Being locked down means having time to do things one might normally never have the time or inclination to do.
And so it was that when I received an email from a colleague that included the acronym LGBTQ, I thought, “what does that all stand for again?” So off I went in search of the meaning (lockdown does that to you – you seek the meaning of life – and other bits of completely useless information).
The first thing I discovered is that evidently, it’s not LGBTQ any more. Keep in mind by the way that, in my world, TQ was an acronym for a high performance speedway race car called a three quarter midget. LGB (lesbian, gay or bi) was something that was bandied around a few years ago before someone tossed the midget on the end of it and it was pretty obvious so we all pretty much rolled with it. It made sense to refer to the LGB community with this simple acronym and, to be honest, I never did quite grasp why it was necessary to add trans and queer to it, but it’s a free world and, as I’ve become older and more bewildered, trying to remember acronyms can be a bit disconcerting.
But wait, it’s even more so now. No longer is it LGBTQ, now it’s apparently LGBTQIA + (please note the +). In my world, QIA meant quality improvement assessment so having LGB + TQ + IA was always going to raise my eyebrows and why does it have that + at the end?
According to Your Dictionary.com (and to think – I didn’t even know I had a “your dictionary”)
“Abbreviations and acronyms are all around us. However, for some acronyms, breaking down what the individual letters mean is harder than you think. LGBTQIA+ is an inclusive acronym used by the LGBTQIA+ community. Explore how each different letter breaks down, and the diverse meaning found in the LGBTQIA+ acronym.”
OK, I agree – it is harder than you think to keep up. Especially if it keeps changing and half the alphabet is added. And of course there’s that + there!
So back to Quality Improvement Assessment:
“QIA stands for questioning/queer, intersex, and asexual. Dive into the meanings of these letters in the acronym.”
Oh – I should have known that – maybe. If you want the detailed explanation, feel free to click through to “Your Dictionary”. I’m going to move straight to the simple +
To be inclusive to everyone, the LGBTQ full acronym has changed to add the plus at the end. This works to allow the acronym to cover new subsects of the community like:
ally – a term for individuals that support and rally the cause even though they don’t identify within the community
pansexual/omnisexual – similar to bisexual, this describes individuals with desire for all genders and sexes
androgynous – describes those with both male and female traits
genderqueer – a gender term used for those with no, both, or a combination of genders
two-spirit – typically used by Native Americans to describe a third gender
demisexual– describes someone that requires an emotional bond to form a sexual attraction
polyamorous– term for those open to multiple consensual romantic or sexual relationships at one time.
While this works to cover some of the different initials in LGBTQIA+, it is far from an all-inclusive list. New terms can be added under the “umbrella” of the plus at the end of the acronym.
Wow – bewilderingly complicated and wide open to the entire alphabet. That was a cunning trick, don’t you think?
I’m so thankful for lockdown.