LGBTQ community in the context of "LGBTQ people"

LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Many variants of the initialism are used, such as those incorporating questioning, intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is generally conceived as broadly encompassing all individuals who are part of a sexual or gender minority.

Third gender or third sex is an identity recognizing individuals categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither a man nor a woman. Many gender systems around the world include three or more genders, deriving the concept either from the traditional, historical recognition of such individuals or from its modern development in the LGBTQ community, which can include third gender people as a non-binary identity. The term third is usually understood to mean "other", though some societies use the concept to encompass fourth and fifth genders.

The state of personally identifying as, or being identified by society as, a man, a woman, or other is usually also defined by the individual's gender identity and gender role in the particular culture in which they live.

Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has generated hundreds of studies showing that exposure to environmental harm is inequitably distributed. Additionally, many marginalized communities, including Black/racialized communities and the LGBTQ community, are disproportionately impacted by natural disasters.

Environmental justice is broadly defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Over time, scholars have elaborated multiple dimensions of the concept.

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant "carefree", "cheerful', or "bright and showy".

While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 19th century, that meaning became increasingly common by the mid-20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation. By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBTQ groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex, although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men.

The rainbow flag or pride flag (formerly gay pride flag) is a symbol of LGBTQ pride and LGBTQ social movements, as well as a peace symbol. The colors reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community and the spectrum of human sexuality and gender. Using a rainbow flag as a symbol of LGBTQ pride began in San Francisco, California and subsequently became common at LGBTQ rights events worldwide.

Originally devised by the artists Gilbert Baker, Lynn Segerblom, James McNamara and other activists, the design underwent several revisions after its debut in 1978, and continues to inspire variations. Although Baker's original rainbow flag had eight colors, from 1979 to the present day the most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically displayed horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Afghan members of the LGBTQ community are forced to keep their gender identity and sexual orientation secret, in fear of violence and the death penalty. The religious nature of the country has limited any opportunity for public discussion, with any mention of homosexuality and related terms deemed taboo.

On 23 January 2025, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Ahmad Khan, requested arrest warrants against Taliban leaders Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani for their persecution of women, girls, and the LGBTQ community, marking the first time the court has recognized crimes against the LGBTQ community.

A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBTQ community. Pride in this case refers to the notion of LGBTQ pride. The terms LGBTQ flag and queer flag are often used interchangeably.

The rainbow flag, which represents the entire LGBTQ community, is the most widely used pride flag. As well as the LGBTQ community as a whole, pride flags can represent various sexual orientations, romantic orientations, gender identities, subcultures, and regional purposes. Some pride flags, however, are not exclusively related to LGBTQ matters, such as the flag for leather subculture.