Portal:LGBTQ

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	The LGBTQ+ Portal

Introduction

Various collections of pride flags hung up at Leadenhall Market in London

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LGBTQ (also commonly seen as LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, and LGBTQIA+) is an initialism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. It is an umbrella term, originating in the United States, broadly referring to all sexualities, romantic orientations, and gender identities which are not heterosexual, heteroromantic, cisgender, or endosex.

In the 1990s, gay, lesbian, and bisexual activists adopted the initialism LGB. Terminology eventually shifted to LGBT, as transgender people gained recognition. Around that time, some activists began to reclaim the term queer, seeing it as a more radical and inclusive umbrella term, though others reject it, due to its history as a pejorative. In recognition of this, the 2010s saw the adoption of LGBTQ, and other more inclusive variants. (Full article...)

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Homosexuality is sexual attraction, romantic attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exclusively to people of the same sex or gender. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

Along with bisexuality and heterosexuality, homosexuality is one of the three main categories of sexual orientation within the heterosexual–homosexual continuum. Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor biological theories. There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. A major hypothesis implicates the prenatal environment, specifically the organizational effects of hormones on the fetal brain. There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role in developing a sexual orientation. Scientific research shows that homosexuality is a natural and normal variation in human sexuality and is not in and of itself a source of negative psychological effects. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation. (Full article...)

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Hailey circa 2007

Leisha Hailey is an American actress and musician known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime Networks series The L Word and The L Word: Generation Q. Hailey first came to the public's attention as a musician in the pop duo The Murmurs and has continued her music career as part of the band Uh Huh Her.

Currently, Hailey appears as Alice in The L Word: Generation Q and hosts podcast PANTS with fellow L Word star and close friend, Kate Moennig. (Full article...)

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“

These names: gay, queer, homosexual are limiting. I would love to finish with them. We're going to have to decide which terms to use and where we use them. For me to use the word "queer" is a liberation; it was a word that frightened me, but no longer.

”

—Derek Jarman

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Current events

See also: 2025 in LGBT rights

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Credit: Stefan Servos

Ian McKellen, English stage and screen actor. McKellen is gay and a prominent campaigner for LGBT rights.

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... what a Gay icon is?
... that when ABC's Birmingham, Alabama, affiliate WBMA-LP refused to air the Ellen coming out episode "The Puppy Episode", a local LGBT group sold out a 5,000-seat theatre so people could watch it via satellite?
...that Pullen Memorial Baptist Church is the first Baptist church in the Southern United States to have chosen an openly gay person as lead clergy?
...that Cheryl Dunye's 1996 film The Watermelon Woman was the first feature film to be directed by a black lesbian?
...that the very first news article on what became known as AIDS appeared in the New York Native, a now defunct gay newspaper in New York City?

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This month's birthdays

1 – E. M. Forster (1879–1970), English novelist and short story writer
1 – James Hormel (1933–2021), American philanthropist, LGBT activist & former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg
1 – Joe Orton (1933–1967), English playwright
1 – Martine Rothblatt (1954–), American lawyer, author, entrepreneur, business executive, & CEO of United Therapeutics
2 – William Haines (1900–1973), American film actor and interior designer
2 – M. Carey Thomas (1857–1935), American educator, linguist and women's suffragist
4 – Dot-Marie Jones (1964–), American actress and arm wrestler
4 – Michael Stipe (1960–), American singer
4 – Gianni Vattimo (1936–2023), Italian philosopher, politician, and Member of European Parliament
6 – Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986), French writer, philosopher and activist
6 – Kate McKinnon (1984–), American actress and comedian
6 – Nancy Ruth (1942–), Canadian Senator
6 – Gábor Szetey (1968–), Hungarian politician and former Secretary of State
7 – Christian Louboutin (1963–), French footwear designer
7 – Chester Kallman (1921–1975), American poet, librettist, and translator
7 – Michael Sam (1990–), American football player, first publicly gay player drafted by the NFL
8 – Jack Andraka (1997–), American inventor, scientist, and cancer researcher
8 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (1864–1892), English royalty
8 – Winnaretta Singer (1865–1943), American heiress
10 – Sal Mineo (1939–1976), American actor
11 – Eva Le Gallienne (1899–1991), English actress, producer and director
12 – Edith Cooper (1862–1913), English poet
12 – Patsy Kelly (1910–1981), American actress
12 – Kieron Richardson (1986–), English actor
13 – Charles Nelson Reilly (1931–2007), American actor, comedian, and director
13 – Charlotte Charke (1713–1760), English actress, playwright, novelist and transvestite
13 – Edmund White (1940–), American author
13 – Nate Silver (1978–), American statistician, journalist, and writer
14 – Cecil Beaton (1904–1980), English fashion and portrait photographer
14 – Holland Taylor (1943–), American actress
14 – Alice Nkom (1945–), Cameroonian lawyer and LGBT advocate
18 – Cary Grant (1904–1986), English actor
18 – Mike Michaud (1955–), American Democratic congressman (Maine)
18 – Seamus O'Regan (1971–), Canadian broadcast journalist and politician
18 – Maulik Pancholy (1974–), American actor
19 – Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995), American novelist and short-story writer
19 – Janis Joplin (1943–1970), American rock singer-songwriter
19 – Jakub Jankto (1996–), Czech professional footballer
21 – Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972), Spanish fashion designer
21 – Christian Dior (1905–1957), French fashion designer
21 – Janis Sidovský (1968–), Czech producer
22 – Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626), English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, essayist, and author
22 – Lord Byron (1788–1824), British poet and a leading figure in Romanticism
22 – Elaine Noble (1944–), American politician and LGBT activist
22 – Ondrej Nepela (1951–1989), Slovak figure skater, 1972 Olympic champion
23 – Luisa, Marquise Casati Stampa di Soncino (1881–1957), Italian aristocrat, muse and patron of the arts
24 – Hadrian (76–138), Roman emperor
24 – Frederick the Great (1712–1786), Prussian king, military leader, and composer
25 – Aya Kamikawa (1968–), Japanese politician and writer, first openly transgender politician in Japan
25 – W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965), English playwright, novelist, and short story writer
25 – Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), English writer
26 – Ellen DeGeneres (1958–), American actress and stand-up comedian
27 – Eric Radford (1985–), Canadian pairs figure skater, 2015 World Champion
28 – Colette (1873–1954), French novelist
28 – Marnie McBean (1968–), Canadian rower, three-time Olympic Gold Medalist
29 – Gia Carangi (1960–1986), American model
29 – Sara Gilbert (1975–), American actress and talk show co-host
29 – Greg Louganis (1960–), American Olympic diver and author
30 – Howard Sturgis (1855–1920), English writer
30 – Stewart McKinney (1931–1987), American politician, Republican congressman (Connecticut) (1971–1987)
30 – Claudia Brind-Woody (1955–), American business executive, IBM
31 – Lewis Vernon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt (1863–1922), British politician
31 – Tallulah Bankhead (1902–1968), American actress
31 – Patricia Velásquez (1971–), Venezuelan actress and model
31 – Portia de Rossi (1973–), Australian actress
31 – Czeslaw Walek (1975–), Czech lawyer and LGBT activist