Brooklyn Public Library is open to all and welcomes visitors of all gender identities/expressions and orientations. We have print and digital resources about LGBTQ+ lives, stories, and issues. Gendered and all-gender restrooms are available, and access to a restroom that matches your gender identity is a protected right in New York.
The LGBTQ+ community is diverse and not everyone may use the same words to describe themselves; as language and society changes, so too may these terms. To find more ways that people might identify themselves, you can visit The Trevor Project, The Safe Zone Project, or GLAAD. Here is a brief, simplified list of some of the many terms you might encounter in books, media, and in conversation:
- Asexual/Ace: Someone who experiences little to no attraction to others.
- Bisexual: Someone who is attracted to more than one gender.
- Biphobia: Negative attitudes about people who are bisexual that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence.
- Cisgender: Someone whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth.
- Drag: A type of performance or look that is dramatic and fancy, generally performed by those in the LGBTQ+ community.
- Femme: A self-identifying term for a feminine person of any gender.
- Gay: A man who is attracted to other men, or someone who is attracted to the same gender.
- Homophobia: Negative attitudes about gays and lesbians that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence.
- Intersex: Someone born with chromosomes and/or anatomy that can't be classified as typically male or female.
- LGBTQ+: Stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Two-Spirit, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Agender, and other genders and orientations.
- Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women.
- Masc: A self-identifying term for a masculine person of any gender.
- Mx.: A gender neutral title that can be used instead of Mr. or Ms., pronounced “mix.”
- Nonbinary: A person who may have no gender or are a mix of genders.
- Queer: An umbrella term that some people use to denote their gender or orientation, a formerly pejorative term that some have reclaimed.
- Trans/Transgender: Someone whose gender identity and sex assigned at birth do not correspond.
- Transphobia: Negative attitudes about transgender people that may be expressed through laws or interpersonal acts, may involve verbal or physical violence.
Upcoming Events
Drag Queen's Make-up Tutorial Hour
Join Drag Queen Story Hour NYC for a drag queen makeup tutorial! Kids and teens ages 12-18 are welcome to learn how to apply eye makeup in a fabulous way during this one-hour workshop with Drag Queen Story Hour. Participants will learn techniques for applying eye makeup and then have the…
LGBTQ+ Film Discussion Group
Join us every last Monday for a monthly LGBTQ+ film discussion group where we explore classic and contemporary queer cinema!
This month’s film is A Fantastic Woman (2017).It is available to watch for free on Tubi and other platforms to stream, rent, or buy. Check online for viewing…
Queer Book Culture with LittlePuss Press and Hive Mind Books
Park Slope Library is pleased to welcome Emily Zhou and Sasha Karbachinskiy of LittlePuss Press, Jules Wernersbach, co-founder of Hive Mind Books, and Professor of Gothic Literature and queer Studies Laura Westengard, to discuss queer publishing, bookselling, and readership in Brooklyn. …
Lesbian Library Day: Resource Fair
Join us for our first Lesbian* Library Day!
Throughout the day, we'll be joined by community partners tabling in the Grand Lobby. Learn about resources in the neighborhood specifically for LGBTQ+ adults and teens! Get some book recommendations from a librarian! Pick up some free giveaways…
Lesbian Library Day: Button Making and Book Exchange
While you're browsing our resource fair, stop by our button making table! A selection of pre-cut button templates will be available for you to customize. Make a pronoun button, declare your love of the library, or just make something cool for that jean jacket we all know you're excited to wear…
Lesbian Library Day: Bingo!
Drop in for a game or two of Bingo! We'll be playing our favorite sapphic music and playing rounds of Bingo! Compete for prizes and hang out with community - it's a win-win!
As with all of our Lesbian Library Day programming, sapphics, wlw, bisexuals, lesbians, trans women, honorary…
Lesbian Library Day: Zine Making with JD Glass and Kris Dresen
Join acclaimed graphic novelists JD Glass and Kris Dresen for a zine making workshop! Learn about how they worked together to write their graphic novel Punk Like Me, hear them talk about zine making back in the 90s, and learn how to make a zine of your own. Supplies will be provided.
*This…
Lesbian Library Day: DIY Screenprinting!
Come and use our screenprinting materials to create a commemorative Lesbian Library Day souvenir! Two options will be available to print and take home. Please bring your own t-shirt, bag, or other fabric surface, and we'll help you turn it into a work of lesbian art!
We will be providing a…
Lesbian Library Day: Rachel Karp in conversation with Nikki Alleyne (co-owner of The Bush)
At the end of our first Lesbian Library Day, join us for a conversation with Rachel Karp, co-creator of the podcast Cruising and author of The Lesbian Bar Chronicles. Rachel will share her experience writing about her tour of lesbian bars across the United States. She'll be in conversation with…
LGBTQ+ Book Discussion: How Far the Light Reaches
Looking to meet other LGBTQ+ folks? We meet the first Tuesday of every month to discuss an LGBTQ+ work.
Join us this month for a dive into How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler.
A queer, mixed race writer working in a largely white, male field…
