LGBTQ+ Community Facts and Information

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California, the most populous state in the nation, is home to the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population—2.8 million people. 

California’s share of adults who identify as LGBTQ+ (9.5%) is higher than the share in the rest of the nation (8.3%). It is also higher than that of any other highly populated state. California’s LGBTQ+ community includes a broad range of identities, not all of which are captured in the census data. According to this data, over half (52%) of LGBTQ+ adults in California describe themselves as bisexual, 42% describe themselves as gay or lesbian, and 6% as transgender. Far more men identify as gay (778,000) than women as lesbian (374,000). In contrast, over twice as many women (1,039,000) as men (405,000) describe themselves as bisexual.

Younger adults are much more likely than older adults to identify as LGBTQ+. One in five young adults in California identifies as LGBTQ+

In general, LGBTQ+ adults age 25 and over are more highly educated than other adults. Gay and lesbian as well as bisexual adults are more likely to have a bachelor’s or graduate degree than other Californians. (Household Pulse Survey)

Definitions:

Rainbow Flag 🏳‍🌈:  It dates back to 1978, when the artist Gilbert Baker designed the first rainbow flag. Baker saw the rainbow as a natural flag from the sky, so he adopted eight colors for the stripes, each color with its own meaning hot pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for art, indigo for harmony, and violet for spirit.

Pink Triangle 🔻:  It has been a symbol for the LGBTQ community, initially intended as a badge of shame but later reclaimed as a positive symbol of self-identity. In Nazi Germany it began as one of the Nazi concentration badges distinguishing those imprisoned because they had been identified by authorities as Gay men. In the 1970s, it was revived as a symbol of protest against homophobia and has since been adopted by the larger LGBTQ community as a popular symbol of LGBTQ pride.

The Lavender Color 🟣:  In 1969, the lavender color came to symbolize empowerment, as the queer rights movement began to reclaim the color as a symbol of resistance.

"LGBTQ+-friendly" means that a business is welcoming and affirming of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people.

Definitions of LGBTQ+ according to 

Vanderbilt Edu.

LESBIAN: Usually refers to a woman who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation toward women. Some nonbinary people also identify with this term.

GAY: Used in some cultural settings to represent men who are attracted to men in a romantic, erotic and/or emotional sense. Not all men who engage in same-gender sexual behavior identify as gay, and as such this label should be used with caution.

BISEXUAL or BI: A person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction to more than one gender, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree.

TRANSGENDER: A person whose sense of personal identity or gender does not correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth, or does not conform to gender stereotypes. Sexual orientation varies and is not dependent on gender identity.

QUEER: a multi-faceted word that is used in different ways and means different things to different people. 1) Attraction to people of many genders. 2) Don’t conform to cultural norms around gender and/or sexuality. 3) A general term referring to all non-heterosexual people. Some within the community, however, may feel the word has been hatefully used against them for too long and are reluctant to embrace it.

QUESTIONING: An individual who is unsure of and/or exploring their gender identity and/or sexual orientation.

INTERSEX: An umbrella term that describes people born with any of 30 different variations in sex characteristics including chromosomes, gonads, sex hormones, or genitals.

ASEXUAL: A person who experiences little or no sexual attraction to others and/or a lack of interest in sexual relationships/behavior. They may or may not experience emotional, physical, or romantic attraction. Asexuality differs from celibacy in that it is a sexual orientation, not a choice. People who are asexual may call themselves ace.

AROMANTIC: A person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others and/or has a lack of interest in romantic relationships/behavior.

PANSEXUAL: A person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender identities/expressions.

NON-BINARY or ENBY: A person whose gender identity does not fall within the binary genders of man or woman.

GENDERFLUID: A person who does not identify with the gender binary and move within genders and gender stereotypes.

GENDERQUEER: A person who does not identify or express their gender within the gender binary. Those who identify as genderqueer may identify as neither men nor women, may see themselves as outside of or in between the gender binary, or may simply feel restricted by gender labels.

AGENDER: a person with no (or very little) connection to gender, no personal alignment with the concepts of either man or woman, and/or someone who sees themselves as existing without gender.

STUD: A term originating within communities of color to describe a masculine identifying person who was assigned female at birth. 

MĀHŪ:(‘in the middle’) in Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) and Maohi (Tahitian) cultures are third gender persons with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture.

MUXE: Derived from the Spanish word for woman (mujer), muxes generally represent Mexican people who are assigned male at birth and identify as different genders.  The iterations among the muxe community and their self-identifications vary – some identify as male but are female-expressing, while others identify as female and are more closely associated with Western culture’s understanding of transgender. Others defy gender entirely. But, in Mexican culture, the term “third gender” is often tacked to the muxe community.

HETEROSEXISM: Prejudice against individuals and groups who display non-heterosexual behaviors or identities, combined with the majority power to impose such prejudice. Usually used to the advantage of the group in power. Any attitude, action, or practice backed by an institutional power that subordinates people because of their sexual orientation.

CISGENDER: A person whose sense of personal identity or gender does correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth.

LGBTQ2S+ ALLY: Someone who confronts heterosexism, anti- LGBTQ2S+ biases, heterosexual and cisgender privilege in themselves and others; believes that heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are social justice issues.