VGCC Library Services: LGBT+: Overview

What is LGBT+?

LGBT or LGBTQIA+? Questioning or queer? What about ace, pan, enby, or any of the numerous labels that are often included under the LGBT umbrella? These resources can help with understanding the words people use when discussing LGBT history and issues, and the importance of respecting how people identify themselves.

The ABCs of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+
A concise but understandable glossary of commonly used terms from the New York Times newspaper.
Finding the Right Words: LGBTQ+ Glossary
Glossary of different terms and concepts related to LGBT+ identities and issues. Includes short videos to illustrate each.
LGBT/queer sexuality, history of, North America
Summarizes the history of the LGBT initialism and how and why it has evolved over time.
LGBTQ+ Terms and Symbols Glossary
Concise yet helpful page defining common and inclusive terms and symbols used by those in the LGBT+ community.
Why LGBT initialism keeps growing
Discusses how the LGBT abbreviation is evolving and what that means to different people within the community.

Read

Every True Pleasure: LGBTQ Tales of North Carolina
ISBN: 9781469646794
Publication Date: 2019-03-11
Stories and essays by North Carolina writers that view the full spectrum of contemporary life though an LGBTQ lens.
How to They/Them by Stuart Getty
Publication Date: 2020
What does nonbinary really mean? What is gender nonconforming? Isn't they a plural pronoun? This charming guide unpacks all your burning questions in a fun, visual way.
How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
Publication Date: 2020-07-07
Award-winning memoir about a young, black, gay man from the South as he fights to carve out a place for himself, within his family, within his country, within his own hopes, desires, and fears. Audiobook.

Showing Pride

Where Did the Rainbow Flag Come From, Anyway?
Concise history of the rainbow as a symbol of LGBT+ pride.
Symbols Within the GSD Community
Descriptions, history, and context for some of the symbols used currently or historically for LGBT+ people.

Watch

After Stonewall
Documentary about the history of LGBTQ+ activism following the uprising at Stonewall Inn in New York from 1969 through 1999.
The Age of AIDS
Comprehensive 2006 documentary that explores the HIV/AIDS pandemic, beginning with its origins, early responses from the LGBTQ community, medical professionals, and politicians, through drug development, activism, and ongoing impact on society.
Drawn This Way
Surveys the way LGBTQ characters have been portrayed through the years in comic books, animated series, films, and video games, exploring issues of stereotyping and representation, and the power of media to create—and subvert—narratives.
Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric
With an an inquisitive stance on gender issues, this film takes us on a unique journey to discover the dynamics and complexities of gender in our world.
Kiki
A captivating look into the daily lives of a group of LGBTQ youth who comprise the "Kiki" scene as they prepare for and perform at fierce and exuberant ballroom competitions in NYC.
Making the Boys
A documentary about Mart Crowley and the production of his groundbreaking 1968 play The Boys in the Band, which was revolutionary in its time but has been criticized for promoting gay stereotypes.
Stonewall Uprising
This 2011 documentary examines the pivotal events leading up to the police raid of Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village in 1969, and the subsequent uprisings that sparked a movement for civil rights in the LGBTQ community.
This is what Pride celebrations look like around the world
A short video from CNN showing images of LGBT+ celebrations around the world.
XXY
XXY (2007) tells the story of Alex, an intersex teenager in Argentina who is being forced to confront complex questions about gender and sexual identity.

Experience

Find out more about LGBT+ events and organizations in the local area and online.

Equality NC
The oldest statewide organization in the country dedicated to securing rights and protections for the LGBTQ community.
GLAAD
GLAAD works through entertainment, news, and digital media to share stories from the LGBTQ community that accelerate acceptance.
It Gets Better Project
Offers space for people all over the world to upload videos and share stories to "remind the next generation of LGBTQ+ youth that hope is out there, and it will get better.
LGBT Center of Raleigh
Non-profit organization based in Raleigh that provides community services, resources, and advocacy for diverse LGBTQ+ communities.
LGBT National Help Center
Offers free and confidential peer support, resources, and a variety of hotlines you can call if you need someone to talk to.
LGBTQ Center of Durham
This Durham-based organization provides space and resources to all people and is committed to serving the City and County of Durham as well as the surrounding counties to ensure all folks have the resources necessary to live full, joyful lives.
OUTSouth Queer Film Festival
This annual film festival (formerly the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) held at the Carolina Theater in Durham is a celebration of LGBT+ films and documentaries. The 2021 festival is scheduled for August 13-19.

LGBT+ Issues

LGBTQ Rights
Summary from October 2020 of current legal and legislative issues relating to LGBT+ Americans.
LGBT Rights | Human Rights Watch
Reports, commentary, and news briefs from non-profit organization Human Rights Watch covering the equality and inequality of LGBT+ people worldwide.
Transgender Access to Public Bathrooms: Fight for Gender-Neutral Bathrooms
Examines the history and evolution of the debate over public bathroom use by transgender Americans.

LGBTQ Cultures by Michele J. Eliason, Michele J; Peggy L. Chinn
ISBN: 9781496394606
Publication Date: 2017-11-16
Though aimed at health-care professionals, this book offers an informative and comprehensive look at LGBT+ identities and issues for everyone.