LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender".[1][2][3][4] It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual, non-heteroromantic, or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.[5] [6][7] A variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer (which can be synonymous with LGBT)[8] or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.[9] Another variation, LGBTQ+, adds a plus sign "represents those who are part of the community, but for whom LGBTQ does not accurately capture or reflect their identity".[10][11] Many further variations of the acronym exist, such as LGBT+ (simplified to encompass the Q concept within the plus sign),[12] LGBTQIA+ (adding intersex, asexual, aromantic and agender),[13] and 2SLGBTQ+ (adding two-spirit for a term specific to Indigenous North Americans). The LGBT label is not universally agreed to by everyone that it is generally intended to include.[14] The variations GLBT and GLBTQ rearrange the letters in the acronym.[15][16] In use since the late 1980s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for marginalized sexualities and gender identities.[17]
This article is about the initialism. For a topical guide, see Outline of LGBT topics. For LGBT people in society, see LGBT history, LGBT community, and LGBT culture. For other uses, see LGBT (disambiguation).LGBT is an adaptation of LGB, which in the mid-to-late 1980s began to replace the term gay (or gay and lesbian) in reference to the broader LGBT community.[18] When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter LGB is still used.[19][20]