I answered "yes, with reservations". I suppose I have to explain.
First, the reservations--as others have pointed out and as all of us know so well, sexual orientation and gender are not the same thing. That is a pretty big reservation.
Why "yes"? Well, in a perfect world, where each of us was treated for who we are and not dumped into some category to justify mistreatment or abuse, there would be no reason for gays, lesbians, transsexuals, crossdressers, and all the rest of us who are considered "queer" by society to band together to protect our dignity and demand just treatment by society. In a perfect world we would all be treated justly, there would be no stereotyping and no discrimination. But that is not the world we live in and unfortunately it never will be. We live in a world of fallible and morally imperfect human beings who do not always see one another as who they are and do not always treat one another fairly or kindly. Society has lumped all of us queers together, because it sees all us as different since we challege the social norm of what a man and a woman should be. According to social norms, men are not supposed to kiss one another and they are not supposed to wear dresses; women should not fall in love with other women and they should not try to act like men. Sexual orientation, crossdressing, and transsexualism all challenge the social norms of gender. We need to make common cause with all who are gender-variant, not because we are homosexual but because we are all discriminated against for basically the same reason. Aligning with the GLBTQ spectrum not only gives us more numbers to support the political cause of fighting for equal rights, it also gives us a sense of solidarity that we are not in this alone. Minority groups often have a tendency to fragment once some members of the group achieve some measure of recognition by the society at large. This fragmentation does not serve the interests of those of us who are in the discriminated against minority. It serves the interests of those who discriminate. As individuals we are each of us unique and different from all others. As individuals we are also powerless to change social perceptions and to rectify injustice. By forming common cause with others like us who are also subject to misperception and injustice we can try to rectify that situation. Political power comes from union not fragmentation. The LGBTQ coalition is a political coalition. Dividing it makes it less effective.
