't be using the Q initial
* Actually, the G goes before the L
* it's sometimes hard to keep up
* What is Intersex?
* I'm not going to try to remember that ridiculous combination of letters
* Come up with something snappier and more memorable
* How is the Q not already contained within LGBT?
* an ever-lengthening string of unpronounceable characters.

And these are your SUPPORTERS who agree with you and follow the movement! If this is the reaction from supporters how do you think this plays with people who don't follow the movement?

Wake up and smell what you are shoveling. A ridiculous marketing term has the tendency to make people think the product is equally ridiculous. You are hurting yourself.

Changing the name for the same thing every few years is S.T.U.P.I.D. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[xchrom]

51. What's S.T.U.P.I.D. Is your manufactured hysteria.

From your what you're not a member of tribe - a part of our
Long struggle.

But superior enough that you're gonna lecture us?

[guardian]

54. Knock yourself out. I've got plenty of popcorn.

[Nye Bevan]

27. I'm a huge advocate for full equality for all of those folks

but I'm not going to try to remember that ridiculous combination of letters. Come up with something snappier and more memorable and I'll be happy to use it.

[dddem]

28. How about non-hetero

Kinda like non-white on surveys and stuff. And call me ignorant if you want, but that's it. There is nothing hateful or dismissive about my suggestion. I really am only trying to be helpful.
Peace.

[derby378]

56. Only thing is, to borrow from a Ron White routine...

...everyone is bisexual to a certain extent, even if we'd never consider sleeping with a member of the same gender.

You could call it "The Porn Test." It goes like this:

1. If you're a male who watches porn, do you watch only lesbian porn or do you like to watch men and women together?
2. If you like watching men with women, do you want the man to be "lacking" in performance, or do you want him well-endowed and "fired up?"

I rest my case.

And if you only watch lesbian porn, you already support rights for those who aren't straight to begin with. :P

[guardian]

44. BINGO!

My point exactly.

[Angry Dragon]

29. How about just AP??

AP = A Person

Just let everyone become the person their higher power meant them to be.
As long as they cause no harm to others, no harm should come to them.

[leftstreet]

30. What is Intersex?

Sorry to be stupid...

[xchrom]

34. what used to be called that awful term hermaphrodite. nt

[snooper2]

52. Read this wiki entry

And you will be even more confused :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex

snip--

"The Intersex Society of North America, intersex activists, medical experts and parents have moved to eliminate the term "intersex" in medical usage, replacing it with disorders of sex development (DSD) in order to avoid conflating anatomy with identity.<11> Members of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society<12> and the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology<13> accepted this term in their "Consensus statement on management of intersex disorders" published in the Archives of Disease in Children<14> and in Pediatrics.<15>

Other intersex people, activists, supporters, and academics have contested the adoption of the terminology, seeing it as offensive to intersex individuals who do not feel that there is something wrong with them, regard the DSD consensus paper as reinforcing the normativity of early surgical interventions, and criticising the treatment protocols associated with the new taxonomy.<16><17><18> Alternatives to categorising intersex conditions as "disorders" have been suggested, including "variations of sex development".<19> Organisation Intersex International questions a disease/disability approach, argues for deferral of intervention unless medically necessary, when fully informed consent of the individual involved is possible, and self-determination of sex/gender orientation and identity.<20>

[whopis01]

33. As a queer, I have to add that

it's really LGBTQUIS

because it is really all of us.

[eyepaddle]

55. Now I have to go google something, because I'm not 100%

sure what differentiates Q from the others (I have an idea, but I think now I'll look for more details) and I have no idea what U and S are.

Back in Jiff....

[unhappycamper]

37. k&r n/t

[lunatica]

38. So, other than sex what's the difference?

That's the way I see it. People are all basically the same no matter what culture they're from. I have no idea what my co-workers sex lives are and it doesn't matter to me at all. Not even a little.

[LynneSin]

40. I hate to seem uneducated but what is Intersex?

:shrug:

I know what the others are but the Intersex is a new one to me.

[guardian]

41. LGBTQI WTF?

Can we stop adding new 'letters' every year and just decide on something and stick with it? Every time I turn around there is a 'new' term being used. At this rate it will be LGBTQIZWYOTEQPOIJADSGFLASDFAZMNZBCXVB in few years.

Tell me honestly, how does it help your cause when you keep changing your brand name? Find a term you like and then STICK WITH IT! You want people focusing on the GOALS of your cause, not trying to figure out what the fuck you are talking about!

How popular would Toyota be if every year they changed their name? First Toyota, then Toy, then OTA, then NipponCars, then PacificRimAuto, then TYTA, etc.

[marmar]

57. Wow, just wow.

:wtf:

[ThatsMyBarack]

42. Will do!

:hi:

[hendo]

46. How is the Q not already contained within LGBT? NT

[surrealAmerican]

49. I do get your point about inclusiveness ...

... but there really ought to be a better linguistic solution than an ever-lengthening string of unpronounceable characters.

[Cid_B]

53. LGBTIQRLHRNQQQQ*smileyface*

[geek tragedy]

61. +1000

It shouldn't be that people who haven't gotten the latest memo on the 'correct' acronym or who can't remember 8-10 letter long acronyms be branded bigots towards certain groups.

Also, there are going to be people in the alphabet soup who resent being included with the others--some T's or I's may not see themselves as being part of the same movement as the L's and G's.

[LuckyTheDog]

58. Too many letters

How about I just meet you where you are and look upon you as an individual with inherent worth and dignity by virtue of being a human being. Your sexuality doesn't add to or diminish any of that. It just is what it is.

[Count Olaf]

59. what was wrong with B-Glad? Seemed like a good message...

B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Allies for Diversity)

[madfloridian]

60. That's why I seldom post in support anymore.

I do not know the proper terminology that is acceptable. So I fear to speak out here in support.

After my last blasting here, I learned my lesson.