Why does the L come first? Let’s get Smarter in Seconds!

[00:00:00]Ever wonder why the L comes first in LGBTQ plus? Well, the short answer is solidarity, but for the longer answer, let's get smarter in seconds. Back in the '60s and '70s, it was called the gay liberation movement, and then the gay and lesbian liberation movement, but because bi and trans folks are part of the same fight, it eventually became the acronym GLBT. Gay men being listed first also reflected who was getting the funding, the platform, and the spotlight. Flash forward to the HIV AIDS crisis. Gay men, in addition to many transgender women, were dying of a mysterious illness that news outlets called gay cancer, while the United States government refused to even acknowledge it, and bigots claimed it was God's will. People were attending multiple funerals a month, losing entire chosen families, and grieving in a world that told them that their loved ones didn't matter. In a powerful act of solidarity, lesbians showed up in huge numbers as healers, organizers, and as caregivers. Often, medical professionals were too afraid or too biased to enter the room or even touch patients.

[00:00:44]Lesbians formed mutual aid groups like blood sisters in San Diego, donating blood, fundraising, and providing day-to-day care for loved ones and strangers living with and dying from HIV. Today, due to decades of advocacy and medical progress, HIV is no longer a death sentence. People living with HIV go on to live long, healthy lives, and medications like PrEP and PEP can dramatically reduce the risk of transmission. But, back to the acronym.

[00:01:04]Combine the work that lesbians did during the AIDS crisis with the influence of feminist movements and lesbian activism, and leading with the L became an acknowledgement, a thank you, a way to honor these acts of solidarity.

[00:01:14]Oh, and by the way, in recent years, and especially in Canada, you may have seen the acronym written as 2S LGBTQ plus.

[00:01:19]This isn't to erase lesbians or this important history. It's to honor two-spirit Indigenous peoples who were here first, but whose identities and experiences have been pushed to the margins by colonization. The LGBTQ plus community is made up of people with diverse identities, different struggles, but what unites us is solidarity, our history, and the understanding that our oppression and our liberation are interconnected. Thank you to Dr. Bronner's for making this Smarter in Seconds episode possible. Right now, the LGBTQ plus community is under attack. We don't need corporate pride, we need solidarity. As it says right on their soap bottles, when rights and freedoms are denied, all are diminished. When each one belongs, all can rise and flourish. Teach all one today, and thank you for letting me teach you today. By the way, that philosophy of solidarity is why Dr. Bronner's is continuing their years-long support of the ACLU Foundation and the fight for LGBTQ plus rights. You can learn more by going to aclu.org/drbronners.

[00:02:03]>> Smarter in seconds.