LGBT culture, is the common culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. It is sometimes also referred to as Queer culture. The term gay culture, though not synonymous, is sometimes also used though this may also apply specifically to the culture of homosexual men. LGBT culture varies widely by geography and the identity of the participants. Elements often identified as being common to the culture of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people include:
Not all LGBT people identify by or affiliate with LGBT culture. Instead, some hide behind the false image of heterosexuality. Reasons can include geographic distance, unawareness of the subculture's existence, fear of social stigma, or personal preference to remain unidentified with sexuality or gender based subcultures or communities. The Queercore movement, as well as the group Gay shame, critiques what they see as the commercialization and self-imposed ghettoization of LGBT cultures.[1][2]
In some cities, especially in North America, LGBTQ people live in gay villages neighbourhoods with a high proportion of gay residents. LGBTQ communities organize a number of events to celebrate their cultures, such as Pride parades, the Gay Games and Southern Decadence.
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According to Herdt, "homosexuality" was the main term used until the late 1950s and early 1960s. After this point, a new "gay" culture came to be. "This new gay culture increasingly marks a full spectrum of social life: not only same-sex desires but gay selves, gay neighbors, and gay social practices that are distinctive of our affluent, postindustrial society".[3]
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, gay culture was highly covert and relied upon secret symbols and codes woven into an overall straight context. Gay influence in early America was mostly limited to high culture. The association of gay men with opera, ballet, professional sports, couture, fine cuisine, musical theater, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and interior design began with wealthy homosexual men using the straight themes of these media to send their own signals. In the very heterocentric Marilyn Monroe film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a musical number features Jane Russell singing "Anyone Here for Love" in a gym while muscled men dance around her. The men's costumes were designed by a man, the dance was choreographed by a man, and the dancers, as gay screenwriter Paul Rudnick points out, "seem more interested in each other than in Russell", but her reassuring presence gets the sequence past the censors and fits it into an overall heterocentric theme.[4] After the Stonewall riots in the United States in 1969, gay male culture began to be publicly acknowledged for the first time. Some gay men formed The Violet Quill society, which focused on writing about gay experience as something central and normal in a story for the first time, rather than as a "naughty" sideline to a mostly straight story. A good example is the short story A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White. In this first volume of a trilogy, White writes as a young homophilic narrator growing up under the shadow of a corrupt and remote father. The young man learns bad habits from his straight father and applies them to a gay existence.
Celebrities such as Liza Minnelli, Jane Fonda, and Bette Midler spent a significant amount of their social time with urban gay men, who were now popularly viewed as sophisticated and stylish by the jet set. And more celebrities themselves, such as Andy Warhol, were open about their relationships. Such openness was still limited to the largest and most progressive urban areas such as New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Washington DC, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, however, until AIDS forced several popular celebrities out of the closet due to their contraction of what was known at first as a "gay cancer".[5]
Some elements that may be identified more closely with gay men than with other groups include:
There are a number of subcultures within gay male culture, such as the bears and chubbies. There are also subcultures that have historically had a large gay male population, such as the leather and SM subcultures. Out critic Michael Musto opined "I am a harsh critic of the gay community because I feel that when I first came out I thought I would be entering a world of nonconformity and individuality and, au contraire, it turned out to be a world of clones in a certain way. I also hated the whole body fascism thing that took over the gays for a long time.[7]
With respect to relationships, some U.S. studies have found that the majority of gay male couples are in monogamous relationships. Research by Colleen Hoffon of 566 gay male couples from the San Francisco Bay Area found that 75% had monogamous relationships. That study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health
Openly gay actor Neil Patrick Harris has remarked, "I’m a big proponent of monogamous relationships regardless of sexuality, and I’m proud of how the nation is steering toward that".[8]
In the 1980 and 1990s, Sean Martin drew a comic strip, Doc and Raider, which featured a gay couple living in or near Toronto's Gay Village. The characters have recently been updated and moved to the Web. The comic was humorous but sometimes addressed serious issues such as gay-bashing, HIV, and spousal abuse.
Recently, a number of online social interaction websites for gay men have been established. Initially, these concentrated on sexual contact or titillation. Typically, users were afforded a profile page as well as access to other members' pages, member-to-member messaging and instant-message chat.
Smaller, more densely-connected websites concentrating on social networking without a focus on sexual contact have been established. Some forbid all explicit sexual content; others do not.
As with gay men, lesbian culture includes elements both from the larger LGBT culture and elements that are specific to the lesbian community. Often thought of in this regard are elements of counterculture that have been primarily associated with lesbians in Europe, Australia/New Zealand and North America and includes large lesbian specific events such as Michigan Womyn's Music Festival[9] and the Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend.[10][11]
Contemporary Lesbian culture also has its own icons such as Melissa Etheridge. Others include k.d. lang (butch), Ellen DeGeneres (androgynous), and Portia de Rossi (femme).
The history of lesbian culture over the last half-century has also been tightly entwined with the evolution of feminism. Lesbian separatism is an example of a lesbian theory and practice which identifies specifically lesbian interests and ideas and promotes a specific sort of lesbian culture.[12][13][14]
Older stereotypes of lesbian women stressed a dichotomy between women who adhered to stereotypical male gender stereotypes ("butch") and stereotypical female gender stereotypes ("femme"), and that typical lesbian couples consisted of a butch/femme pairing. Today, some lesbian women adhere to being either "butch" or "femme," but these categories are much less rigid and are now uncommon as lesbianism becomes more mainstream. Also notable are diesel dykes, extremely butch women who use male forms of dress and behavior. Lipstick lesbian refers to feminine women who are attracted to other women.
Bisexual culture emphasizes opposition to or disregard of fixed sexual and gender identity called monosexism (discrimination against bisexual, fluid, pansexual and queer-identified people), bisexual erasure, and biphobia/panphobia (hatred and/or distrust of people who do not adhere to monosexual behavior). Biphobia is common (although lessening) in both the gay and lesbian community and the straight community.
Many bisexual, fluid and pansexual people consider themselves to be part of the LGBT or Queer community, despite any discrimination they face. Contemporary western bisexual/pasexual and fluid culture also has its own touchstones such as the books Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out, edited by Lani Ka'ahumanu and Loraine Hutchins, and Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World edited by Robyn Ochs, the British science fiction television series Torchwood, and icons including British singer and activist Tom Robinson, The Black Eyed Peas member Fergie, Scottish actor Alan Cumming and American performance artist and activist Lady Gaga.
The bisexual pride flag flag was designed by Michael Page in 1998 in order to give the community its own symbol comparable to the Gay pride flag of the mainstream LGBT community. The deep pink or rose stripe at the top of the flag represents the possibility of same gender attraction; the royal blue stripe at the bottom of the flag represents the possibility of different gender attraction and the stripes overlap in the central fifth of the flag to form a deep shade of lavender or purple, which represents the possibility of attraction anywhere along the entire gender spectrum.
Additionally, Celebrate Bisexuality Day has been observed on September 23 by members of the bisexual community and their allies since 1999.[15][16]
The study of transgender culture as such is complicated by the many and various ways in which cultures deal with gender. For example, in many cultures, people who are attracted to people of the same sex — that is, those who in contemporary Western culture would identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual — are classed as a third gender, together with people who would in the West be classified as transgender or transsexual.
In the contemporary West, there are usually several different groups of transgender and transsexual people, some of which are extremely exclusive, like groups only for transsexual women who explicitly want sex reassignment surgery, or male, heterosexual-only cross-dressers. Transmen's groups are often, but not always, more inclusive. Groups aiming at all transgender people, both transmen and transwomen, have in most cases appeared only in the last few years.
Some transgender or transsexual women and men however do not classify as being part of any specific "trans" culture, however there is a distinction between transgender and transsexual people who make their past known to others and those who wish to live according to their gender identity and not reveal this past, stating that they should be able to live in their true gender role in a normal way, and be in control of whom they choose to tell their past to.
Youth Pride, an extension of the Gay pride and LGBT social movements, promotes equality amongst young members (usually above the age of consent) of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Questioning (LGBTIQ) community.[17] The movement exists in many countries and focuses mainly on festivals and parades, enabling many LGBTIQ youth to network, communicate, and celebrate their gender and sexual identities.[17] Youth Pride organizers also point to the value in building community and supporting young people as they are more likely to get gay bashed and bullied.[18] Schools that have a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) handle issues of discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ youth better than schools that do not because they help develop community and coping skills and give students a safe-space to get health and safety information.[19] Sometimes the groups avoid labeling young people and instead let them identify themselves on their own terms "when they feel safe".[20]
Gay and lesbian youth bear an increased risk of suicide, substance abuse, school problems, and isolation because of a "hostile and condemning environment, verbal and physical abuse, rejection and isolation from family and peers" according to a U.S. Task Force on Youth Suicide report.[21] Further, LGB youths are more likely to report psychological and physical abuse by parents or caretakers, and more sexual abuse. Suggested reasons for this disparity are that (1) LGBT youths may be specifically targeted on the basis of their perceived sexual orientation or gender non-conforming appearance, and (2) "risk factors associated with sexual minority status, including discrimination, invisibility, and rejection by family members...may lead to an increase in behaviors that are associated with risk for victimization, such as substance abuse, sex with multiple partners, or running away from home as a teenager."[22] A 2008 study showed a correlation between the degree of rejecting behavior by parents of LGB adolescents and negative health problems in the teenagers studied.[23] Crisis centers in larger cities and information sites on the Internet have arisen to help youth and adults.[24] The Trevor Helpline, a suicide prevention helpline for LGBT youth, was established by the filmmakers following the 1998 airing on HBO of the Academy Award winning short film Trevor; Daniel Radcliffe donated a large sum to the group and has appeared in service ads for them condemning homophobia.[25]
The increasing mainstream acceptance of the greater LGBTIQ communities prompted the Massachusetts Governors' Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth to start an annual Gay-Straight Youth Pride observance in 1995.[17][26] In 1997 the Youth Pride Alliance was founded as a non-profit to put on an annual youth pride event in Washington, D.C.[27] In 1998 Candace Gingrich was one of the speakers at Washington D.C.'s Youth Pride Alliance, a coalition of 25 youth support and advocacy groups.[28] In 1999, the first annual Vermont Youth Pride Day was held. As of 2009 it is the largest queer and allied youth event in Vermont and is organized by Outright Vermont to "break the geographic and social barriers gay youngsters living in rural communities face".[29] In 2002, a college fair was added to the event to connect students with colleges and discuss issues relating to how to track students and ensure their safety.[30] In April 2003 a Youth Pride Chorus partly organized with New York's LGBT Community Center started rehearsals and later performed at a June Pride concert at Carnegie Hall with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.[31] in 2004 the San Diego chapter of Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) worked with the San Diego Youth Pride coordinators to organize the Day of Silence throughout the county.[32] In 2005, the Decatur Georgia Youth Pride participated in a counter-protest against Westboro Baptist Church, led by church head Fred Phelps' daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, who were "greeting students and faculty as they arrived with words such as "God hates fag enablers" and "Thank God for 9/11"" at ten locations.[33] In 2008, Chicago's Youth Pride Center, primarily serving "LGBT youth of color", opened a temporary location and will move into their newly constructed building on Chicago's South Side in 2010.[34] In 2009, Utah Pride Center held an event to coincide with Youth Pride Walk 2009, a "cross-country walk by two Utah women trying to draw attention to the problems faced by homeless LGBT youth".[35] In August 2010, the first Hollywood Youth Pride was held with a focus on the "large number of homeless LGBT youth living on Los Angeles streets."[36] According to a 2007 report "of the estimated 1.6 million homeless American youth, between 20 and 40 percent identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.[37]
At larger pride parades and festivals there are often LGBTIQ or queer youth contingents, and some festivals designate safe-spaces for young people to provide safety and security.[38][39]
Several other segments of the LGBT community have their own significant communities and cultures.
One is the Deaf Queer community.[40]
Society's attempt to make homosexuals fit the heterosexual mold has resulted in ideas such as that all gay men are either "tops" or "bottoms" and that one of the men in the relationship must be "the woman" while the other is "the man", an idea that is often met with irritation by gay men. [41]
Criticism of LGBT culture has come from a variety of sources. Some, like Michael Musto, view the culture as being too conforming to certain caricatures or stereotypes that alienate more 'fringe' members of the community. Others believe that the LGBT community's emphasis on pursuits like Marxism, socialism, or any political ideology is unworkable given the biological nature of being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and the diversity of backgrounds within the community. Further, some believe a notion of 'separatism' or falling into any particular lifestyle as a group is highly alienating to many people, as well as alienating LGBT members within ordinary society.
Another problem is that bisexual and transgender individuals often experience heavy social pressure to identify as gay or lesbian and can face ostracism and discrimination from mainstream LGBT culture. For bisexuals, this pressure is known as 'bisexual erasure'. New York University School of Law professor Kenji Yoshino has written, "gays de-legitimatize bisexuals... the lesbian and gay community abounds with negative images of bisexuals as fence-sitters, traitors, cop-outs, closet cases, people whose primary goal in life is to retain heterosexual privilege".[42] In response to these criticisms, some gay and lesbian commentators retort that many or most of the people who call themselves 'bisexual' are actually straight people co-opting a chic culture and that this deception hurts real gay people and lesbians.
Finally, criticism has been levelled that the LGBT community represents an artificial separation, rather than one based on tangible customs or ethnic identification. (In particular, the labels certain LGBT members use to describe themselves vary widely and some simply prefer to identify as loving a particular gender.) On this point, it should also be noted that certain members see the LGBT community idea as being alienating as the abbreviation itself deliberately displays difference with straight people and as a separate group (further, demarcating 3 terms to do with sexuality with transgenderism, which is a significantly broader phenomenon, is highly artificial), when equality advocates would claim to represent integration.[43]
Some gay male commentators who are in monogamous relationships argue that the mainstream gay culture's disdain of monogamy and its promotion of promiscuity has harmed efforts to legalize same-sex marriage.[44]
British journalist Mark Simpson published a book titled Anti-Gay in 1996 that described various alleged forms of intolerance by the mainstream gay community towards various subgroups. The Times wrote that Simpson succeeded in "pointing out that oppression and prejudice do not become legitimate just because they happen to be practiced by the previously oppressed". Aiden Shaw of Time Out New York wrote that "Thank fucking God someone did this, because... whatever happened to our individuality, our differences?" Other commentators panned Simpson's argument, with Boyz declaring "Simpson is a cunt".[45]
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