62 Interesting LGBT Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published September 20, 2016Updated November 14, 2024

The planet Mercury is a symbol used by the transgendered community. The sign for Mercury is a crescent shape and a cross, which represents the male and female principles in harmony in an individual. Additionally, the god Mercury fathered Hermaphroditus, who had both male and female sex organs._[6]
The labrys, a double-edged hatchet or axe, is a symbol of strength and unity for the lesbian community. Demeter, the Goddess of Earth, is said to have used a labrys as her scepter, especially in religious ceremonies._[6]
In 1987, Delta Airlines apologized for arguing in plane crash litigation that it should pay less in compensation for the life of a gay passenger than for a heterosexual one because he may have had AIDS._[6]
Records of same-sex relationships have been found in nearly every culture throughout history with varying degrees of acceptance._[1]
The number of gays and lesbians in the U.S. is estimated to be approximately 13 million._[5]

Approximately 5 million children in the U.S. are being raised by an LGBT parent

Approximately 5 million children in the U.S. are being raised by an LGBT parent. About 2 million of those live in an LGBT single-parent household. Nearly 300,000 are being raised by parents in same-sex couples._[7]
About 7% of adults worldwide identify as LGBT+._[4]
Historians note that in some cultures, homosexual behavior was not viewed as effeminate but as evidence of a man’s masculinity. Examples include the Celtic and Greek cultures._[2]
The U.S. state/district with the highest concentration of gay couples is Washington, D.C. The lowest concentration of gay couples is Wisconsin and Wyoming._[6]
The Philippines, the United States, and Israel have the highest rate of people identifying as LGBT+ (11% each), while Thailand, and Canada are a close second (10% each). Sweden, Brazil, and Australia follow with 9% each._[4]
The countries with the lowest rate of LGBT+ are South Korea and Romania, with 3% of adults identifying as such in each._[6]
In some American Indian cultures, having a same-sex attraction was called being Two-Spirited. The tribe honored such people as having special gifts and being especially blessed._[2]
Gay teen suicides are more common in politically conservative regions._[5]
Homosexuality has been recorded in China since ancient times and has often been referred to as “the cut sleeve” and “pleasures of the bitten peach.”_[10]
One of the earliest recorded accounts of bisexuality in America was by Spanish explorer Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca who, in the early sixteenth century, mentions “effeminate” Indians in Florida who “go about dressed as women and do women’s tasks.”_[6]
In 1629, the Virginia Court recorded the first instance of gender ambiguity among the American colonists. A servant named Thomas/Thomasine Hall is officially declared by the governor to be both “a man and a woman” and ordered to wear articles of each sex’s clothing._[6]
Nicholas Biddle, a member of the Lewis and Clark expeditions, recorded that “among Minitarees [Indians], if a boy shows any symptom of effeminacy or girlish inclinations, he is put among the girls, dressed in their way, brought up with them, and sometimes married to men . . . the French called them Birdashes [sic].”_[6]
In 2015, the Supreme Court declared that same-sex marriage in all 50 states was legal._[9]
In 1860, Walt Whitman published the homoerotic Leaves of Grass, which later inspired numerous gay poets._[6]
The first U.S. novel to touch on the subject of homosexuality is Bayard Taylor’s 1870 Joseph and His Friend._[6]
The Society for Human Rights in Illinois was founded in 1924 and is believed to be the first homosexual organization in the United States. It lasted just a few months but published two issues of Friendship and Freedom, the first gay liberation magazine in the country._[6]

The rainbow flag is the most prominent symbol of lesbian and gay pride

Gilbert Baker, also known as the “Gay Betsy Ross,” designed the rainbow flag, or Pride Flag, in San Francisco in 1978. The flag is the most prominent symbol of lesbian and gay pride. The colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet represent sexuality, life, healing, the Sun, nature, art, harmony, and the spirit, respectively._[6]
The first published piece about homosexuality by an African American writer is the short story “Smoke, Lilies and Jade” by Bruce Nugent._[6]
The Drag, written and produced by Mae West, is the first play with gay male content to be produced in the United States._[6]
In 1930, Hollywood studios enacted the Motion Picture Production Code, prohibiting all references to homosexuality or “sexual perversion” in the movies. It was strengthened in 1934 under pressure from the Catholic-led Legion for Decency. It remained in effect until the 1960s._[6]
The first U.S. lesbian magazine was titled Vice Versa and was written by the pseudonymous Lisa Ben (an anagram for “lesbian”)._[6]
In 1948, the Kinsey Institute published its groundbreaking study of sexual behavior in American men. Kinsey’s research helped foster a sense of community and self-acceptance among homosexuals._[6]
In 1952, the Unites States Congress enacted a law banning lesbians and gay foreigners from entering the country. The law was on the books until it was repealed in 1990._[6]
The first lesbian organization in the United States was formed in 1955. Called the Daughters of Bilitis, it was founded in San Francisco by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon._[6]
In 1961, Illinois became the first state to abolish its laws against consensual homosexual sex._[6]
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop was founded in 1967 in New York City and was the first gay bookstore in the world._[6]
In 1968, Dr. John Money performed the first complete male-to-female sex-change operation in the United States at Johns Hopkins University._[6]
The 1969, Time magazine’s “The Homosexual in America” was the first cover story on gay rights in a national magazine._[6]
The first lesbian/feminist bookstore in the U.S. was the Amazon Bookstore Cooperative (now known as True Colors Bookstore), which opened in Minneapolis in 1970._[6]
In 1972, William Johnson became the first openly gay man to be ordained as a minister by a major religious denomination, the United Church of Christ, in California._[6]
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association decided that homosexuality should no longer be classified as a mental disorder. Also the same year, the American Bar Association passed a resolution recommending the repeal of all state sodomy laws._[5]
In 1974, Elaine Noble became the first openly gay elected official in the United States when she was elected to the Massachusetts state legislature._[6]
In the 1970s, feminist activist Betty Friedman argued that the “Lavender Menace,” or lesbians, would overwhelm the feminist movement with “sexuality issues” and did not want lesbians to use NOW (the National Organization for Women) as a platform. Consequently, many lesbian feminists started their own activist groups._[6]
A lavender rhinoceros has been often used to signify the lesbian community. A rhinoceros was chosen because it is generally docile, but when it is provoked, it can become ferocious. Lavender is often used to represent the GLBT community, because it is a mixture of red and blue, which represents the female and male principles, respectively._[6]
In 1984, Berkeley, California, became the first city in the United States to extend domestic partnership benefits to lesbian and gay city employees._[6]
In 1995, British actor Nigel Hawthorne, star of the film The Madness of King George, became the first openly gay Best Actor nominee in the history of the Academy Awards._[6]

Plato argued that a homosexual army would consist of "inspired heros"

An estimated 1 million lesbians and gays are military veterans._[6]
The term LGBT or GLBT or LGBTQ was adopted in the 1990s and refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (and queer or questioning) people. However, the term is not without contention with some groups, such as those who are intersex, who want to be included, and others who don’t want to be included._[5]
In an attempt to distinguish themselves from what they view as a white-dominated LGBT community, some African Americans favor the term SGL (same gender loving)._[6]
The pink triangle was the symbol gay men were required to wear in Nazi concentration camps during WWII. Lesbians were sometimes required to wear a black triangle._[5]
Pride Day or Pride March refers to celebrations that typically take place in June that commemorate the Stonewall Inn riots of June 28, 1969. These riots are considered the birth of the modern gay civil rights movement._[3]
Most of the LGBT community discourages the use of the term “sexual preference” because it implies that sexuality is the result of conscious choice._[4]
In the 1960s, the term “AC/DC” referred to a person who had sex with either men or women. The term came from the abbreviations for two types of electrical currents, an alternating current and a direct current._[6]
A “beard” is someone of the opposite sex who knowingly dates a closeted lesbian or gay man to provide that person with a heterosexual “disguise,” usually for family or career purposes._[6]
A “buffet flat” was an after-hours partying spot in Harlem of the 1920s that was a common place for African American lesbians and gay men to socialize. The “buffet” referred to a variety of sexual possibilities: straight, gay, group sex, etc._[6]
The term “closet” refers to the confining state of being secretive about one’s homosexuality. The word cannot be found in lesbian and gay literature before the 1960s and was probably not used before then._[6]

AIDS was once known as Gay Related Immune Disorder (GRID)

In 1982, the Gay Related Immune Disorder (GRID) was renamed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)._[6]
The ancient Greeks did not have terms that indicated a dichotomy between “heterosexual” and “homosexual.” Instead, the distinction in ancient Greek sexual relations was who would take a passive or active role. The most common form of same-sex love was between an older male, the erastes, who acted as a mentor, lover, and model for a younger boy, the eromenos. It was believed that sperm was the source of knowledge and that its issue would pass wisdom from the erastes to the eromenos._[3]
German psychologist Karoly Maria Benkert is thought to have been the first to coin the word “homosexuality” in the late nineteenth century. He agued that the Prussian sodomy laws violated the “rights of man” and that homosexuality was inborn and unchangeable._[1]
The word “lesbian” is derived from the Greek island Lesbos, home of Greek poetess Sappho. Her poetry proclaimed her love for girls and praised the beauty of women._[1]
Pejorative terms for members of the LGBT community include poof, homo, faggot, queer, and fairy. However, the LGBT community is reclaiming some previously pejorative terms as positive words._[6]
Some scholars have proposed that the first homosexual couple to be mentioned in history is the ancient Egyptian servants Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum who lived around 2400 B.C._[6]

Dwarf chimpanzees as a whole are a bisexual species

The entire species of the dwarf chimpanzee is bisexual. Lions have also exhibited homosexual behavior. Homosexual behavior has been observed in 1,500 animal species and is most widespread among animals with a complex herd life._[8]
Lambda is the Greek letter associated with some of the more aggressive factions of the LGBT community. Lambda can signify several things, including liberation, unity, synergy, or the iconic scales of justice. Scholars note that the symbol also appeared on the shields of Theben warriors. The Band of Thebes is believed to have consisted of a group of fierce and dedicated male lover/warriors._[6]
The Harlem Renaissance was not only a seminal moment in African American history, but it also was a significant moment in the history of gay African Americans. Both black lesbians and gay men played a crucial role in the literary and musical renaissance that made Harlem famous in the 1920s._[6]
While lesbian refers only to female homosexuality, the term “gay” can refer to all members of the LGBTQ community. Some argue that the term “homosexual” should be avoided because the word refers only to sexual behavior rather than complex human romantic feelings._[5]
Hitler first curtailed, then prevented, and finally destroyed all German sex research and a flourishing sex reform movement. This was the first step in the systematic persecution of German homosexuals between 1933 and 1945._[6]