Hello:
I read with interest the Open Letter on page 4 of your May 18th edition.
I am open minded, but uniformed on the matter.
I think the writer would have a better chance of appealing to people like me, if they spelled out in the first paragraph, the acronyms, which I find , by themselves, without elaboration, aggravating.
They are appealing for understanding and acceptance from uninformed people, yet offend them by assuming they know what the terms mean.
Thank you.
Robert McLaughlin
Editor: Thanks for the letter, Mr. McLaughlin. I felt that the letter’s identification of their stance against homophobia, transphobia and such made the organization’s stance clear enough it didn’t warrant an explanation, but I’m happy to outline them so to dispel the confusion.
The acronym 2SLGBTQ+ refers to “two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer” with the plus sign denoting any unrepresented groups of the same family, such as asexual or demisexual. All of those terms have their own definitions and there are some disagreements over what one entails.
‘Two-spirit’ is also a concept specific to some indigenous beliefs that members are sometimes reluctant to share with white people due to past histories of persecution and appropriation.
The acronym varies depending on which letters are added and there are hot debates over what the ‘appropriate’ letters are – At the time of the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, the term was generally ‘LGBT’, but common usage is grown over time (and this is a gross oversimplication based on Wikipedia entries, as I am not knowledgeable enough on the movements to speak with authority)
Some of the terms, for the sake of completeness:
Lesbian – a woman who is attracted to women
Gay – a man who is attracted to men, but used regardless of gender
Bisexual – a person who is attracted to both male and female as well as those who identify as neither, or non-binary, which are a subset of identity related to transgendered individuals.) another term, Pansexual, can be used to imply a more equal universal attraction.
Transgendered, someone who identifies as a gender different than that assigned at birth.This includes ‘non-binary’ individuals who identify as neither male or female.
2S refers to Two-Spirit, a gender concept exclusive to Indigenous Communities in Americia, relating to traditional views on gender roles., which served as matchmakers, counsellors, and healers according to the Provincial Health Services Authority of British Columbia.
‘Queer’ is a former slur used to denote gay, lesbian, and trans people, that was reclaimed by the community as a general all-encompassing term for the multitude of specific identities people have adopted in recent years.
If it sounds complicated, it is. Hence why terms like ‘queer’ are sought after to make short-hand easier. However, debate about the length of the acronym is common, and some inclusions are influenced by other factors, such as acknowledgement of indigenous traditional practices and colonial violence leading to the specific addition of ‘two-spirit’. You won’t really get a consensus in online queer communities.
At some point, the need for shorthand and the need for inclusivity have to be reconciled, which in this editor’s opinion is a question that, like sexual and gender identity, is never easy to answer, but is important to consider.
