What do you count as a member of the LGBTQ+ community?

[Koloss17]

So I see members of the shard as very knowledgeable people and I hope some can give me insight. 
 

I wonder what counts as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Is the LGBTQ+ community every person that is a sexual orientation other than heterosexual or a gender other than your assigned one, or is it a community that supports and fights for people that are lesbian, gay, pansexual, trans, asexual, or queer? Basically is it like being an ethnicity or is it like feminism. Do you not have a choice whether or not you are part of the community because it is what you are born into or is it joining by choice to work for your fellow people? 
 

another question is about allies like me. Where do we fit into the community? Are we not part of the community because it is like an ethnicity, or are we Still part of a community but have a more controversial role, like a male feminist. If so, what is that role?

i know I have drawn a lot of parallels to the LGBTQ+ community and feminism, but they both work towards a very similar goal, I think.

[Honorless]

It's a community with the aim of increased social presence for normalization (for both the society in general and people who haven't come out or are unsure of their orientation), show of force to drive socio-political changes: to support pro-LGBT legislature and organizations that can provide support to LGBT (from tackling LGBT homelessness & mental health issues to legalization of homosexuality in other countries)

Whether or not you think you're part of the LGBT community or not, depends on whether you and those around you believe that it's a political organisation/movement or a group of people who all have something in common. Both assumptions are quite correct. So, you're not lesbian or gay or bisexual or trans but you can still be a part of the movement as someone who's actively engaging with and helping promote the interests of the LGBT community.

[Orlion Blight]

On 7/23/2020 at 11:22 PM, Koloss17 said:

another question is about allies like me. Where do we fit into the community? Are we not part of the community because it is like an ethnicity, or are we Still part of a community but have a more controversial role, like a male feminist. If so, what is that role?

Community might not be the best way to describe LGBTQ+. It's probably more useful to view it as an identity, and as such, mere "allies" do not share that identity. 

The role of the ally is to support those with LGBTQ+ identity. What that support looks like will depend on circumstances, but it's support, not a centering of yourself.

As an example of what to avoid: sometimes you'll see a variation of the acronym with an 'A' that some will say stands for "allies". This kinda makes the struggle for equality in these matters (at least partially) about those who weren't persecuted to begin with. 

*side-note: the 'A' is also sometimes interpreted as "Ace"

[Honorless]

Does supporting feminism make you a feminist or a woman?

(I used that question as an example because asking "does supporting gay people make you gay?" doesn't quite have the same ring to it)

Edited July 26, 2020 by Honorless

[Koloss17]

11 hours ago, Orlion the Platypus said:

As an example of what to avoid: sometimes you'll see a variation of the acronym with an 'A' that some will say stands for "allies". This kinda makes the struggle for equality in these matters (at least partially) about those who weren't persecuted to begin with. 

*side-note: the 'A' is also sometimes interpreted as "Ace"

 

11 hours ago, Honorless said:

Does supporting feminism make you a feminist or a woman?

(I used that question as an example because asking "does supporting gay people make you gay?" doesn't quite have the same ring to it)

I definitely agree that allies are here to support those that identify as LGBT, not to count as one of them. 
 

what I now understand is that there is both. You have the people that identify as LGBTQ+ and there are those that fight to end the unfair treatment of those that identify as LGBTQ+. Allies are obviously not identified as LGBTQ+, but they fight for the fair treatment of those that do identify as such. 
 

is that a good understanding?

[Snorkel]

16 hours ago, Honorless said:

Does supporting feminism make you a feminist or a woman

As I understand it, there are plenty of men who are feminists.

"Feminism, the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes."

[Honorless]

1 hour ago, Snorkel said:

As I understand it, there are plenty of men who are feminists.

"Feminism, the belief in social, economic, and political equality of the sexes."

Well, there is the thing about feminism & gender equality being separate, but that's a whole another topic

[Orlion Blight]

5 hours ago, Koloss17 said:

 

I definitely agree that allies are here to support those that identify as LGBT, not to count as one of them. 
 

what I now understand is that there is both. You have the people that identify as LGBTQ+ and there are those that fight to end the unfair treatment of those that identify as LGBTQ+. Allies are obviously not identified as LGBTQ+, but they fight for the fair treatment of those that do identify as such. 
 

is that a good understanding?

I think that's a good functional understanding 

[AonEne]

On 7/25/2020 at 10:37 PM, Orlion the Platypus said:

As an example of what to avoid: sometimes you'll see a variation of the acronym with an 'A' that some will say stands for "allies". 

*side-note: the 'A' is also sometimes interpreted as "Ace"

As far as I’m aware, it officially stands for asexual, aromantic, agender, and any other identity starting with A that I might be forgetting. 

[revelryintheart]

On 7/29/2020 at 7:53 PM, AonEne said:

As far as I’m aware, it officially stands for asexual, aromantic, agender, and any other identity starting with A that I might be forgetting. 

Imagine an agender, aromantic, and asexual individual. They would be triple A (like the battery).

Someone asks them (I hope that's the correct pronoun) what they are and they just scream like the guy in the battery vine.

[Zelly]

Aces tend to be a fringe among the fringe groups, unfortunately.  I think they're generally one of the least understood labels.  I was annoyed that it sort of got dropped from the acronym (although tbh, it was getting to be a lot of letters).

[AonEne]

On 7/31/2020 at 10:23 PM, revelryintheart said:

Imagine an agender, aromantic, and asexual individual. They would be triple A (like the battery).

Someone asks them (I hope that's the correct pronoun) what they are and they just scream like the guy in the battery vine.

That thought is as blessed as the time I realized someone could be demiro demi demigender. I love it. 

[The Awakened Salad]

On 02/08/2020 at 11:13 PM, Zelly said:

Aces tend to be a fringe among the fringe groups, unfortunately.  I think they're generally one of the least understood labels.  I was annoyed that it sort of got dropped from the acronym (although tbh, it was getting to be a lot of letters).

It got dropped from the acronym? When? 

[Zelly]

4 hours ago, The Awakened Salad said:

It got dropped from the acronym? When? 

Sorry, didn't come out the way I meant. Not dropped "officially", I meant when people use a shorter variant like LBGT+.  The acronym has been reeeeeally fluid over the years.  Which is not a bad thing, but it does contribute to confusion.