LGBT - which means an abbreviation, and what is the LGBT movement

A couple of decades ago the term LGBT appeared, which means abbreviated "lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people". The first three positions relate to a person's sexual orientation, the fourth - to his gender identity. The word "lesbian" came from the name of the island of Lesbos, which in ancient times lived poetess Sappho. Since then the name Lesbos is a symbol of love between women. The word "gay" has two meanings: gay - "cheerful guy" and the abbreviation "good as you". A bisexual and a transgender should be understood literally: a person with double sexuality and a person who changes sex (the latter is not entirely true, transgender people do not always change their physiological sex, they are often content with changing their image and documents).

History

The term LGBT exists since the consolidation of sexual and gender minorities into a single community. But the LGBT movement itself began earlier. It is considered to be the beginning of the Stonewall Riot (June 1969), when gay men for the first time in the history of America were repulsed by policemen who conducted routine round-ups in clubs. The emancipation of the community continues to this day. This process is extremely difficult in countries with a weakened economy and a legal system, with a low level of education and a political regime close to the totalitarian one. In such countries, the power to distract the population from economic and social problems, cultivates the image of the internal enemy, exploiting the age-old prejudices of people imposed by orthodox religions. The ideal "enemy" for ignorant people is LGBT, which means the marginalization of the community and the escalation of violence against its representatives.

The Organization

Each country has its own LGBT organization. There are several of them in Russia. There are also branches of international organizations of narrow special-purpose designation:

- The film festival "Bok-o-bok" carries out an educational mission;

- the main function of the "LGBT-Christian Forum" is the search for consensus between believers in the community and the Orthodox Church doctrine, which positions same-sex intimate relationships as a sin;

- the organization "Exit" (LGBT Fireplace Outlet, which means open recognition of its orientation) provides community members with legal and psychological support.

Russian organizations:

- "LGBT Network" in St. Petersburg;

- "Rainbow Association" in Moscow;

- "Another Look" in the Komi;

- Initiative groups in all major cities of Russia.

These organizations are multifunctional: their tasks include enlightenment, support, political struggle.

There is also the organization "Children-404", focused on the psychological adaptation of adolescent homosexuals, which the legislation on information protection for minors actually denied the right to exist.

The official LGBT website is in the "LGBT Network" in St. Petersburg, in the "Rainbow Association" in Moscow, etc.

LGBT in protest movement

There are a lot of heterosexuals in the LGBT movement. In St. Petersburg, there is the "Alliance of heterosexuals for the equality of LGBT people", consisting mainly of representatives of the majority. There are heterosexuals in the Moscow "Rainbow Association" and in groups of other cities. For Russia, the general civil orientation of LGBT activities is characteristic, which means close association of the movement with the struggle for women's rights against patriarchal gender chauvinism, as well as with other antifascist and democratic associations, with both a liberal and a left political platform.