LGBTQ+ – Why do they/we seek to treat People as a Group – Just be Yourself

It was inevitable that at some point I would focus my blog on LGBTQ+ but what surprises me is that what started out as a grouping for Lesbians and Gay’s has now apparently expanded to include all sorts of non-heterosexual people.

The Grouping has now moved on apparently to LGBTQIA+ and for those that are wondering, or at a loss as to what this means, I list below my understanding of the various terms for a person’s apparent sexual orientation or gender identity within the overall broad heading acronym, and my old school terminology in ( ).

• Lesbian

A woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Some lesbians may prefer to identify as gay or as gay women. (Homosexual Woman, Lesbian)

• Gay

The adjective describes people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions are to people of the same sex. Sometimes lesbian is the preferred term for women. (Homosexual Man)

• Bisexual

A person who can form enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or more than one gender. People may experience this attraction in differing ways and degrees over their lifetime. Bisexual people need not have had specific sexual experiences to be bisexual; they need not have had any sexual experience at all to identify as bisexual. (Likes both Men and Women)

• Transgender

An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms— including transgender or nonbinary. Some transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. Some undergo surgery as well. But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures. (Wants to change how they were born, to look like the other sex. Man to Woman or Woman to Man. Transvestite)

• Queer

An adjective used by some people whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual or straight. This umbrella term includes people who have nonbinary, gender-fluid, or gender nonconforming identities. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBTQIA+ people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBTQIA+ community. (Queer, an offensive term I would not choose to use)

• Questioning

Sometimes, when the Q is seen at the end of LGBT, it can also mean questioning. This term describes someone who is questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. (Someone who isn’t sure who they like)

• Intersex

An adjective used to describe a person with one or more innate sex characteristics, including genitals, internal reproductive organs, and chromosomes, that fall outside of traditional conceptions of male or female bodies. Do not confuse having an intersex trait with being transgender. Intersex people are assigned a sex at birth — either male or female — and that decision by medical providers and parents may not match the gender identity of the child. Not all intersex folks identify as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. (Hermaphrodite)

• Asexual

The adjective describes a person who does not experience sexual attraction. Sometimes shortened to “ace,” it is an umbrella term that can also include people who are demisexual, meaning they do experience some sexual attraction; graysexual, meaning those who may not fit the strictest definition of the word asexual; and aromantic, meaning they experience little to no romantic attraction and/or has little to no desire to form romantic relationships. (Platonic)

• Non-Binary

The adjective describes a person whose gender is not male or female and uses many different terms to describe themselves. Other terms include genderqueer, agender, bigender, genderfluid, and more. None of these terms mean exactly the same thing – but all speak to an experience of gender that is not simply male or female. (Beyond my comprehension)

• +Plus

The ‘plus’ is used to signify all of the gender identities and sexual orientations that letters and words cannot yet fully describe. (Beyond my comprehension).

It seems very strange to me that a person with a  clear understanding of their feelings and identity, no matter what it is, would want to be grouped with others that do not feel the same or are unsure of themselves. Accept yourself for what you are and move on.

Now I am a heterosexual, and it would be strange if someone attempted to group me with others that did not have the same sexuality, so why has this grouping developed to where it now is.

Is it by those that don’t understand these apparent orientations which are not as the previously established norms, or is it so that those that didn’t feel they comply with the established norm feel more comfortable at finding kindred spirits in an ever-changing world.

Whatever it is I feel it should stop.

The complete grouping is a very small percentage of the population, and conservatively less than 2%.

Now I am all for allowing people to act as they wish but there should not be pressure on anyone to force their opinions and view on others.

If you are Gay or Lesbian or any of the other apparent identities, then good luck to you, but just live your life as the rest of us, but please do not group yourself with others or seek to expect any rights that are greater than those accepted by the vast majority of the population.

You also, all know my views on gender you are either born a male or female, that is it and you will always be that regardless of if you change your appearance or you would like to be known as something else.

Call yourself what you like but you will still be a man or a woman as you were born. Modern medical advances do not change this.

The other issue then is a persons ‘pronoun’ but that is for another blog, but lets be clear a man is he, and a woman she, and that is the end of the debate from my perspective. Everyone can decide to call themselves what they like, but similarly I will always refer to them as either he or she, like it or lump it.