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Echinopsis 'Flying Saucer'

This beautiful hybrid cactus was created by the late Hans Britsch, of Vista, California. There are many such spectacular hybrids in a wide array of colors, stemming from hybridizing involving Trichocereus, Lobivia, Echinopsis and Soehrensia. For a time, all these groups were combined into a huge concept of Echinopsis, so of course the hybrids were called "Echinopsis hybrids". But now that most people favor reinstating the old genera, it is harder to know what to call them. Often, one is not even sure which genera are present in their lineage. So the easiest thing is to continue to call them Echinopsis hybrids, even if they might actually be a cross between a Lobivia and a Soehrensia, or some other combination.

LGBTQIA+. That's a lot of letters!

Let's start with the basics, what do each of the letters stand for?

L - Lesbian G - Gay B - Bisexual T - Transgender Q - Queer/Questioning I - Intersex A - Asexual + - To include any and all identities not named above

What started as just LGBT has grown to encompass a much wider range of identities. Just as language shifts, the encapsulating "label" for the community changes.

Some folx favor referencing the community as "the queer community", although that can sometimes cause problems. In the past, "queer" as been a term of ridicule and used as a slur, so many people worry that it's not a proper label to use. I, personally, use it as a self-identifier because it's easier than going through the motions of talking about how the boxes of sexuality and gender don't always feel right, and how I'm bisexual but in a straight-passing relationship, and on and on. You'll see me refer to the LGBTQIA+ community as the queer community in future posts as I believe it's a wonderful umbrella term and feel good about reclaiming a word that has once held such vitriol. Some people also believe using the acronym for the community is ousting for the identities that aren't mentioned, and using queer involves everyone regardless of their identity.

So! With that, let's look just a bit deeper into some of the identities of the queer community. I'll have another post going even deeper into what they mean individually, but this will be a sort of overview for the time being. (All of these definitions come directly from the Glossary of LGBTQIA+ Terms put together by The Pride Center for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at Lehigh University.)

Aromantic – Person who experiences little or no romantic attraction to others. Also known as Aro.

Asexual – Person who does not experience sexual attraction. They may or may not experience emotional, physical, and/or romantic attraction. Asexuality differs from celibacy in that it is a sexual orientation, not a choice. Also known as Ace.

Bisexual – A person who experiences sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction to people of their own gender as well as other genders, not necessarily at the same time, in the same way, or to the same degree. Also known as Bi.

Cisgender – someone who feels comfortable with the gender identity assigned to them based on their physical sex. Also known as Cis.

Demisexual – A person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone. It's more commonly seen in but by no means confined to romantic relationships. Is under the umbrella of Asexuality.

Gay – 1. Used in some cultural settings to represent men who are exclusively or primarily attracted to other men in a romantic, erotic and/or emotional sense. 2. A general term for gay men and lesbians.

Heterosexual – A medical definition for a person who is primarily or exclusively attracted to those of a different sex or gender. Also known as straight.

Homophobia – Direct negative attitudes toward and unfair treatment of people who identify or are perceived as non­heterosexual, including the fear of being read as part of the LGBT community. Homophobic behavior can range from telling gay jokes, to verbal abuse, to acts of physical violence.

Intersex – Individual(s) born with the condition of having physical sex markers (genitals, hormones, gonads, or chromosomes) that are neither clearly male nor female. Intersex people are sometimes defined as having “ambiguous” genitalia.

Lesbian – Term used to describe women who are exclusively or primarily attracted to other women in a romantic, erotic, and/or emotional sense.

Non-Binary – A gender identity which doesn't fit in the "traditional" gender binary of "man" or "woman". Someone who is non-binary feels that their gender doesn't fit a strictly "male" or "female" definition, and there are many expressions of non-binary identities. Also known as enby. I will have a whole post on gender expression, and thank you to @colerambles for pointing out that I left this out originally!

Pansexual – A person who has the potential to experience sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction for members of all gender identities/expressions.

Queer – 1. An umbrella term which includes lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, trans* people, intersex persons, radical sex communities, and many other sexually transgressive communities. 2. This term is sometimes used as a sexual orientation label or gender identity label used to denote a non­heterosexual or cisgender identity without having to define specifics. 3. A reclaimed word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been reclaimed by some folks in the LGBTQ community. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold “queer‟ to be a hateful insult.

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

Transgender – A person who identifies with a gender other than the gender they were assigned at birth. Sexual orientation varies and is not dependent on gender identity.

Trans* – An abbreviation that is used to refer to a transgender/gender queer/ gender non­conforming person. This use allows a person to state a gender variant identity without having to disclose hormonal or surgical status/intentions. This term is sometimes used to refer to the whole gender non­conforming community that might include (but is not limited to) transgender, genderqueer, gender fluid, non­binary, genderf*ck, transsexual, agender, third gender, two­spirit, bigender, trans man, trans woman, gender non­conforming, trans masculine, trans feminine, and gender questioning.

As an addition, please remember that these definitions are always changing. For example, another shoutout to @colerambles for sharing that her enby teen and their best friend define lesbian as "non-man loving non-man" and gay as "non-woman loving non-woman". Language and humanity is so beautiful in this way, that our understanding of things can get better when we all put our heads together and share.

There are so many more identities that I'm very excited to share with you! As always, asks are open and I'm happy to answer questions as best I can!

Today's resource is PFLAG! PFLAG originally stood for Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, but the organization now just goes by PFLAG. According to their website, "Our mission is to build on a foundation of loving families united with LGBTQ+ people and allies who support one another, and to educate ourselves and our communities to speak up as advocates until all hearts and minds respect, value and affirm LGBTQ people."

This is a wonderful resource for families to be better allies to their queer family members. Love and support are crucial for the wellbeing of folx in the LGBTQIA+ community. Learn more from their advocacy tools here and get support here.

References below the cut:

You don't need months of investigations to know an AR-15 should be banned.

1. Accept it; don’t fight it. Trying to understand and fight those heavy painful feelings, will usually weigh you down and drain away your energy.

2. Be nice to yourself. Don’t make things worse by beating yourself

3. Do that one thing that’s nagging on your mind the most. It will help to boost your feelings and release some energy.

4. Think about the little things that help to bring you pleasure – like walking in the sunshine or smelling fresh spring flowers.

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