LGBTQ people

{{Short description|Sexual and gender minorities}} {{redirect|LGBTQ|the term|LGBTQ (term){{!}}''LGBTQ'' (term)|other uses}} {{Redirect-multi|2|Gay and Lesbian|Lesbian and Gay}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}} [[File:Gay flag.svg|thumb|277x277px|A six-band rainbow flag representing the LGBTQ community]] [[File:LGBTQ+ rainbow flag Quasar "Progress" variant.svg|thumb|238x238px|A more recent version of the classic rainbow flag, commonly referred to as the progress flag, with added colors to represent more identities|right]] [[File:Intersex-inclusive pride flag Quasar Coloring.svg|thumb|A third version of the rainbow flag, made to include intersex people|right|208x208px]] {{LGBTQ sidebar}}

'''LGBTQ people''' are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Other individuals are often included in the group, such as questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, and agender,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of LGBTQ |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/LGBTQ |access-date=2025-09-20 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of LGBTQIA |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/LGBTQIA |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> denoted under variants of the initialism "LGBTQ". The group is generally conceived as broadly encompassing all individuals who are part of a sexual or gender minority.<ref>{{Cite web |last=CDC |date=2024-12-19 |title=Terminology |url=https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-youth/lgbtq-youth/terminology.html |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=Adolescent and School Health |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LGBTQ+ – Stanford Med Education |url=https://mededucation.stanford.edu/glossary/lgbtq/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=mededucation.stanford.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sexual and gender minority – Stanford Med Education |url=https://mededucation.stanford.edu/glossary/sexual-and-gender-minority/ |access-date=2026-02-22 |website=mededucation.stanford.edu}}</ref>

==Scope and terminology== {{main|LGBTQ (term){{!}}''LGBTQ'' (term)|List of LGBTQ acronyms}}

LGBTQ people express a broad array of sexual and gender minority identities. The alternative umbrella ''gender, sexual, and romantic minorities'' is sometimes used for this group.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Choudhuri |first1=Devika Dibya |title=Multiplicity of LGBTQ+ Identities, Intersections, and Complexities |date=20 September 2019 |work=Rethinking LGBTQIA Students and Collegiate Contexts |pages=3–16 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780429447297-1 |isbn=978-0-429-44729-7 |s2cid=210355997 |last2=Curley |first2=Kate}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Lapointe |first=Alicia |title=Postgay |date=2016 |work=Critical Concepts in Queer Studies and Education: An International Guide for the Twenty-First Century |pages=205–218 |editor-last=Rodriguez |editor-first=Nelson M. |access-date=9 June 2021 |series=Queer Studies and Education |place=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_21 |isbn=978-1-137-55425-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YpTvDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA205 |editor2-last=Martino |editor2-first=Wayne J. |editor3-last=Ingrey |editor3-first=Jennifer C. |editor4-last=Brockenbrough |editor4-first=Edward |url-access=subscription |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323053845/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/978-1-137-55425-3_21 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Groups that blend into the larger LGBTQ population include: * People with a sexual orientation that is non-heterosexual, including lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and asexual people * People who are transgender or non-binary * People who are aromantic * People who are intersex * Queer people, sometimes used as a synonym for LGBTQ people generally, sometimes as a specific identity

Common variations of the initialism include '''''LGBT''''', '''''LGBT+''''', '''''LGBTQ+''''', and '''''LGBTQIA+'''''.

==Community== {{main|LGBTQ community}}

[[File:Stonewall_Inn_5_pride_weekend_2016.jpg|thumb|Greenwich Village, a gay neighborhood in Manhattan, is home to the Stonewall Inn, shown here adorned with rainbow pride flags.<ref name="Gay Greenwich Village 1">{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/articles/why-new-york-city-is-a-major-destination-for-lgbt-travelers/|title=Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers|author=Julia Goicochea|publisher=The Culture Trip|date=August 16, 2017|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-date=January 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102084000/https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/articles/why-new-york-city-is-a-major-destination-for-lgbt-travelers/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gay Greenwich Village 2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/nyregion/stonewall-inn-named-national-monument-a-first-for-gay-rights-movement.html|title=Stonewall Inn Named National Monument, a First for the Gay Rights Movement|author=Eli Rosenberg|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 24, 2016|access-date=June 25, 2016|archive-date=May 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506010607/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/25/nyregion/stonewall-inn-named-national-monument-a-first-for-gay-rights-movement.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gay Greenwich Village 3">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/diversity/stonewall.htm |title=Workforce Diversity The Stonewall Inn, National Historic Landmark National Register Number: 99000562 |publisher=National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior |access-date=April 21, 2016 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222059/http://www.nps.gov/diversity/stonewall.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>]] LGBTQ people may participate in the LGBTQ community, which may be defined by shared LGBTQ culture, by shared geography (such as gay villages), or by participation in LGBTQ-focused organizations. The LGBTQ community includes elements such as LGBTQ social movements (including LGBTQ rights organizations), LGBTQ student groups in schools and universities, and LGBTQ-affirming religious groups. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and other conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. Not all LGBTQ people consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.{{citation needed|date=September 2025}}

==Culture== thumb|Cologne Germany Gay Pride Parade (2014) {{main|LGBTQ culture}}

{{see also|Outline of LGBTQ topics#Culture}} LGBTQ culture varies widely by geography and the identity of the participants. Elements common to cultures of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people include: * Pride movements, including pride parades * Events such as the Gay Games and Southern Decadence * LGBTQ media and works by LGBTQ artists, including the queer art movement * LGBTQ-owned businesses, particularly those that cater specifically to the LGBTQ community

Not all LGBTQ people identify with LGBTQ culture; this may be due to geographic distance, unawareness of the subculture's existence, fear of social stigma or a preference for remaining unidentified with sexuality- or gender-based subcultures or communities. The Queercore and Gay Shame movements critique what they see as the commercialization and self-imposed "ghettoization" of LGBTQ culture.<ref name="dupleissis">{{cite journal|first1=Michael|last1=du Pleissis|first2=Kathleen|last2=Chapman |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3709/is_199702/ai_n8737120/pg_1|title=Queercore: The distinct identities of subculture|journal=College Literature|date=February 1997 |access-date=June 21, 2007|issn=0093-3139 |via=Find Articles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017134819/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3709/is_199702/ai_n8737120/pg_1 |archive-date=October 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref name="gayshamesf.org">{{cite web|title=Gay Shame: A Celebration of Resistance |url=http://www.gayshamesf.org/ |website=gayshamesf.org |access-date=August 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113220523/http://www.gayshamesf.org/ |archive-date=January 13, 2013 }}</ref>

==History== {{main|LGBTQ history}}

[[File: Statue of Alexander Wood, Alexander Street, Toronto, Canada IMG 5696.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Alexander Wood, Toronto, Canada]]

The history of LGBTQ people dates back to the first recorded instances of same-sex love and diverse gender identities and sexualities in cultures around the world. In many cultures this history has involved marginalization and persecution, such that these histories have only in recent decades been pursued and interwoven into more mainstream historical narratives.

In 1994, the annual observance of LGBT History Month began in the United States, and it has since been picked up in other countries. This observance involves highlighting the history of the people, LGBTQ rights and related civil rights movements. It is observed during October in the United States, to include National Coming Out Day on October 11.<ref name="glsen">{{cite web|url=http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/816.html |title=LGBT History Month Resources |publisher=GLSEN |date=Oct 9, 2001 |access-date=2013-11-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618034421/http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/educator/library/record/816.html |archive-date=June 18, 2013 }}</ref> In the United Kingdom it has been observed during February since 2005: Section 28, which had prohibited local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality was repealed in England and Wales in 2003, while the same legislation (named Section 2a in the Scottish legislation) was repealed by the Scottish parliament in 2000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=Local+Government+Act+&Year=2003&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&parentActiveTextDocId=819204&ActiveTextDocId=819364&filesize=374 |title=Local Government Act 2003 (c. 26) – Statute Law Database |publisher=Statutelaw.gov.uk |date=2011-05-27 |access-date=2013-11-02 |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018021402/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/26/section/122 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880009_en_5.htm Local Government Act 1988 (c. 9)] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122112358/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1988/Ukpga_19880009_en_5.htm |date=November 22, 2005 }}), section 28. Accessed July 1, 2006 on opsi.gov.uk.</ref> A celebrated achievement in LGBTQ history occurred when Queen Beatrix signed a law making Netherlands the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwNhIK9Fn1sC&dq=queen+beatrix+same+sex+marriage&pg=PA191 |title=Homosexuality and the Law: A Dictionary |publisher=Abc-Clio |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-57607-267-7}}</ref> and another when Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote in 2015.

==Rights== {{main|LGBTQ rights by country or territory}}

The legal rights held by LGBTQ people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—ranging from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Angelo |first1=Paul J. |last2=Bocci |first2=Dominic |title=The Changing Landscape of Global LGBTQ+ Rights |url=https://www.cfr.org/article/changing-landscape-global-lgbtq-rights |publisher=Council on Foreign Relations |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=29 January 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People |url=https://www.aclu.org/documents/rights-lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-people |publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=11 March 2002}}</ref> An example of such protections are legal prohibitions against incitement to hatred and violence against LGBTQ people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gaggioli Gasteyger |first1=Gloria |last2=Kilibarda |first2=Pavle |title=Equality and Non-Discrimination |chapter=The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred and Violence on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity |date=21 August 2025 |publisher=Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights |isbn=978-2-9701458-4-4 |url=https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:187147 |pages=84–131 |quote=}}</ref>

Laws that affect LGBTQ people include: * legal recognition of same-sex marriage * laws concerning same-sex parenting, including same-sex adoption * anti-discrimination laws in employment, housing, education, public accommodations * hate crime laws imposing enhanced criminal penalties for prejudice-motivated violence against LGBTQ people * bathroom bills affecting access to sex-segregated facilities by transgender people * sodomy laws that penalize consensual same-sex sexual activity * laws concerning access to gender-affirming surgery and gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy * legal recognition and accommodation of the affirmed gender

Even in jurisdictions with strong protections for LGBTQ rights, they may still be subject to discrimination against LGBTQ people.

==Discrimination== {{main|Discrimination against LGBTQ people}}

Discrimination against LGBTQ people can manifest in legal, institutional, and social forms.<ref name="Ramos">{{cite journal |last1=Ramos |first1=Natalia |last2=Burgess |first2=Alexis |last3=Ollen |first3=Elizabeth |title=The Current Status of Sociopolitical and Legal Issues Faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Youth |journal=Adolescent Psychiatry (Hilversum, Netherlands) |date=2023 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=180–195 |doi=10.2174/2210676611666211105120645 |pmid=37064428 |pmc=10104455 |issn=2210-6766}}</ref>{{rp|1}} This includes discrimination directed specifically at lesbians, at homosexuals more broadly, at gay men, at bisexuals, at transgender people, at asexual people, at intersex people, and at non-binary people.

Opposition to LGBTQ rights exists worldwide. While laws are "a necessary foundation to achieve equality ... protections under the law are not sufficient to eliminate prejudice", and "social equality is not synonymous with equality under the law", according to Ilan Meyer.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Ilan H. |title=The Elusive Promise of LGBT Equality |journal=American Journal of Public Health |date=August 2016 |volume=106 |issue=8 |pages=1356–1358 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.2016.303221 |pmid=27400347 |pmc=4940645 }}</ref> According to a study by the European Parliament's internal policy body in 2012: "To resolve the vast majority of problems faced by LGBTI people, individuals, society, organisations and authorities must stop regarding their differences as factors which require differential treatment. While this seems self evident, such shifts in attitude cannot be achieved through one-off, short term action, nor through legislation alone. ... in some areas a change of views of some groups may simply not be possible."<ref>{{cite report |last1=Leigh |first1=Vanessa |last2=Altan |first2=Levent |last3=Long |first3=Jordan |last4=Paradis |first4=Evelyne |date=2012 |title=Towards an EU Roadmap for Equality on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/IPOL-LIBE_ET(2012)462482 |publisher=Directorate-General for Internal Policies, Policy Department C – Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament |location=Brussels |docket=IPOL-LIBE_ET(2012)462482 |access-date=17 September 2025}}</ref>

Some countries practice censorship of LGBTQ issues.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rehman |first1=Javaid |last2=Polymenopoulou |first2=Eleni |title=Is Green a Part of the Rainbow? Sharia, Homosexuality and LGBT Rights in the Muslim World |journal=Fordham International Law Journal |date=10 October 2012 |url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2322&context=ilj |access-date=2 December 2019 |publisher=Social Science Research Network |language=en |archive-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721220600/https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2322&context=ilj |url-status=live }}</ref>

Social divides exist over the social acceptance of LGBTQ people, including societal attitudes toward homosexuality.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Suls |first1=Rob |title=Deep divides between, within parties on public debates about LGBT issues |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2016/10/04/deep-divides-between-within-parties-on-public-debates-about-lgbt-issues/ |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=4 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kramer |first1=Sarah |title='Coming Out': Gay Teenagers, in Their Own Words |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/us/23out.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=20 May 2011 |quote='The amount of attention that has been given to debates over L.G.B.T. issues in the last year is another sign of how deeply American society remains divided over L.G.B.T. issues,' said George Chauncey, a Yale University professor of 20th-century United States history and lesbian and gay history, ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rivers |first1=Brendan |title=Religious liberty law illustrates Georgia's evolving discourse on LGBTQ issues |url=https://www.wabe.org/religious-liberty-law-illustrates-georgias-evolving-discourse-on-lgbtq-issues-2/ |publisher=WABE |location=Atlanta |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=20 June 2025}}</ref>

Research on LGBTQ responses to discrimination has highlighted both individual and collective forms of resilience. It has been suggested that resilience should be treated as a core component of how stigma affects sexual and gender minority health, and distinguished between individual resilience (i.e., personal coping resources) and community resilience (i.e., group-level resources such as supportive institutions, role models, and shared identity), suggesting that the latter is particularly significant because the source of minority stress is itself collective in nature.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Ilan H. |year=2015 |title=Resilience in the study of minority stress and health of sexual and gender minorities |journal=Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=209–213 |doi=10.1037/sgd0000132}}</ref> A longitudinal study of 3,627 LGBTQ+ adults sampled across five waves between 2017 and 2025 documented one such collective response, which the authors termed identity vigilance: as perceptions of the possibility of progressive social change declined, group identification, group-based self-definition and satisfaction, collective efficacy, and the desire to preserve identity-related spaces and symbols all increased significantly, and stronger identification buffered respondents against the negative emotional consequences of perceived social decline.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=Thomas A. |last2=Salvatore |first2=Jessica |year=2026 |title=When it doesn't get better: Leaning into minoritized identity to brace for decline |journal=Advances.in/Psychology |volume=1 |pages=e186113 |doi=10.56296/aip00056}}</ref> Other scholars have urged caution about resilience as an analytic frame, arguing that it can place the burden of navigating oppression on individuals while leaving the institutions that produce discrimination unchallenged.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robinson |first1=Brandon Andrew |last2=Schmitz |first2=Rachel M. |year=2021 |title=Beyond resilience: Resistance in the lives of LGBTQ youth |journal=Sociology Compass |volume=15 |issue=12 |article-number=e12947 |doi=10.1111/soc4.12947}}</ref>

== Movements == {{main|LGBTQ movements}}

LGBTQ movements are social movements that advocate for the inclusion, recognition, and rights of LGBTQ people. These movements work to secure legal rights, or enact broader social changes aimed at advancing equality and inclusion.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Morris |first1=Bonnie J. |author-link=Bonnie J. Morris |title=A brief history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements |url=https://www.apa.org/topics/lgbtq/history |publisher=American Psychological Association |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=16 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Shaw |first1=Ari |title=The Global Threat to LGBTQ Rights |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/global-threat-lgbtq-rights |website=Foreign Affairs |access-date=16 September 2025 |date=17 July 2025 |quote=Every country is different, but on the whole, advances in LGBTQ rights have been driven by sustained advocacy campaigns that made use of institutional pathways for reform in democratic or democratizing environments. Many countries that transitioned from authoritarian to democratic rule, such as Brazil and South Africa, adopted constitutions that embraced international human rights standards and protections for marginalized groups, enabling LGBTQ activists to challenge discriminatory laws through litigation or legislative lobbying.}}</ref> In addition, LGBTQ movements and communities work to advance LGBTQ culture.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Anderson |first1=Porter |title=In England, the Polari Prize Names Its 2022 Winners |url=https://publishingperspectives.com/2022/11/in-england-the-polari-prize-names-its-2022-winners/ |website=Publishing Perspectives |access-date=17 September 2025 |date=15 November 2022 |quote=The award program's organizers say it's the only such program in the United Kingdom specifically dedicated to LGBTQ culture.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bajko |first1=Matthew S. |title=SF to make Castro an LGBTQ district |url=https://www.ebar.com/story/45318 |website=Bay Area Reporter |access-date=17 September 2025 |date=25 June 2019 |quote=... GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick hailed the board's vote in support of its creation. 'For many people around the world, San Francisco's Castro neighborhood is known as the center of the queer universe and has played a pivotal role in the advancement of LGBTQ culture and political power....}}</ref>

==Health== {{main|LGBTQ health|Mental health of LGBTQ people|LGBTQ psychology}}

LGBTQ people may face disparities in access to care, targeted public health interventions, and the impact of stigma on physical and mental well-being.<ref name="Ramos" />{{rp|2}} The psychology of LGBTQ people covers aspects such as identity development including the coming out process, parenting and family practices and support for LGBTQ individuals.

==By country== {{main category|LGBTQ by country}} {{category see also|LGBTQ by location}} * LGBTQ people in Australia * LGBTQ people in Brazil * LGBTQ people in Canada * LGBTQ people in Chile * LGBTQ people in Colombia * LGBTQ people in the Dominican Republic * LGBTQ people in Guatemala * LGBTQ people in Mexico * LGBTQ people in New Zealand * LGBTQ people in Thailand * LGBTQ people in the United Kingdom * LGBTQ people in the United States

==Specific LGBTQ people== {{main|Lists of LGBTQ people}}

==See also== *Outline of LGBTQ topics

== Notes == {{notelist}}

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:LGBTQ