For a long time, people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer have been lumped together and referred to more generally as LGBTQ or a similar acronym, such as LGBTQI, which includes intersex people. However, a number of government institutions’ websites are deleting any mention of LGBTQ persons or deleting the rear half of the acronym, only two weeks after President Donald Trump announced three executive orders targeting transgender people.
Only LGB travelers are addressed on a State Department online page that, until last week, offered information for LGBTQI travelers.Similarly, the State Department’s LGBTQI+ Prospective Adoptive Parent Resources website now just reads “LGB Prospective Adoptive Parents.”
A page about Social Security for LGBTQI+ People was once available on the website of the Social Security Administration, an independent federal agency. It has since been changed to LGBQ People and no longer mentions transgender or intersex individuals—those who are born with physical characteristics that don’t fit the traditional definitions of male or female categories.