LGBTQIA
Americanadjective
noun
Usage
What does LGBTQIA mean? LGBTQIA is a term that collectively represents people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or those questioning their gender identity or sexual orientation), intersex, and asexual.An alternate letter order is LGBTIQA. Terms like LGBTQIA are sometimes used in a way in which the A is said to include or stand for Allies—cisgender and heterosexual people who support the people represented by the other letters. For example, an event may be labeled in a way that welcomes such allies. However, terms like LGBTQIA exist as a label for a community for those who have been marginalized and discriminated against due to their gender or sexual identity, so many don’t consider allies to be part of the abbreviation.There are many longer variations of LGBTQIA that include letters representing those who identify in different ways, such as those who identify as pansexual, transsexual, intergender, aromantic, nonbinary, and two-spirit. Common and more limited terms include LGBT and LGBTQ. Sometimes, a plus sign is added after the letters to represent any pertinent groups not represented by a letter. There is no consensus about which term is best, and others are commonly used or have been proposed.All of these terms are most commonly used as adjectives, as in LGBTQIA rights or the LGBTQIA community.Less commonly, such terms may be used as a noun to refer to a person who’s part of that community. When used this way, it’s typically used in the plural, as in This anti-discrimination law is a victory for all LGBTQIAs.Example: June is Pride Month, and it’s for the entire LGBTQIA community.
Etymology
Origin of LGBTQIA
First recorded in 2005–10
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Davies, who is gay, is considered a trailblazer within LGBTQIA+ drama and said it was "the great privilege" of his life to have written a show that allowed people to talk about a virus that was, for so long, shrouded in shame.
From BBC
“I don’t know why that became the thing that gets me the most angry. I think it’s because it’s so intersectional that it overlaps with everything from climate change to LGBTQIA+ issues.”
From Los Angeles Times
Nick Fulton is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C., who covers politics and LGBTQIA+ issues.
From Salon
The council said the decision was "purely from a health and safety standpoint" and it stood in "full support of the LGBTQIA+ community".
From BBC
As Davis works with her clients, her hands might be gentle, but she’s also fierce about her politics and support of the LGBTQIA+ community.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.