LGBT is an abbreviation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and the + stands for all the other sexual and romantic orientations and gender identities that are not heterosexual, heteroromantic and cisgender, which is unfortunately still seen as “normal” in society. In other words, LGBT+ is a kind of umbrella term for all people with identities that exist outside the norms of gender and sexuality. 

Pride is a protest and a way to show the world that LGBT+ people are here and have a claim to rights just as heterosexual and cisgender people do, and simultaneously create a space for LGBT+ people to meet. Pride is celebrated for a period each year, and in many cities, there are pride parades which are large processions where LGBT+ people walk through the streets and both party and show through banners and flyers which goals have still not been reached in the LGBT+ movement. 

No one knows whether you were born gay, bisexual, transgender or nonbinary. Some think it’s something you’re born with; some think it’s an identity you develop. In any case, it is not something you “choose” yourself – just as you do not “choose” to be heterosexual or cisgender. 

LGBT+ people look just as different as all other people, so no you can’t.

Sexuality is about who you fall in love with, who you have sex with, and who you are attracted to. Gender is whether you are a girl, a boy, something in between or neither. Gender does not have anything to do with one’s sexuality. 

No, you don’t have to. There are no requirements or rules about how to be transgender. Some receive hormone treatment, some undergo surgeries, and some are happy with the way their bodies are. Being transgender just means that you identify with a different gender than the one the doctors said you were when you were born. 

Some people do not identify as a boy or a girl. Therefore, they also do not feel that “he” and “she” describe who they are. “They” and “them” are therefore a way of referring to a person without calling the person “he” or “she”. 

There is no limit to how many genders there are. Gender identities and gender understandings differ from person to person, and we all “do” our gender in different ways.  

A great many LGBT+ people know early in their childhood or youth that they are not heterosexual or cisgender, but there is also a large proportion who find out later in life. Nothing is more correct than the other. It is also different from person to person how it feels to be aware of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. 

 Many LGBT+ people come out several years after they find out their identity because they are afraid of being met with resistance from people around them. Some come out in their teens or early twenties, but there are also a large number of people who come out both earlier and later in life. 

There are many ways to come out. For a lot of people, telling one or more close friends or family members is completely fine. It is also important to state that you as an LGBT+ person do not need to and do not owe it to anyone to come out to them if it does not feel safe or necessary. 

Heterosexuality is considered the standard in society and heterosexuals as those who live up to the norms of sexuality, while people with other sexual orientations do not. Society is designed for heterosexuals, while people with other sexual orientations experience oppression, hatred, or discrimination in society. Heterosexuals are therefore not included in LGBT+ because they do not experience oppression and discrimination because of their sexuality, while others do. 

Gay is not in itself a slur, but a word many homosexuals use about their sexual orientation. Gay can be used condescendingly, and in that connection the word becomes a slur, and LGBT+ Danmark is trying to do away with that.

Dyke, like gay, is not in itself a slur, but when it is used condescendingly, it becomes a slur. 

 Transgender is the word we now use as a collective term for people who are not the gender they were assigned at birth. In the past, many people used the word transsexual, but this is misleading because being transgender has nothing to do with sexual orientation, it is about one’s gender. Transgender people can have all sorts of different sexual orientations, be heterosexual, homosexual, pansexual, asexual, and so on – just like cisgender people. Therefore, we have moved away from using the word transsexual and use the word transgender instead. 

The rainbow flag symbolizes the diversity that exists in the LGBT+ community. When the flag was designed by Gill Baker in 1978, each color was given a meaning: pink for sexuality, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for nature, blue for art, indigo for harmony, purple for spirit. There is also a new version of the rainbow flag with a triangle on one side. This flag is called the intersectional pride flag, which means that even more identities are included in the fight, such as the fight against racism, the fight for intersex rights, etc. 

Queer originally meant weird or different and was a slur for LGBT+ people. Later it was reclaimed by LGBT+ people, both as a collective term for the group, but also as a sexual orientation or gender identity, where one is critical of the usual “boxes” that exist for gender and sexuality. 

Yes, that is possible in Denmark. In 1989, it became possible in Denmark to enter into what was called a registered partnership for persons of the same sex – as the first country in the world. In 2012, it became possible for same sex couples to marry and enter into marriage on equal terms with couples of different sexes. 

 According to the law, it is possible for homosexuals to adopt, but in practice it is difficult because many countries will not let homosexual couples adopt. In Denmark, on the other hand, it is possible to adopt a child from others, but for some couples it is difficult to get to adopt their own children, because it is their partner and not themselves who is biologically related to the child. We are fighting to change that. 

Yes, they can. Two women can undergo fertility treatment and receive help to conceive a child together. Often the couples make use of a sperm donor. It can be someone they know themselves or an anonymous sperm donor. There are many rules for how it must take place for both to be recognized as parents of the child. 

Yes, trans men can get pregnant. For trans men in hormone treatment, this means, for the most part, that they have to taper off or stop their hormone treatment before they can get pregnant. For trans men who are not in treatment, it is just as easy or difficult as for other people with wombs to get pregnant. 

Yes, in Denmark in general LGBT+ people have gotten more rights, but there is still a long way to go before we have equal rights and equal living conditions. Unfortunately, the development can also go in the wrong direction – this has happened both in Denmark and around the world. In these years we see a wave of roll backs around the world, and many LGBT+ people still have no rights, some are deprived of their rights, and for many it is outright illegal to be an LGBT+ person. 

Examples of our rights: LGBT+ people have the right to live and be who we are. LGBT+ people can get married, and some LGBT+ people can start families. LGBT+ people are partially protected from hate crimes, but there are still many examples of LGBT+ people being discriminated against and subjected to hate crimes. Transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse people still do not have the right to gender affirming treatment in many cases and experience discrimination and hatred more often than cisgender LGBT+ people. 

In addition to rights, we fight to change society’s norms so that fewer LGBT+ people feel othered and unsafe, and fewer LGBT+ people develop mental illnesses because of society’s reluctance to accept us. Without a change in the norms, it is not possible to ensure a better life for LGBT+ people without hatred and stigmatization. 

We can never take our rights for granted. It has become even clearer with the development in many other European countries, where, in these years, it has become more difficult and more dangerous to be an LGBT+ person. In Denmark, a movement has also risen which questions the rights and existence of LGBT+ people. Therefore, the fight for the rights we already have is still relevant.