On June 28th, the International LGBT+ Pride Day is celebrated. This date was designated to commemorate a violent encounter between police officers in New York, United States, and members of the LGBT+ community in 1969.
In that year, security forces arrived at the Stonewall Inn bar in New York City, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, one of the few places of freedom for the LGBT+ community. When the police tried to arrest people for illogical reasons, such as two people of the same sex dancing together or attendees not dressing in “appropriate” clothing for their gender, the pub attendees opposed and started a confrontation that lasted for days.
From that moment on, a movement of freedom and respect began that spread around the world, where in many places June is considered LGBT+ Pride Month or Diversity Month.
THE LETTERS
The term LGBT+ has evolved over the years. Some of the variants are LGBTIQ+ and LGBTTTIQ+ ... and here we tell you the meaning of each letter.
What does the L mean?
The first letter, “L,” refers to lesbians, women who feel emotional and/or sexual attraction towards other women. Lesbians suffer from a double discrimination: first because of their gender and second due to the stigma associated with their sexual orientation. Throughout history, they have been subjected to violence, persecution, discrimination, and stigmatization. April 26th is celebrated as Lesbian Visibility Day.
What does the G mean?
The letter “G” represents men who feel emotional and/or sexual attraction towards other men. It refers to ‘gay,’ an English word that has become a widely accepted and used term to describe homosexual men, although in many cases, its use has expanded to include women and the LGBT+ community in general.
What does the B mean?
The letter “B” refers to bisexual people, who are individuals who feel romantic and/or sexual attraction towards both same-sex and opposite-sex individuals. Bisexuality also includes attraction towards individuals regardless of their gender. September 23rd is celebrated as Bisexual Visibility Day.
What does the T mean?
The letter “T” includes transgender people, whose gender identity and/or gender expression does not align with the conventional expectations regarding gender and sex assigned to them at birth. In some cases, a trans person may choose to undergo a transition to achieve a sense of comfort with their body and gender identity. March 31st is celebrated as International Transgender Day of Visibility, and November 20th is International Transgender Day of Remembrance.
What do the other letters T mean?
When three letters “T” are seen in variants of the acronym LGBT+, such as LGBTIQ+ and LGBTTTIQ+, they are used to identify the transgender and transvestite communities.
Transgender people who have medicated or even undergone surgery to change their sex are known as transsexuals. In this way, they adjust their bodies to how they truly feel.
Transgender individuals are people who dress and behave as if they were the opposite gender. For example, a man may dress and put on makeup with clothes typically worn only by women, and vice versa. They can do it in public or in private, occasionally or frequently. People who cross-dress are not necessarily gay or lesbian.
What does the I mean?
The “I” represents intersex people, those who are born with biological characteristics that do not fit typical male or female categories. In other words, they are born with variations in sexual characteristics such as chromosomes, genitals, reproductive organs, or hormone levels. It is important to understand that intersexuality is about biological characteristics and is not related to gender identity or sexual orientation. October 26th is celebrated as Intersex Awareness Day.
What does the Q mean?
The “Q” represents the word ‘queer’ and refers to those people who identify beyond the traditional categories of the binary system of man and woman, of heterosexuality and homosexuality. That is, they do not identify with any label and want to live their gender identity and sexual orientation freely and without discrimination.
What does the + mean?
The symbol “+” was added to include collectives that are not represented in the previous acronyms, encompassing identities such as gender fluid and non-binary people, as well as other sexual orientations such as pansexuality (feeling sexual and/or romantic attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender), asexuality (people who do not experience sexual attraction and/or do not desire sexual contact), or demisexuality (people who only feel sexual attraction towards someone after forming a strong emotional bond).
THE KEYS
Know the meaning of each color of the rainbow flag, adopted by the LGBT+ community in 1978:
• Red: life.
• Orange: healing.
• Yellow: sunlight.
• Green: nature.
• Blue: harmony.
• Violeta: spirit.
Sources: Amnesty International, Sport City, and Government of Mexico.