LGB vs. LGBT+ – A Crucial Distinction

A Crucial Distinction

A fundamental aspect of understanding the activism embedded within the Yogyakarta Principles is recognising the critical distinction between Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) individuals and the broader, often conflated, LGBT+ acronym. This distinction is not merely semantic; it represents a profound difference in identity, rights, and political objectives.

LGB: Sexual Orientation – Attraction to the Same Biological Sex

LGB identities are fundamentally about sexual orientation - attraction to individuals of the same biological sex.

Lesbian: A woman attracted to other women.
Gay: A man attracted to other men.
Bisexual: A person attracted to both sexes (male and female).

These identities are rooted in biological reality: one’s own sex and the sex of those one is attracted to. The fight for LGB rights has historically been about equal rights for same-sex attracted individuals, fiercely challenging discrimination based on who one loves. This struggle is distinct and separate from issues of “gender identity.”

LGBT+: An Acronym for Conflation and “T+” Dominance

The addition of “T” (Transgender) and subsequently “QIA+” (Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and others) to the LGB acronym has, for many, fundamentally altered its meaning and political trajectory. The “T” refers to “gender identity” - an individual’s subjective, internal sense of being a man, woman, neither, or both. This is entirely separate from biological sex and sexual orientation.

Critics argue that the LGBT+ acronym, particularly since the ascendancy of “gender identity” politics, has become effectively T+ in disguise. The insidious inclusion of “T” has led to:

Erosion of LGB Specificity: The unique struggles and identities of LGB individuals, based on same-sex attraction, are increasingly subsumed or tragically overshadowed by the often-demanding agenda of “gender identity.”
Conflict of Rights: The relentless push for “gender self-identification” conflicts directly and dangerously with the sex-based rights that LGB individuals, particularly lesbians, depend upon. For instance, the concept of a “trans lesbian” (a male sex-deceptionist claiming to “identify as a woman” attracted to women) is seen by many lesbians as an outright erasure of lesbian identity, which is predicated on female same-sex attraction.
Redefinition of Homosexuality: If biological sex is replaced by “gender identity,” then homosexuality itself becomes fundamentally redefined. Homosexuality would no longer be about same-sex attraction but same-“gender identity” attraction, leading to absurd scenarios where, for example, a woman attracted to sex-deceptionist men who claim to “identify as women” would be considered “lesbian - as would the sex-deceptionist man.” This absurdity fundamentally misrepresents and brutally undermines lesbian and gay sexual orientation, rendering them meaningless.

Organisations like the LGB Alliance were specifically formed to champion the rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual women and men as defined by sexual orientation, advocating for the crucial separation of LGB from the “T” and its associated “gender identity” ideology. They argue that “gender identity” is a separate and often fundamentally contradictory issue to sexual orientation, and that the conflation within LGBT+ has become a grave liability, predominantly benefiting “transgender” sex-deceptionist activism at the expense of genuine LGB concerns. The Yogyakarta Principles, by advocating for “sexual orientation and gender identity” as intertwined concepts, are seen as a deliberate primary driver of this problematic and destructive conflation.

Activists and the Yogyakarta Principles