APA Dictionary of Psychology

a social movement seeking to redress legal, social, and economic discrimination against, and advocating equal rights and acceptance for, LGBTQ+ individuals. Gay liberation emerged from the radicalism and social turmoil of the late 1960s and extended its political organizing activities in response to the rise of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. Since then, it has evolved into a broad, diverse movement that includes core debates about how to achieve full equality. For example, some argue for complete integration into mainstream society and its institutions (e.g., through legalization of same-sex marriage), and others stress the essential difference of LGBTQ+ experience, culture, and identity. Also called gay lib; gay rights movement; homosexual rights movement; queer rights movement.