The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2023 - 13

Do I really know what
the acronym means?
I
f someone were to ask you
to define the word " trans, "
an abbreviation for
" transgender " in the context
of the LGBTQIA+ community,
you could be forgiven for
thinking it means the process
of transitioning from one
gender (e.g., female) to
the other (e.g., male). At
one time, the term meant
precisely that but has evolved
to mean something almost
entirely different.
That's the point of this
article. With all the recent
changes in laws-primarily
the landmark LGBT case
Obergefell vs. Hodges1
in
June 2015, in which the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that the
fundamental right to marry
is guaranteed to same-sex
couples-and accompanying
rights for the LGBTQIA+
community, people have
become familiar with most
of the letters in the acronym,
such as " lesbian, " " gay, "
" bisexual, " and " queer. " But
the " T, " which stands for
" trans, " is something much
less familiar to some and
also a term that has evolved
to incorporate more than its
original meaning.
Even the acronym LGBT
has expanded to LGBTQ,
then LGBTQ+, and now
LGBTQIA+ to denote an
expansion of identities and
sexual attraction. (Please
don't conflate the two: the
former refers to who you
are while the latter refers to
whom you're attracted.) And
one might ask: Is it really
necessary to keep adding
more and more letters? Is
there a point where that
goes too far?
The argument could be
that there is. Certainly
www.ata-chronicle.online
" LGBTQIA+ " is longer and
more cumbersome than
" LGBTQ. " But, really, by
only two more letters. (The
" + " sign is an easy ending
to incorporate.) Rather than
focusing on the length of the
acronym, we should focus
instead on the people the
additional letters represent.
As they say, " If you're not
named, you don't exist. " If
you're not identified, your
concerns fall by the wayside.
This is what motivated the
LGBTQIA+ community to
fight to be included in
the recent U.S. Census.2
If
certain ailments, social
isolation, discrimination,
or even murders are
affecting this community
but it's not documented,
then necessary services or
protection of rights cannot
be secured either.
I'll confess that not too
long ago in a presentation, I
was guilty of recommending
the use of " LGBTQ+ "
without the " I " or the
" A, " or the other identities
and orientations that the
" + " could encompass. My
argument was that most
audiences would include
" LGBT " people, but that
one should use the " I " and
" A " extensions if there were
people in the audience who
were part of those groups.
In retrospect, I realize how
naive that was. One would
not inquire whether there
are " intersex " or " asexual "
people in the audience, just
as one would not delve into
some other topic that might
be considered private. If one
did, even with the intention
of being more inclusive, one
would be singling people
out for their identity or
orientation, which could be
embarrassing. What's clear
is that automatically leaving
out the letters necessarily
excludes people. Even if
those people prefer to be
stealth (flying under the
radar, so to speak), people
still appreciate that others
know they exist for the
reasons stated above.
The " + " is an attempt
to be more inclusive,
incorporating groups we
have since identified, such
as ACE/ARO (asexual and
aromantic), non-binary,
pansexual, polyamorous, and
quite a few more, as well as
groups we may not even be
aware of yet. (Some question
whether polyamory or other
sex-positive categories
should be part of the
LGBTQIA+ acronym, but if
we are including the rainbow
of identities and orientations,
I would argue that it is.)
Why So Many
Categories?
People ask why all these
categories are necessary, and
whether these groups are
simply a result of influence
(read " negative influence " )
from people in the LGBTQIA+
community. History would
indicate that many of these
categories have existed since
time immemorial-think
of David Bowie, Prince, or
even Gentleman Jack (a TV
series based on the life of
Anne Lister, who passed
as a man in the 1800s).
What has, in fact, changed
is people's awareness of
themselves or others as
well as their comfort level
in accepting these identities
and orientations.
Let's revisit the word
" trans. " It once referred
to a person wanting their
exterior to reflect how
they felt on the inside.
American Translators Association 13
Rather than
focusing on
the length of
the acronym,
we should
focus instead
on the people
the additional
letters represent.
http://www.ata-chronicle.online
The ATA Chronicle - January/February 2023

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