LGBTQIA+:  / Optional (Choose 2)

L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Aromantic, …

The LGBTQ+ community has been visible, and thus outlawed, in various societies for hundreds of years. To read more about the legislation passed against LGBTQ+ folks throughout history, read this page.

The list of legislation covers much of the Western World under Great Britain’s historic influence, along with countries that faced both colonization and White Supremacy from the British Empire. Religion, patriarchy, and cultural family dynamics have all played a role in creating these laws and social agreements.

However, indigenous peoples and practices worldwide have lived differently for thousands of years. Consider Two-Spirit people and other titles that signified a person’s gender neutral role in society.

According to Schnebly (2022), ” … The word gender had been used as early as the 1300s to describe categories of people. The Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest record of using the word to specifically refer to men or women, though, did not occur until 1474, when someone used it in a letter to describe what the writer refers to as the masculine gender. Over the next centuries, when gender was used to refer to men or women, it was often synonymous with biological sex.”^[1]

Schnebly (2022) explains, “As discussions of sexual intercourse are largely taboo in the U.S., people began to use the word gender in its place to refer to a person’s status as a male or female … However, in the 1950s, gender psychologists who studied differences between the sexes began to reframe gender as something entirely separate from biological sex.”^[2]

Watch this video to learn more about LGBTQ+ identities.

Additional Resources (Optional):

• Human Rights Watch: LGBTQ+ Topics
• American Psychological Association: “Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.”
• GLAAD: Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ+

Directions: Choose 2 articles to read from one of the following subtopics.

Basic Understanding of LGBTQ+ Topics:

Wamsley, Laurel. “A Guide to Gender Identity Terms.” NPR, 2 June 2021.

de Vise, Daniel. “New Studies Find Millions of Young Nonbinary and Transgender Americans.” The Hill, 13 Jan. 2023.

Human Rights Campaign. “Understanding the Asexual Community.” hrc.org. Accessed on 13 Nov. 2023.

In-Depth Perspectives:

Garsd, Jasmine. “Raised in the U.S. and Coming Out to Immigrant Parents.” NPR Code Switch, 23 Jan 2014.

Hubley, Danielle; Gilbert, Sarah. “Trans Experiences of Homelessness: Disparities, Discrimination, and Solutions.” Partnership for Strong Communities, 25 June 2020.

Preston, Ashlee Marie. “Black Trans Women Have Always Been Integral in the Fight for Women’s Rights.”  Harper’s Bazaar, 8 March 2021.

Slepyan, Anya Petrone. “Rural Queer History: Hidden in Plain Sight.” The Daily Yonder, dailyyonder.com, 9 April 2021.