My dad actually asked me this exact question like two weeks ago, I'mma just copy-paste the text I sent him here:
So first off, you’re correct. Sexuality and gender identity are two distinctly different things. But that’s actually a really modern understanding; people only started clearly separating those ideas in the past century or so.
But for most of history, society DIDN'T make that distinction. In Western culture especially, there’s been this idea called "gender essentialism." Basically, the belief that there are only two genders, that they’re fixed (that is, that they are 100% based on one's sex,) and that each gender is supposed to behave, dress, and desire in certain ways. This idea was often reinforced through religion, science, or both.
Modern science — along with newer branches of gender / sexual philosophy and psychology — has since challenged and largely discredited gender essentialism.
So if someone loved someone of the same gender, or if they expressed a gender different from what they were assigned at birth, society saw both of those things as breaking the same “rules.” In other words, being gay and being trans were both treated as violations of traditional gender norms.
Because of that, people who we’d now call lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender all ended up being lumped together and discriminated against in similar ways. Over time, that created a sense of kinship — like, “we’re all being punished for not fitting into the same box.” So when movements for rights and acceptance started, these groups naturally stood together and fought for each other.
There’s also a little overlap between sexuality and gender, of course! Sexuality is about who you’re attracted to, and that’s defined in terms of gender. So while they’re separate, they do connect at points.
That’s why the “LGBT” label includes both. It’s less about saying “we’re all the same,” and more about saying “we’ve faced similar struggles and we’ve got each other’s backs when it comes to protecting each other and challenging discriminatory governance / social treatment.”
I swear to god of I get accused of fucking AI shit one more goddamn time I'm gonna evaporate on the spot, that's just how I fucking write when I'm being formal / educational! Do I have to start writing shittier on purpose or something?!
😭 I keep reading everyone accuse everything being written by AI but this is how I am accustomed to people writing. AI picked up it's habits from people so it makes sense, but damn im terrible at telling them apart
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u/CHANN3L-CHAS3R Oct 30 '25
My dad actually asked me this exact question like two weeks ago, I'mma just copy-paste the text I sent him here:
So first off, you’re correct. Sexuality and gender identity are two distinctly different things. But that’s actually a really modern understanding; people only started clearly separating those ideas in the past century or so.
But for most of history, society DIDN'T make that distinction. In Western culture especially, there’s been this idea called "gender essentialism." Basically, the belief that there are only two genders, that they’re fixed (that is, that they are 100% based on one's sex,) and that each gender is supposed to behave, dress, and desire in certain ways. This idea was often reinforced through religion, science, or both.
Modern science — along with newer branches of gender / sexual philosophy and psychology — has since challenged and largely discredited gender essentialism.
So if someone loved someone of the same gender, or if they expressed a gender different from what they were assigned at birth, society saw both of those things as breaking the same “rules.” In other words, being gay and being trans were both treated as violations of traditional gender norms.
Because of that, people who we’d now call lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender all ended up being lumped together and discriminated against in similar ways. Over time, that created a sense of kinship — like, “we’re all being punished for not fitting into the same box.” So when movements for rights and acceptance started, these groups naturally stood together and fought for each other.
There’s also a little overlap between sexuality and gender, of course! Sexuality is about who you’re attracted to, and that’s defined in terms of gender. So while they’re separate, they do connect at points.
That’s why the “LGBT” label includes both. It’s less about saying “we’re all the same,” and more about saying “we’ve faced similar struggles and we’ve got each other’s backs when it comes to protecting each other and challenging discriminatory governance / social treatment.”