Sexuality - or a sandwich.

[davywavy]

During the bickering which followed one of my recent intemperate rants on these pages, someone used the acronym 'LGBT'. I was fairly confused by this. My immediate reaction was 'What the Hell has a Sandwich got to do with this?" and it took me about 24 hours before I finally figured out, from the context, that 'LGBT' actually stood for 'Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Trans(Gendered? Vestite? I haven't figured the T out yet)' and that it was the latest linguistic ghettoification of a fair swathe of the human race.
There are two sorts of Political Correctness. There's 'not being rude', which is a laudable aim, and there's 'creating tortuous acroynms and euphamisms which, by dint of trying to be all things to all people, simply succeed in belittling the very people they seek to avoid offending'. LGBT is, in my opinion, a fine example of the latter.
You see, when it comes to language and causing offense and hurt with it, it's very often not the words that are used, but the context and intent with which they are used. A good example of this is the Spastics Society, which underwent a lengthy and costly rebranding exercise to 'Scope' (because 'Spastic' is used as an insult), only for kids in playgrounds to be calling each other 'Scopers' within a matter of months.
What really made me think about 'LGBT' was the fact that it's a phrase I've never heard any one of my variously-sexualitied friends use to describe themselves. In short, it's a phrase created by people who don't fit the term to describe a large number of people who they think do. But what do I know? I've never gazed lustfully at another bloke, so I'm not really qualified to comment. However, something I realised when I first really started hanging out with people who wouldn't be classified as a '1' on the Kinsey scale some years ago is that it's only fair and polite to let the people described define the terms used to describe them - within reason, anyway - and I really don't think that 'LGBT' does this.

But like I say. What do I know?
So, in the spirit of exploration and investigation I'd like to ask the non-completely straight people out there: What term would you use to describe your sexuality?
[Poll #544964]

Still, I suppose in a few weeks time, kids in playgrounds up and down the land will be calling "Oh, you're so LGBT!" at each other, and so then Students Unions will have to think of yet another non-judgemental catch all phrases to describe humanity which, whilst being created to avoid any possible offense, will also be just as completely meaningless.
God, when I was at University we actually had to use our time for things like work.*

^{* neilhist and godzuki, you stay out of this.}

Comments

[borusa.livejournal.com]

I first ran into the abbreviation at University - it's used most commonly (in my experience) for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (which includes transvestites, transsexuals and other similar categories) Society. Hence LGBT Society.

I've not seen it used to identify anyone - I can't see someone saying "I'm LGBT".

[faerierhona.livejournal.com]

I was gonna say that!

[silver-blue.livejournal.com]

"I can't see someone saying "I'm LGBT"

I think you'd have to add "...and very busy" if you were claiming all of them.

[souldier-blue.livejournal.com]

I was just about to say the same thing - I've never heard someone describing themselves as LGBT - it's an umbrella term, rather than a personal label.

[chrisvenus]

For the record at oxford uni there is an LGBSoc which is, as you can probably guess, the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual society. Given the way things work they would be qutie capable of changing the name of their society if they wanted to so I have to assume that they are happy with that.

I've only come across LGBT once which was on a JCR noticeboard which the LGBT rep had control of and would presumably be able to change if desired.

I've never heard LGBT used by anybody to describe themselves but I think that is because it is not valid for an individual but for a group.

The thing that has always slightly amused me is whether there is an entry test for the society in oxford to prove that you are L, G, B or T (I'm similarly confused as you on the meaning of this).

So, there you go.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

There was years ago and very briefly, a campiagn in the Manchester 'gy village' to get people who wanted into gay bars and clubs to snog a member of the same sex in order to prove they were, in fact, gay.
Ihis was quickly dropped, I think mainly because nobody wanted to create a ghetto.

[taimatsu]

There wasn't when I joined :)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Or 'Person of restrictive growth'; the number of people who got called 'PORG' at school, oh dear.

[taimatsu]

I have answered your poll.

How, though, *should* we describe an event which is intended for people who are not heterosexual and people who are transgendered or transsexual? 'Queer' is one possible word, but it offends some people and could be seen as excluding trans people.

The reason you have never heard your friends describe themselves as LGBT is that it is not a term which can be applied to an individual. No one person can be described as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans/gendered/sexual - so your poll is meaningless.

It's a term for describing a community, or a wider group of people, and members of that group do use it and are comfortable with it. You don't have to use it if you don't like it - but good luck coming up with something else.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

But I've never heard any event describe din those terms eitehr - perhaps I don't hang out in student unions any more, but I've never heard anyone say 'I'm off to a LGBT club tonight'. I have heard people say 'I'm off to a gingerbeer event', and 'I'm going to the Gay Village'.

[chrisvenus]

How, though, *should* we describe an event which is intended for people who are not heterosexual and people who are transgendered or transsexual?

Discriminatory? :)

What did LGBSoc actually get up to though? I'm trying to work out what the actual point of the society was... RPGSoc roleplays with each other, the rugby society plays rugby, did the LGBSoc just hang around being gay together? I always have it in my mind as a bit of a meat market (not least because of people telling me that it is) because its just a place where you can easily identify those who are gay.

Maybe if I was more gay I'd understand the need for it but I don't really.

[cryx]

as people have said above, it's a description of a society or community, not a personal label. you have LGBT groups, not people. But i'm quite familiar with the LGBT, although i often forget the T as it wasn't included when i first met LGB socs.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

That's fair enough - I've never encountered the phrase, even when I was at university. The reason the phrase needled me was that I don't like seeing groups of people clustered together in little, neat linguistic niches. I've always felt that to be one of the best ways to create breeding grounds for discrimination of any stripe.

Hmmmm.

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

I've been tagged for being what I am by very, very few people. To my life, being a married person who isn't into pagan polyarmory (hehehehhe) relationships or interested in group sex, it doesn't apply.

If it did, I might be more bothered. I plan on being married for a long while though.

Re: Hmmmm.

[cleosilver.livejournal.com]

Same here. I find using the term married to explain my sexuality works quite well.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I've always been of the opinion that what goes on inside other people's underwear is really their own business and not mine.

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

I say 'mostly human' because sometimes my brain hits tangents not consistant with original wiring plans.

[robinbloke.livejournal.com]

That said, noone seems to have noticed that "Straight" (or PC equivalent) is missing...

[silver-blue.livejournal.com]

I'm not entirely sure why they need to throw in the 'T', seeing as "transgender" isn't a definition of sexuality whereas lesbian, gay and bisexual are.

It almost smacks of "well, let's throw trannies in with the mix because they're wierd and freaky too."

Although something like Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Tall...

:)

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Why not LGBV - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Voyeurs.

[vulgarcriminal.livejournal.com]

This post is making me hungry.

[godzuki.livejournal.com]

Playing on an MMORPG, the best place to meet the up an coming slang of the American youth, its quite true that the word gay is now used to describe anything exploitative or unlikeable of any kind. In addition other taboo words are creeping in - Raped == Badly beaten etc.

I.E.

Then some gay paladin turned up and raped us. Gay!

[susanofstohelit.livejournal.com]

at my university it was the Queer Union, an organization for GLBT & friends, whose main event all year was coming out week, culminated by the QU Dance, where the entire campus got all skanked up and drunk.

can you tell that I didn't think it was the most positive way to improve people's views about GLBTs?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I can't see how inviting everyone along to a royal piss-up was a bad way of improving everyone's views, mind.

[scarletdemon.livejournal.com]

My gay ten year old son, Brandon, is known in my journal as Little Gay Brandon...Which quite accidentally is LGB. It's a sign that I'm right about him...

Would it be different if ...

[rgljr69.livejournal.com]

... we were talking about gamers? Role players? RPG'ers? Or even geeks?