I was just reading the Richmond Times Dispatch and ran into the expression “major advocate for LGBTQ rights.” Huh?
Stop! I am getting too old for this. I don’t do alphabet soup expressions all that well anyway but a 5 letter acronym? In the first place, what on earth does the Q stand for? Surely not the obvious.
Thank goodness, it didn’t stand for “queer” which is what I was expecting. Instead, it stands for “questioning.” Well, what the hell does that mean? I have a hard enough time remembering the order of those letters. I don’t mind trying to be politically correct until I start floundering and it becomes …well…to put it bluntly…just a major pain in the butt.
Is it possible to come up with a word, a real word, for LGBTQ? I simply can’t keep remembering the order of the letters and what they stand for. Its too difficult and too much in isolation. Does anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions that aren’t offensive? Help me out here.
LGBTQ…..”confused”?
The alphabet soup will get longer..LGBTQUIPAEM which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Undefined, Incestuous, Pediphile, Animal, Educator, Manufactured… all will argue for “alternative lifestyle” status, with moral equvocation. The law of unintended consequnces cannot be defied.
@Steve,
I am hoping you are wrong. I have no problem with gay civil unions. I think it is a matter of civil rights but…..at what point can we all stop talking about it? Gays and lesbians I get. Anything beyond that is just too much for my brain. Pedophilia is illegal regardless of sexual orientation. That should send you to the big house for a long time. Animal? PETA should get you. Incest? Illegal and generally involves kids which should be double illegal. Educator? If you mean teachers that is illegal and should carry double penalties….same for ministerial. Undefined….Please…let people just keep it to themselves. Bondage and that stuff? I just do not want to know. Polygamy, do what you want behind the scenes, but only one legally at a time. Have I left anyone out? Am I just old and out of touch?
The LGBT acronymn has been around for about a decade now, and used within the Aging & Disability networks as focused areas for concern. The “Questioning” is new and only about a year old, although not used within the aforementioned networks….it is viewed as not having a clear definition.
It took me a bit to keep the order of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transgender in proper order so Moon, don’t feel bad about trying to. If you are not active in any capacity where the issues for this group of people come up, don’t worry about keeping the order.
As for just one word, most likely will not occur since there really is not one word that would not be offensive.
@Ray, I probably will never be able to get the right order. You are probably right about that one word. Even 2 words gets offensive.
Back to alphabet soup.
@Ray Beverage
It’s really just “sexual scrabble”….Look, I got a Triple-word score!
I honestly believe that there are legitimate reasons that gays and lesbians would want to have spousal status. I don’t begrudge anyone that right and I believe within the bounds of decent taste, people should be able to be themselves. I just don’t see why we need to play scrabble to define people. If they are “questioning” they don’t need a distinction, in my mind.
I think I am getting grouch on this topic. Its just been overkill for a while.
Sex is nobody’s business but the three people involved.
🙂
@Moon-howler
Never had a problem with “civil unions” myself, as they deal primarily with property rights, avoidance of probate for inheritance, and are more focused on defining the “business side” of a relationship. However, in the quest for “moral equvilancy” we are going to see more and more of this push to recognize each sexual quirk (CURRENTLY illegal or otherwise) as a legitimate “lifestyle”. Shoe fetish guy uses this as a defense for strealing a woman’s shoes, right on up to what we have now, regarding the AG’s push to have the VA anti-sodomy laws reinacted. You see this as counter to protecting homo-sexual conduct. Conservatives see this as a case involving a 47 yearold man, soliciting sex from minor children, and frankly, I don’t care that they are “above the age of consent”. Give a minor alcohol, you are in big trouble. Have sex with them, and now we start looking at “are they 16 or 17”? Very slippery slope.
@Steve
I am of the mind-set that soliciting sex from anyone, especially minor children, should be illegal.
Yes, I am criticizing Cuccinelli because he is tilting at windmills. I actually understand the distinction he and others like him are making–that the law isn’t just against gays. Actually I find laws that state it is illegal for anyone to have sodomy (and I can’t tell you how much I hate that word) in the state of Virginia to be even more offensive. When will the far right ever stay out of other people’s business?
There are laws that cover dirty old men asking young under-age women for sex of any sort. If there aren’t, then there most assuredly should be. The type of sex should be irrelevant.
I don’t have a problem with civil unions either. I don’t think states make marriage. People make marriages. I don’t care they are called. I would be just as happy with states having civil unions for everyone and marriage being kept as a religious ceremony having no legal bearing.
“all will argue for “alternative lifestyle” status, with moral equvocation.”
That already happens – ever heard of NAMBLA? And we as a society will differentiate between gay vs. “animal lover” vs. pedophile.
On the topic of the 5 5 character acronym … 5 is a lot … though there are seven sylables in “African-American” and we as a people have decreed that to be the politically correct term for black … but we do need something more descriptive than “gay”. And, asexuality should be included also.
I’d go with “non-hetero” if it were up to me.
Conservatives (particularly Santorum) get reflexively bashed for associating pedophilia with homosexuality. But there’s a bit of truth in linking them.
It does seem that many pedophiles are BORN THAT WAY. Born cursed. so it may be reasonable to have some element of fear that if we accept “Gayness” where we hadn’t before on the basis that people were made that way rather than choosing it, society will have a harder time not feeling compassion for pedophiles.
But I think we can and will continue to make that distinction rather easily in American society. (As opposed to Greek/Roman society, Middle aestern cultures, some African tribes …).
I don’t know that any one has suggested that pedophiles are born that way.
I have no compassion for pedophiles at all–straight or gay. They harm others. It seems to me that it is a learned behavior.
(and the Catholic Church).
@ Rick Bentley–Well, if pedophiles are, “born that way”, then perhaps we can say the same for all criminal behavior–they just couldn’t help themselves. To this I say, “That is a bunch of male bovine merde.” As to NAMBLA–we need more, organized pedophilia and pederasty. I understand their favorite sport is Greek Leapfrog.