Why L comes first in LGBTQ+: lesbian women's help during the HIV/AIDS crisis

The term LGBTQ+ is known around the world today. But have you ever wondered why its first letter, L, stands for lesbian? The answer lies not just in language or the order of words. Behind it is a story from the HIV/AIDS crisis, in which lesbian women gave great help.

In the early 1980s, fear, misunderstanding and stigma surrounded HIV/AIDS in Western society. Many HIV-positive gay men got no support from their families. In many places they could not get hospital care or treatment either. They faced discrimination both in society and in medical care.

In that climate, some lesbian women came forward and personally helped men struggling with HIV/AIDS. Some women became nurses, caregivers, friends and volunteers, and handled patients' day-to-day needs. They kept going out of their way to help. The help from the lesbian community gave emotional and social support to many people who were battling loneliness.

The crisis also affected the blood supply. In 1983, the Public Health Service in the United States barred certain groups of sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating blood. At that time, modern tests of the kind available today to detect HIV did not exist either.

In the same period, women of the lesbian community ran blood donation camps and campaigns in many places to help the blood supply. A historical study is also available of campaigns run between 1983 and 1992 by groups such as the San Diego Blood Sisters.

So the L in LGBTQ+ represents the lesbian community. But the story linked to this letter is not only about identity. It is also a reminder of how people within the community stood by one another in difficult times. The first letter of LGBTQ+, L for lesbian, is written in honour of lesbian women's care, blood donation campaigns and social activism during the HIV/AIDS crisis.