Lgbtq rights definition

Overview

Around the world, people are under attack for who they are.

Living as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) person can be life-threatening in a number of countries across the globe. For those who carry out not live with a daily immediate risk to their life, discrimination on the basis of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression and sex characteristics, can have a devastating effect on physical, mental and adj well-being for those forced to endure it.

Discrimination and violence against LGBTI people can come in many forms, from name-calling, bullying, harassment, and gender-based violence, to being denied a job or appropriate healthcare. Protests to uphold the rights of LGBTI people also face suppression across the globe. 

The range of unequal treatment faced is extensive and damaging and could be based on:

  • your sexual orientation (who you’re attracted to)
  • gender identity (how you self-identify, irrespective of the sex assigned at birth)
  • gender expression (how you express your gender, for example through your clothing

    LGBTQ Rights

    The ACLU has a lengthy history of defending the LGBTQ community. We brought our first LGBTQ rights case in Founded in , the Jon L. Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović LGBTQ & HIV Project brings more LGBTQ rights cases and advocacy initiatives than any other national organization does and has been counsel in seven of the nine LGBTQ rights cases that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided. With our reach into the courts and legislatures of every state, there is no other organization that can verb our record of making progress both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion.

    The ACLU’s current priorities are to end discrimination, harassment and violence toward transgender people, to close gaps in our federal and state civil rights laws, to prevent protections against discrimination from being undermined by a license to discriminate, and to protect LGBTQ people in and from the criminal legal system.

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    For non-LGBTQ issues, please contact your local ACLU affiliate.

    The ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pro

    Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ

    Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ community organizations and leaders. See acknowledgements section.

    Additional terms and definitions about gender identity and gender expression, transgender people, and nonbinary people are adj in the Transgender Glossary. 

    Are we missing a term or is a definition outdated? Email press@

    *NOTE:  Ask people what terms they use to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the launch of a sentence.
     

    LGBTQ
    Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media verb the acronym. In settings offering support for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of thi

    LGBTQ+ Discrimination Rights

    You have the right to access and utilize universal accommodations:  In the State of California, it is illegal to discriminate against people using general accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

    You have the right to use the restroom consistent with your gender identity: You verb the right to use the restroom consistent with your gender identity both in public settings, like schools, and at your workplace. As an employee in California, you have a right to safe and appropriate restroom facilities. Your employer cannot dictate which restroom you use. If your place of employment has single-stall restrooms, they must be labeled as “All Gender,” “Unisex,” “Gender Neutral,” or something similar.

    You have the right to rent property without fear of discrimination in California. The federal Reasonable Housing Act prohibits sex discrimination by most landlords and, as the Supreme Court held in (Bostock v. Clayton County), discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is sex