Hail, fellow degenerates, fabulous people of all hues, shades, fashion aptitudes and with all your varying gifts for shade and fashion fatuousness: on behalf of the (former) LGBT Kos leadership team, now gloriously reborn as thew LGBTQ Kos leadership team (not sure if this will require new t-shirts, leotards, tank top., bras and short shorts — we don’t have money for that)
I’d like to announce the — quite frankly long overdue — augmented title of your group:
LGBTQ Kos.
What does that mean?
The New York City Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, the nation’s largest and oldest community center, hub and resource for us of the fabulous persuasion, helpfully defines LGBTQ as follows:
WHAT IS LGBTQ?
LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning. These terms are used to describe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. See below for a more detailed definition of each term, from GLAAD’s LGBTQ Media Reference Guide.
LESBIAN
GAY
BISEXUAL
TRANSGENDER
QUEER
QUESTIONING
Looking for LGBTQ resources? Check out our resource center or give us a call at 212.620.7310.
The Definitions (via GLAAD)
QUEER
An adjective used by some people, particularly younger people, whose sexual orientation is not exclusively heterosexual. Typically, for those who identify as queer, the terms lesbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limiting and/or fraught with cultural connotations they feel don’t apply to them. Some people may use queer, or more commonly genderqueer, to describe their gender identity and/or gender expression. Once considered a pejorative term, queer has been reclaimed by some LGBT people to describe themselves; however, it is not a universally accepted term even within the LGBT community.
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.
SOME NOTES
We added the Q for one simple reason: exclusivity. It has become practically de rigeur for major orgs, opinion leaders and the various great and good of our circles. Adding Queer — alternatively, Questioning — expands the universe of sexual minorities represented here and correspondingly welcome at our table.
Special recognition is due Kossack 2thanks, who kicked off the discussion to make the change.
A NOTE
Lastly, one observation: your group admin, and yes, that would be yours truly, has been absent from Daily Kos by and large for now going on two years, give or take. This absence is at an end, but it may inadvertently have given the impression that LGBTQ Kos was resistant to change, simply owing to emails having gone unnoticed.
This impression may or may not exist, but should now be considered inoperable.Daily Kos needs a vibrant, engaged, vocal LGBTQ KOs. Stay tuned for some more exciting changes and the kind of hard-hitting advocacy that is and can be the only adequate response to these dark times.