Language and History of the LGBTQ Community

Language and terminology are vital aspects of LGBTQ health care. Building a basic LGBTQ health vocabulary is fundamental to establishing relationships with LGBTQ patients. This chapter focuses on improving communication with the LGBTQ patients. It sets forth a brief overview of LGBTQ-related history, providing a foundation on which to base discussion in later chapters of the health disparities and barriers to quality health care encountered by these populations. Myriad terms exist with which to describe the complexity of gender identity, sexual orientation, and sexuality. A solid understanding of this language can improve patient-provider relationships in many practice settings and streamline provider-provider communication.