I have been reading the news online much more over the last couple of years (haven’t we all!) and it’s interesting to see that the same news story is often reported entirely differently between the news websites, even to the point of the same story being reported with a positive spin on one, and a negative spin on the other.

As someone who is a cis-gendered heterosexual and therefore not LGBTQIA+, I’ve been reading with interest Ellen’s three blogs, all of which are written from her own perspective as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. I must admit to being a bit confused over the years about the acronyms. I felt a little unsure about what to use, not wanting to use an outdated term or the wrong term altogether.

Like Ellen, I remember the LGB groups at college. I understood lesbian/gay/bisexual, but as the acronym expanded to be more inclusive my understanding became more vague. Fortunately, I have a few LGBTQIA+ friends who enlightened me, and I do make a point of educating myself. I feel it’s the least I can do to make sure I am using terms and descriptions which people are comfortable with, and that it shows that I am coming from a place of friendship and acceptance.

However, I do know that many people don’t educate themselves and don’t have friends or family who are LGBTQIA+ (or perhaps they do but are not aware). This is a tricky place to be in because it does not take much to slip from being ignorant to being prejudiced. Used without care, the internet can be a place to find and nurture homophobic and prejudiced views, sometimes under the guise of ‘reputable websites’.

Just like the news stories mentioned above, it is all too easy to read and believe negative news stories and public comments about people who are LGBTQIA+, and unfortunately many people are influenced by them, stoking an undercurrent of stereotyping and prejudice which makes LGBTQIA+ people feel hurt, intimidated and discriminated against.

Ellen’s blogs highlight the experiences that LGBTQIA+ people have in other countries where in some cases their sexual orientation is considered illegal.
She also gives an insight into how LGBTQIA+ artists through modern history and up to the present day have expressed themselves and the struggles they faced through their art. I discovered some new acronyms in the ‘Alphabet Soup’ blog and it really brought home to me how important it is that every individual has the right to express how they wish to be known to the world.

So, what I’ve taken away from our series of blogs is that the most important thing for cis-gendered heterosexuals (ie. those who fall outside of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum) is to LISTEN to valid sources of information, ie. from people in the LGBTQIA+ community themselves. Listen to the experiences they have had as a community over the years and in different countries. And also to listen to what each person wants in terms of ‘labels’, pronouns, and so on. It’s a way to show respect and acknowledge individuality and forge peace and harmony in our world.

If you want to read further, look at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/QUILTBAG#cite_note-1

Can art be a political statement?

2022 is the 50th anniversary of the first Pride March here in the UK. That kind of blows my mind as was happening before I was even born. Whilst we have made progress in ensuring equal rights and reducing stigma and the associated bullying, harassment, and assaults here in the UK it is definitely still a big issue that still needs campaigning about 50 years on.
So this year LGBTQIA+ month has a theme of art and politics. They have chosen 5 artists that represent different times and topics. These are Keith Haring, Doris Bragahm Hatt, Fire de Henriquez, Jean Michel Basquiet and Mark Aguhar.

Now I personally know very little about art. Do I like it yes/no? That is far as my mind goes when looking at art. So I thought I would google and have a look at some of these artists to learn a bit more about them.

#Doris Brabham Hatt (1890 – 1969)
Images of Doris’s artwork on google showed me what I would have thought were very modern-style paintings. Really would not have linked these to the early 20th Century (probably shows my ignorance of art history big time). I love the boldness, the bigness, and deceptive simplicity of many of her paintings.

A couple that struck me are ones called ‘The Horses Mouth‘ and ‘Birthday‘. Doris spent her youth at various art colleges in the UK and spent time abroad in Vienna and Paris. I love the way she explains her paintings:

“Order had been bought out of chaos – that life, after all, is not so difficult as it seems. This will give you a sense of power and well-being as you study the picture”.

Wouldn’t it be good if life was like that? Doris was a socialist and feminist, a lesbian who lived with her partner, which was seen as scandalous by the society she lived in.

I think I would have liked to have a cup of tea with Doris, gone to her art classes, and voted for her when she stood as a political candidate in her local elections.

#Fiore de Henriquez (1921 – 2004)
Fiore was predominately is known for her sculptures of people. There are not many of the sculptures I saw that I particularly liked, although the ‘Portrait of Sara John’ is one I would enjoy in my lounge as a piece of art. A search for images of Fiore shows me a striking flamboyant androgynous-looking person. Indeed there is a biography called “Art & Androgyny – The life of Fiore de Henriquez” by Jan Marsh. A book I will be looking out for when I browse second-hand shops again in the future as their life has struck me as more interesting than the art itself. Having lived through WW2 whilst assisting Jewish refugees to safety, escaping through a toilet window whilst being interrogated and cooking pancakes for the Nazis, winning sculpture competitions only to have them destroyed because she was seen to be a woman (although hermaphrodite) and becoming a British citizen who went on to work with many famous people such as Oprah Winfrey. Fascinating indeed.

#Mark Aguhar (1987 – 2012)
It does not seem right that anyone who was born 10 years after me is now not with us anymore. Having died in 2012, only months away from finishing their arts degree, Mark has left a lasting impression as an American activist, writer, and multimedia artist. Topics included gender, race, and beauty.

https://markaguhar.tumblr.com/post/18425566333

This quote I found on Wikipedia from Mark captures the essence and the importance of art and politics. Why it matters that everyone is able to be represented in order to create a harmonious world where everyone is accepted and ‘normal’ is not defined by the press, politicians, law, or religions.

“My work is about visibility. My work is about the fact that I’m a genderqueer person of color fat femme fag feminist and I don’t really know what to do with that identity in this world. It’s that thing where you grew up learning to hate every aspect of yourself and unlearning all that misery is really hard to do. It’s that thing where you kind of regret everything you’ve ever done because it’s so complicit with white hegemony. It’s that thing where you realize that your own attempts at passive-aggressive manipulation and power don’t stand a chance against the structural forms of domination against your body. It’s that thing where the only way to cope with the reality of your situation is to pretend it doesn’t exist; because flippancy is a privilege you don’t own but you’re going to pretend you do anyway.” — Mark Aguhar

The saying ‘art reflects society’ fits perfectly here, and I think it’s really important we recognise that the experiences of these artists and their contemporaries who also identified as LGBTQIA+ were not the same experiences as other people who did not identify this way.

For more info about LGTB+ History Month check out the website.

And for more info about the artists check out the references below.

REFERENCES:

https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Factsheet-1-Doris-Brabham-Hatt.jpg

https://artuk.org/discover/artists/hatt-doris-brabham-18901969

https://artuk.org/discover/artists/de-henriquez-fiore-19212004

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Aguhar

https://markaguhar.tumblr.com/archive

What do all these letters mean?

A good question that no one can confirm!

In the good ole days, I joined the LGB social group at university. Since then it has grown to the commonly used acronym LGBTQIA+. There are a load of other acronyms that are now used too including my favourite QUILTBAG, then others such as MOGAI, and LGBTQQIP2SAA SAGA. So what on earth do all the letters mean, who decides on the acronyms and what should you use?

So what do they mean?

Good question, and whilst not 100% agreed on across the globe (I mean what is 100% agreed on nowadays?) here is a rundown for you:

L – Lesbian
G – Gay
B – Bi-sexual
T – Trans
Q – Queer
I – Intersex
A – Asexual
+ – anything else that is not classed as Cis-gender heterosexual

QUILTBAG coined by Sadie Lee in a 2006 Diva Magazine interview (so the internet says) is an acronym that aligns with my sense of humor (hey hunni are you a QUILTBAG too?) and basically means the following:

Q – Queer or Questioning
U – Undecided
I – Intersex
L – Lesbian
T – Trans or 2Spirit
B – Bisexual
A – Asexual or Allies
G – Gay or Genderqueer

The other letters in the longer acronyms often used mean the following:

P – Pansexual
2 – Two-spirit
SA – Straight Allies
P – Polyamorous
H – HIV infected
O – Other
N – Non-binary

And finally, MOGAI stands for Marginalized Orientations, Gender Alignments, and Intersex, for all those wondering.

Who decides what the alphabet soup is?

The answer is simply no one. It is whoever is writing, talking, marketing, and so forth at the time. There is no overarching organisation or person in charge that decided the letters and their meaning. This of course causes an incredible amount of debate about what should be included or excluded and what the letters themselves mean and if the right terminology or definition is used across Quora, Reddit, and other similar places on the web and beyond.

For me personally, I like the term Queer as an overarching term for all gender and sexual minorities. I do however acknowledge it is a loaded term due to historic usage and still has negative connotations as a consequence. I also like the acronym QUILTBAG. Once again I acknowledge it does not include a P for Pansexual or Polyamorous, 2 for 2spirit, etc etc etc and some people may object to being referred to as a quilted bag, but hey, no acronym is perfect it seems!

MOGI on the other hand seems to be perfectly descriptive of everyone in the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and is not problematic. It is not used regularly enough for most people to know what it means at this moment in time though, so I’m happy to publicise the term in the hope that it spreads.

So what should you use?

Well as someone who does not get offended easily, or well hardly at all, I don’t really care what you use. I don’t care what you identify as and what term you use to describe me or my fellow LGBTQIA+ humans. The reason I don’t care is that for me it is all about intention. You call me queer with a negative intention with homophobia, hate, and anger behind it then that sucks and will potentially cause myself and others harm. If you call me queer and it is done with a warm, loving, kind, or humorous intention then that’s cool in my view.

I also don’t care how you identify. I have been bullied for being bi-sexual by people identifying as straight, gay, and lesbian. A gay person could easily use the term bi-sexual in a hate-filled way the same as a straight person. It is not the words, but the intention it is used with that counts.

This is slightly problematic as how can you know what my intention is unless you can read my mind? (sure hope you can’t – very weird in here!). So in the interest of world harmony, I would recommend you use the standard LGBTQIA+ as that is currently what people tend to use around the world – it is easily identifiable and seems to be mainly inoffensive and accepted. However please ensure your intent is always positive and not derogatory or hate-filled in any way – that way you and others are more likely to feel much better about the words that you speak, type, and act upon.

For more information on this subject check out the references.

REFERENCES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/QUILTBAG#cite_note-1

Be LGBT in the wrong country and you can get stoned for free…

So here we are again. Another year. Another LGBT+ History Month. But who cares right? History is in the past after all and it is where we are now and it’s going into the future that matters right? Yeah, I get that. Always good to focus on what we can do to make things better, to improve ourselves, and educate others so they can improve themselves. At the same time, it is very useful to know what things were like in the past. History does seem to repeat itself so it is educational for all, not just kids at school.

And as a bi-sexual woman, I can safely say that I am very glad I was born in the 70s and not beforehand as quite frankly being LGBT sucked as I was growing up here in the UK, but it would have been way worse if I had been born any earlier, so for that, I am grateful. So here is a potted history of the past few centuries in the UK as far as I know it…

• 1533 – The Buggery Act made male homosexuality kind of hard (pun intended) as sodomy aka anal sex was was made illegal. Conviction punishable by death.
• 1861 – Changed from a death sentence to minimum of 10 years in prison for sodomy. The irony is not lost on me given the ‘don’t bend over to get the soap’ jokes about males in prison!
• 1885 – Now ANY homosexual act between males is considered illegal even in private. They also tried to introduce female homosexuality as a thing to be discriminated and punished for but luckily (for me) they decided it wasn’t a big thing and they didn’t want to encourage females to explore it by publicising it as part of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
• 1957 – Wolfenden Report basically said that homosexual acts in private should no longer be a criminal offence – but don’t celebrate yet as it didn’t become law until……
• 1967 – Homosexual Acts between two men over 21 in private was finally decriminalised in England. Took another couple of decades for Scotland and Northern Ireland to follow suite in 1980 and 1981 though.
• 1988 – Good ole Maggie Thatcher then decided it was a good idea to not promote homosexuality to kids and banned local authorities promoting or funding anything to do with LGBT issues. Thanks to Maggie kids like me did not get to learn about LGBT issues in school and could not get support needed to deal with the bullying, discrimination and harassment you often get for being LGBT.
• 2003 – It took a long time to get the legislation repealed and an apology was given by David Cameron in 2009 – to little to late but I will take it none the less.
• 2004 – Same-sex couples can get ‘married’ – or as close as possible to it anyway in legal terms
• 2010 – The Equality Act gave LGBT employees protection from discrimination, harassment and victimisation at work. How on earth this took so insanely long to become law is beyond me as being bullied, sacked or worse for your sexuality seriously sucks (understatement I am aware)
• 2013 – Marriage is finally an option for same-sex couples – about blooming time! Scotland follows suit in 2014 and Northern Ireland in 2020 – better late than never eh!

So yes being LGBT in the UK has not been a great thing to be in general. Aside from the death penalty or decades in prison, there has been bullying, discrimination, harassment, sackings, assaults, murders among general homophobia and non-acceptance.

People who are LGBT in the UK have no choice but to live in a society where many people do not understand or respect them, simply because of who they love and are attracted to, and so they either have to live with this or live a life which is a lie.

On a positive note for people who live in the UK, there are many great things about being LGBT here compared to other counties around the world. Generally speaking, you can get the support you need for physical and mental health, you can work, marry and generally live your life freely, no matter who you are. In other countries such as the ones listed below, you can still receive the death penalty for basically being who you are, which is never acceptable.

• Afghanistan
• Brunei (death by stoning)
• Iran
• Mauritania (death by stoning)
• Nigeria (death by stoning)
• Pakistan (death by stoning)
• Qatar (death by stoning)
• Saudi Arabia
• Somalia
• United Arab Emirates
• Yemen

Now I highlighted the countries that still carry out stoning to death as quite frankly the idea that this is still a ‘thing’ is horrendous to me. What a barbaric idea! Someone has “committed a crime” so we are going to get family members, neighbours, and local people to come and throw heavy stones, which you can’t avoid as you are buried in sand to make sure you are an easy target, and you then die a slow, painful death. It’s not even like they get a chance to prove their innocence, or that it’s regulated in any way – not that would make it OK, but still. It’s barbaric and beyond comprehension why anyone would do this to another human being ever.

So to summarise – LGBT history month is still needed as long as anybody in the world can be killed for being LGBT. As long as the death penalty exists, as long as discrimination, harassment, inequality in the workplace and society in general exists, we need to have LGBT history month. I look forward to the time when we do not need LGBT history month and I never have to write a blog like this ever again.

You can do your bit in helping support the LGBT community by

1) sharing this blog via your social media
2) by heading over to https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/ where there a plenty of resources available for schools, workplaces, and other organisations. You can support the charity by donating or buying badges etc from their shop too.

REFERENCES
https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories/articles/a-short-history-of-lgbt-rights-in-the-uk
https://www.bl.uk/lgbtq-histories
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBT_history_in_the_United_Kingdom
https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/?type_filter=death_pen_applies
https://aninjusticemag.com/what-happens-in-a-typical-stoning-7437a349fb5