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A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

 

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

 

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

A 2011 discussion Do you say LGBT or GLBT or queer or something different? by a Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers says:

Here's the thing: In my blogs and videos, I almost always say LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. But pretty much everytime I say it, i get emails from people that are so upset that as a gay man, I didn't put the "G" first.

 

To be honest, the reason I do it is because lesbians really face a double whammy of discrimination - first for being a woman, and secondly for being gay.

 

So I put the "L" first in the acronym to recognize that.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) and the Washington Digital Newspapers which includes the Seattle Gay News are excellent free sources. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1993. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see in those databases are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.

A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

A 2011 discussion Do you say LGBT or GLBT or queer or something different? by a Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers says:

Here's the thing: In my blogs and videos, I almost always say LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. But pretty much everytime I say it, i get emails from people that are so upset that as a gay man, I didn't put the "G" first.

To be honest, the reason I do it is because lesbians really face a double whammy of discrimination - first for being a woman, and secondly for being gay.

So I put the "L" first in the acronym to recognize that.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) and the Washington Digital Newspapers which includes the Seattle Gay News are excellent free sources. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1993. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see in those databases are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.

A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

A 2011 discussion Do you say LGBT or GLBT or queer or something different? by a Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers says:

Here's the thing: In my blogs and videos, I almost always say LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. But pretty much everytime I say it, i get emails from people that are so upset that as a gay man, I didn't put the "G" first.

To be honest, the reason I do it is because lesbians really face a double whammy of discrimination - first for being a woman, and secondly for being gay.

So I put the "L" first in the acronym to recognize that.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) is an excellent free source. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1994. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.

A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

A 2011 discussion Do you say LGBT or GLBT or queer or something different? by a Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers says:

Here's the thing: In my blogs and videos, I almost always say LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. But pretty much everytime I say it, i get emails from people that are so upset that as a gay man, I didn't put the "G" first.

To be honest, the reason I do it is because lesbians really face a double whammy of discrimination - first for being a woman, and secondly for being gay.

So I put the "L" first in the acronym to recognize that.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) and the Washington Digital Newspapers which includes the Seattle Gay News are excellent free sources. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1993. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see in those databases are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.

A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) is an excellent free source. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1994. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.

A 2007 University of South Carolina document says:

LGBTQ: Is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning. The acronym can be used interchangeably: GLBT, GLBTQ, LGBT, etc. However, placing the “L” first represents the purposeful inclusion of women in the community that suffer from sexism and/or invisibility.

A June 2009 article LGBT vs. GLBT: A Presidential Perspective by NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists credits Obama for solidifying the standardization to "LGBT" over "GLBT":

Obama promises the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities just about everything except for marriage. As an editor (and an admitted word geek), what struck me more than anything was the choice to use “LGBT” instead of “GLBT” to describe us.

I used to be a hard-core “GLBT” user, but I have long since weaned myself off of that habit. I know that “LGBT” has been embraced by many people and organizations as the preferred acronym (e.g., you may have noticed “LGBT” is the acronym of choice on this blog). I just hadn’t realized that the pendulum had swung so far in favor of “LGBT” straight into the White House.

For any remaining “GLBT” users out there, it’s now clear to me (if not to you) that your days are seriously numbered.

A 2011 discussion Do you say LGBT or GLBT or queer or something different? by a Youtuber with over 1.5 million subscribers says:

Here's the thing: In my blogs and videos, I almost always say LGBT, standing for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. But pretty much everytime I say it, i get emails from people that are so upset that as a gay man, I didn't put the "G" first.

To be honest, the reason I do it is because lesbians really face a double whammy of discrimination - first for being a woman, and secondly for being gay.

So I put the "L" first in the acronym to recognize that.

The 2012 article Batgirl - Gay Icon? says:

we put the L first to emphasis women’s struggles and contributions which have historically been minimized

The 2013 book Gender & Sexuality For Beginners says:

The decision to put “L” first in the acronym has historically been a political one; often the person employing it was asserting that lesbians are underrepresented compared to gay men.

The 2015 article LGBT-SEARCHING FOR AN IDENTITY says that putting the "L" first is more feminist.

For timewise information, the California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Bay Area Reporter (a gay newspaper going back to 1971) is an excellent free source. The acronyms GLBT and LGBT both started being used about 1994. Without the "T", the earliest two examples I see are a 17 August 1989 article about the "GLB Defense Institute for gay, lesbian and bisexual people" and a September 1989 inquiry about how to join the GLB Defense Institute. A 29 May 1990 article title refers to "LGB awareness week".

Overall, the terms, which started as GLB and LGB, were both in use in the 1990s and only in the 2000s there was gravitation to LGBT over GLBT, to place emphasis on women, but not specifically because of AIDS.