Discovering the Diversity of the LGBTQIA+ Community

Understanding the LGBTQIA+ Community: History, Terms, and Transgenderism

• The Nazi ideology used the concept of the "Aryan Race" to justify the mass murder of Jews and homosexuals as an inferior race.
• Various cultures throughout history have accepted and celebrated LGBTQIA+ individuals, such as China's "pleasures of the bitten peach" and Indigenous Native Americans' "two-spirited" people.
• In the 19th century, homosexuality was classified as an illness, leading to legal persecution, imprisonment, and institutionalization of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
• In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder and declared it a natural variation of human sexuality.
• The LGBTQIA+ acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual/ally, and the plus sign represents other sexualities that do not fit in the acronym.
• Gender identity refers to how a person feels about their gender, while gender expression refers to how they express their gender through appearance.
• Sexual orientation refers to a person's emotional and sexual attraction to others.
• Cisgender refers to individuals whose gender identity matches the sex assigned at birth, while non-binary individuals do not identify as strictly male or female.
• Transgender is an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity, expression, or behavior does not conform to their assigned sex at birth.
• Transsexual refers to individuals who want to change their body to match their gender identity.
• The transitioning process for a transgender person may involve psychological guidance, hormone therapy, and/or sex reassignment surgery.
• It is important to use proper pronouns when addressing a transgender person to show respect and decency.