Gays prefer to be called LGBTs

Homosexual behaviour is illegal in over 80 countries, and India is one of them. But, of late, a PIL in Delhi High Court, health minister Ramadoss’s progressive views on gay rights and PM Manmohan singh’s advice to the home and health ministers to sort out their differences on the issue, the gay rights are now being openly debated.

Here are the abstracts and excerpts from the Wikipedia internet postings on the subject.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) social movements share related goals of social acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgenderism. People have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights (or gay rights or gay and lesbian rights).

The various LGBT communities have worked not only together, but also independent of each other in various configurations including ga liberation, lesbian feminism, the queer movement and transgender activism. There is no one organization representing all LGBT people and interests although arguably “InterPride” comes close by coordinating international pride events.

A commonly stated goal is social equality for LGBT people; some have also focused on building LGBT communities, or worked towards liberation for the broader society from sexual oppression.

LGBTs have been challenging the dominant constructions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual nuclear family (heteronormativity). Their political goals include the struggles for changing laws and policies in order to gain new rights, benefits, and protections from harm.

In arguing that sexual orientationand gender identity are innate and cannot be consciously changed, attempts to change gay, lesbian and bisexual people into heterosexuals are generally opposed by the LGBT community.

In arguing that sexual orientation and gender identity are innate and cannot be consciously changed, attempts to change gay, lesbian and bisexual people into heterosexuals are generally opposed by the LGBT community.

“Special rights” is a political term originally used by libertarians to refer to laws granting rights to one or more groups which are not extended to other groups, such as affirmative action or hate crime legislation with regard to ethnic, religious or sexual minorities.

More recently, the term LGBT Rights refer to measures that mirror rights for gays that already exist for heterosexuals, should be applicable to same sex marriage and anti-discrimination protections that exist for other minority groups to sexual minorities as well.

Here are some the slogans of the LGBTs.

“We”’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it”

“We’re here, we’re queer and we’d like to say hello!”

“I’m gay & that’s OK that way”

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