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LGBTQ rights movement

Definition

The LGBTQ rights movement is a civil rights movement advocating for equal social and legal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals.

Analogy

Imagine being left-handed in a world designed for right-handed people - doors, scissors, even writing can be difficult. This is what it's like for LGBTQ+ people living in societies with laws not designed for them. The LGBTQ+ rights movement works to change these "designs" so everyone has equal access regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Related terms

Stonewall Riots: A series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBT community against a police raid that took place at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in June 1969; often considered as sparking point for modern LGBTQ rights movement.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell: A policy that prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. This policy was repealed in 2011.

Marriage Equality: The legal recognition of same-sex marriage, achieved nationally in the U.S. in 2015 with the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.