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How do you refer to the lgbtq+ "community" least excludingly?

As the title states really. I need to refer to this diverse group of people, who somehow have gotten put in the same box labeled "sexual minorites".

I'm a boring CISHET vanilla white male, so I don't really know. I want to include as many as I can when I refer to "lgbtq+ people". I've been studying various flags, trying to find the one flag I need. But I can't really figure it out.

Is lgbtq+ the preferred term, or what should I use? Is a flag better? I don't want to hurt someone by not including them.

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  • Hey OP, can you elaborate on the context for which you are looking to talk about the queer community? I think that matters a bit. There are more formal and more casual descriptions that I do think are important to discuss the differences of use.

    For instance, Gender and Sexual Minorities or GSM is probably the most formal you can go with. This might be appropriate for corporate DEI, but you will get absolutely roasted on social media if you refer to gay people that way. (It's very clinical, not really something the community uses, but it's a wide umbrella)

    LGBT(QIA+) is a little old school nowadays, a mouthful, and always feels a bit like you're always going to be missing some letters. If a cishet ally used any variety this, I'm not going to be offended and I'd appreciate that they're trying- it's clear that the intention is there and it's better to signal support imperfectly that be silent imo. This one usually comes up most frequently around Pride Month as there's a lot more visibility on our community from those who are not in it.

    The queer community is probably your best all-purpose use but may not work 100% in formal situations as "queer" has historically been a pejorative. Boomers tend to look at you funny when you use it, and some younger folks who don't think that slurs can ever be reclaimed can sometimes be put off as well. That said, it's probably what the majority of the community uses as an umbrella term. This is the one I'd use when chatting with friends. "Gay" can also be used as a substitute for "queer" in this context as many folks will also use that as an umbrella term, but this can be confused with discussing just gay men, so you may have to know your audience.

    I had a presumed cishet friend in high school who just used "homosexual". I wouldn't recommend. All of the formality of GSM, none of the inclusion.

    Other things I would not recommend: alphabet mafia (unless you're on tiktok), anything that is still generally considered a slur (some folks are reclaiming the f-slur, t-slur and d-slur but I would consider that a deeply personal choice of self expression and not something for cishet folks to use at this time, unless personally invited to use to describe only that person), and lastly, using any of these broad identifiers to refer to specific people who have shared their specific label with you (ie don't call someone a queer woman when they have told you they identify as bisexual, or a queer man if they said they are a trans man, etc. Some people do identify as queer though, so if they have said as much you can use that specifically then).

    That's a lot of minutia but I think the important thing is, the community generally knows when you are trying your best. Even if you accidentally offend someone, just asking what they would like to be referred to in the future is probably all you need to worry about.

    • Thanks for your elaborate reply, of which I disagree with nothing!

      I have been editing my post for the entire day, and one thing I was debating with my self was how much context to provide. One thing is I want to solicit replies, not bore people to death. Another thing is that if I go through with my idea, some may be able to doxx me.

      But "on with the context" I hear you think :-) I work with young people mainly. We're talking 16-25 year olds primarily. Lately I've become aware of how my older coworkers (not that I'm young either, but the others are older) approach especially trans people. Some of the other young people we work with will echo this. And I've had it! I've decided to become a bit more aggressive in my opposition to this "oppression light" that I see. I wanted to get those "respect my trans homies, or I'll identify as a fucking problem". I like the message and the trans people I've consulted seem to agree that it's pretty funny ... BUT! I can't wear the word "fucking" on my clothing, and I don't want to limit the message to only include trans people.

      So I'm trying to figure out, how to display something to the same effect, but with more minorities included. Being the dumb fuck I am, I wanted to make sure that I don't hurt people, by being ignorant of the meaning of some term or excluding someone. And just asking the usual lgtbq+ people in my circles would not give me a representative answer. I might get some t-shirts made, it may be badges, or something entirely different IDK, I'm working on it.

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