Portal:LGBT


	The LGBTQ+ Portal

Introduction

LGBT is an initialism that stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender". 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. A variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer (which can be synonymous with LGBT) or are questioning their sexual or gender identity. 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". Many further variations of the acronym exist, such as LGBT+ (simplified to encompass the Q concept within the plus sign), LGBTQIA+ (adding intersex, asexual, aromantic and agender), 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. The variations GLBT and GLBTQ rearrange the letters in the acronym. 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.

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. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter LGB is still used. (Full article...)

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Before 1933, male homosexual acts were illegal in Germany under Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code. The law was not consistently enforced, however, and a thriving gay culture existed in major German cities. After the Nazi takeover in 1933, the first homosexual movement's infrastructure of clubs, organizations, and publications was shut down. After the Röhm purge in 1934, persecuting homosexuals became a priority of the Nazi police state. A 1935 revision of Paragraph 175 made it easier to bring criminal charges for homosexual acts, leading to a large increase in arrests and convictions. Persecution peaked in the years prior to World War II and was extended to areas annexed by Germany, including Austria, the Czech lands, and Alsace–Lorraine.

The Nazi regime considered the elimination of all manifestations of homosexuality in Germany one of its goals. Men were often arrested after denunciation, police raids, and through information uncovered during interrogations of other homosexuals. Those arrested were presumed guilty, and subjected to harsh interrogation and torture to elicit a confession. Between 1933 and 1945, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals; around 50,000 of these were sentenced by civilian courts, 6,400 to 7,000 by military courts [de], and an unknown number by special courts. Most of these men served time in regular prisons, and between 5,000 and 6,000 were imprisoned in concentration camps. The death rate of these prisoners has been estimated at 60 percent, a higher rate than those of other prisoner groups. A smaller number of men were sentenced to death or killed at Nazi euthanasia centres. Nazi Germany's persecution of homosexuals is considered to be the most severe episode in a long history of discrimination and violence targeting sexual minorities. (Full article...)

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Warhol in 1980

Andy Warhol (/ˈwɔːrhɒl/; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol is considered one of the most important American artists of the second half of the 20th century. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental films Empire (1964) and Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Warhol initially pursued a successful career as a commercial illustrator in the 1950s. After exhibiting his work in art galleries, he began to receive recognition as an influential and controversial artist in the 1960s. His New York studio, The Factory, became a well-known gathering place that brought together distinguished intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities and wealthy patrons. He directed and produced several underground films starring a collection of personalities known as Warhol superstars, and is credited with inspiring the widely used expression "15 minutes of fame." Warhol managed and produced the experimental rock band the Velvet Underground. He also founded Interview and authored numerous books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol and Popism: The Warhol Sixties. (Full article...)

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“

Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality.

”

—James Baldwin (1924–1987)

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Current events

October 5: Supreme court of Mauritius rules the colonial era law criminalizing homosexuality unconstitutional
August 5: DaBaby Levitating remix losing US radio audiences after the rapper's comments on HIV/AIDS
May 19: Taiwan's legislature first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage
February 1: Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight murders
October 30: 22nd annual ILGA-Europe conference meets in Brussels: in pictures
October 30: In pictures: thousands attend 16th annual Taiwan Pride

See also: 2024 in LGBT rights

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This 1908 painting by German artist Paul Höcker depicts Nino Cesarini, the Italian lover of Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen. Fersen had fled from France after a sex scandal and built a mansion on Capri, Villa Lysis, where he lived together with Cesarini. The two edited a short-lived literary magazine together, Akademos, which was partly a discreet defense of homosexual love. A romanticized account of their relationship is given by Roger Peyrefitte in his 1959 novel L'Exilé de Capri ("The Exile of Capri").

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... that the Heian period Japanese story Torikaebaya Monogatari is the tale of a man who lives as a woman and his sister who lives as a man, who eventually swap places in order to lead happy lives?
... that in his 1999 book The Trouble With Normal, gay author Michael Warner argued that same-sex marriage is an undesirable goal for the gay rights movement?
... that the 2009 book Unfriendly Fire argues that bans on gays in the military were based on prejudices and fears, not empirical data?
... that sexual activism group Sex Panic! criticized the efficacy of 1990s US anti-HIV campaigns that, they argued, demonized public sexual culture?

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This month's birthdays

1 – Brandi Carlile (1981–), American alternative country and folk rock singer-songwriter
1 – Ferron (1952–), Canadian folk singer and songwriter
2 – Brent Hawkes (1950–), Canadian pastor & LGBT rights activist
2 – Wentworth Miller (1972–), English-born American actor and screenwriter
2 – Zachary Quinto (1977–), American actor
2 – Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer
3 – Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997), American beat poet
3 – Josephine Baker (1906–1975), American dancer, singer and actress
3 – Anderson Cooper (1967–), American journalist, author, and television personality
3 – Alla Nazimova (1879–1945), Russian actress
4 – Val McDermid (1955–), Scottish suspense novel writer
5 – Lisa Cholodenko (1964–), American film and television writer-director
5 – Federico García Lorca (1898–1936), Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director
5 – Suze Orman (1951–), American financial advisor, author, columnist and TV host
5 – Troye Sivan (1995–), Australian actor and singer
5 – Gustáv Slamečka (1959–), Czech politician
5 – Johannes, 11th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (1926–1990), German aristocrat and businessman
6 – Annie Adams Fields (1834-1915), American poet, essayist, memoirist, and biographer
6 – Sandra Bernhard (1955–), American comedian, actress, singer and writer
6 – Harvey Fierstein (1952–), American actor and playwright
6 – Violet Trefusis (1894–1972), English writer and socialite
7 – James Ivory (1928–), American film director
7 – Anne McClain (1979–), American engineer, military officer, and astronaut
8 – Kim Stolz (1983–), American model, TV personality, author and finance executive
8 – Marguerite Yourcenar (1903–1987), French novelist
9 – Parinya Charoenphol (1981–), Thai boxer, model and actress
9 – Bülent Ersoy (1952–), Turkish singer & actress
9 – Cole Porter (1891–1964), American composer and songwriter
10 – Maurice Sendak (1928–2012), American children's writer
10 – Dustin Lance Black (1974–), American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist
11 – Mario Silva (1966–), Portuguese-Canadian legal scholar and politician
11 – Renée Vivien (1877-1909), British poet
12 – Djuna Barnes (1892–1982), American writer
12 – Jim Nabors (1930–), American actor and singer
13 – Paul Lynde (1926–1982), American comedian and actor
14 – Paul O'Grady (1955–2023), British broadcaster, comedian and drag artist (Lily Savage)
14 – Boy George (1961–), British singer-songwriter
15 – Neil Patrick Harris (1973–), American actor, singer, director, and magician
15 – Bif Naked (1971–), Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and motivational speaker
16 – Lou Sullivan (1951-1991), American author and trans activist
16 – Jenny Shimizu (1967–), American model and actress
16 – Joe McElderry (1991–), British singer and model
17 – Clodovil Hernandes (1937–2009), Brazilian fashion stylist, television presenter, and politician
17 – Evelyn Irons (1900–2000), Scottish journalist and war correspondent
17 – Steven Davies (1986–), English cricketer
17 – Phyllida Lloyd (1957–), English theatre and film director
17 – Carl Van Vechten (1880–1964), American writer and photographer
19 – Elisabeth Marbury (1856–1933), theatrical/literary agent and author
20 – Allan Bell (1947–), Manx politician and Chief Minister of the Isle of Man
20 – E. Lynn Harris (1955–2009), American Author
21 – Meredith Baxter (1947–), American actress and producer
21 – Kate Brown (1960–), American politician and Governor of Oregon
21 – Lana Wachowski (1965–), American film director, screenwriter and producer
22 – Václav Fischer (1954–), Czech-German businessman and politician
22 – Jimmy Somerville (1961–), Scottish pop singer
23 – Alan Turing (1912–1954), English mathematician and computer scientist
24 – Stacy Sykora (1977–), retired American volleyball player
25 – George Michael (1963–2016), British singer-songwriter
25 – Larry Kramer (1935–), American playwright, novelist, and LGBT rights activist
26 – Sean Hayes (1970–), American actor and comedian
28 – Sunil Babu Pant (1972–), Nepalese politician and LGBT rights activist
28 – Jim Kolbe (1942–), American politician, Republican congressman (Arizona) (1985–2003)
28 – David Kopay (1942–), American football player
30 – Alan Joyce (1966–), Australian business executive and CEO of Qantas Airways