A University in the UK has made the suggestion that it might be time to dump the term “LGBT Community”.
A study by the Sheffield Hallam University has found that the acronym used by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans community is “problematic” saying that some feel excluded by the term.
The research, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, centred on questions around what the phrase ‘LGBT community’ means, with a number of the responses challenging the use of the word ‘community’.
Is the LGBT one big community?
Responses to the research revealed that many people felt excluded by the phrase ‘LGBT community’, as the language suggests that all LGBT people belong to one large homogenous group. The results of the research have been used for the new book Exploring LGBT Spaces and Communities, by Eleanor Formby, senior research fellow at Sheffield Hallam’s Sheffield Institute of Education.
The book examines a number of ideas around LGBT identities including community ownership, difference, diversity, spaces, symbols, and consequences for well-being, whilst also exploring the experiences of LGBT people to offer a broad analysis of commonalities and differences.
Eleanor said,
“How we understand and use the term ‘LGBT community’ has implications for the delivery of social policy and service provision, and ultimately LGBT people’s lives.
“The concept is important but when it is used in the singular, which it so often is, this is not helpful to many LGBT people, not least because not all feel, or wish to be, included within a singular uniform community.
“The word ‘community’ is rarely, if ever, used for people identified as part of ‘majority groups’, for example “white community, “able-bodied community” or “heterosexual community”, so why do we use it for so-called ‘minority groups’?.
“Whilst community can offer benefits to some, in terms of affirmation and the suggestion of safety, it also poses potential dangers through perpetuating misconceptions and stereotypes, and ultimately risks implying that LGBT people are all the same, which they are obviously not, although they may of course share some experiences in common.”
Queer as an umbrella term is out
A recent survey undertaken by THEGAYUK showed that the use of the word Queer as an umbrella term was also out. Sixty percent of respondents said that it was inappropriate to use the term. The majority also found that non-LGBT companies, such as the BBC, National Trust and Tate Gallery who use the term to advert events or programming, was also inappropriate. We reached out to the BBC for comment on its use of the word Queer.
It’s time to dump the word problematic.
Get rid of the non-binary crap.
No matter the title , some one somewhere will not like it, stop worrying about titles, start worrying about the attacks on our family from this administration!
It was so much easier when we just referred to the gay community. Everyone knew that it included anyone not identifying as exclusively heterosexual. This nonsense about trying to define every permutation of sexuality has made us look nit picking and divisive. Surely we are looking for equality for everyone which is not assisted by a silo mentality.
It is a mouthful
Well… I don’t think there’s a problem with the use of “community” – there is a black community, Asian community, Polish community etc etc – and within those you might even have smaller communities. The LGBT is the same – inside the Umbrella of LGBT you have gay community, trans community etc. It’s just a way of grouping people together who may have the same issues.