If you're looking for books about bears and you're using the word "bears" in your keyword search, you may be finding more items for our ursine friends than queer culture. That's because keyword searches use natural language to search for items. Natural language is the way we speak in everyday life, where context clues help us arrive at understanding. Natural language can be slippery and sometimes multiple meanings get in the way of successful searching. But have no fear: Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) may help you find what you're looking for. Each subject heading is assigned a meaning that takes context into account. Subject headings are used to describe what books are about. For example, books about the animal bear would have the subject heading "Bears" whereas books about bears in a queer context would have the LCSH "Bears (Gay Culture)". The list below features relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex materials. Note: Library of Congress Subject Headings may contain language that differs from current use or understanding. It is important to keep in mind that controlled vocbularies ascribe a particular meaning to a term, whereas the language that LGBTQI+ individuals use to describe their experience and identity is dynamic and creative.
LCSH can be used to search for materials on IUCAT by selecting “Subject” from the dropdown menu to the left of the search bar (see figure below). If you are searching for a specific subject heading, using quotes around the term will retrieve results with that specific subject heading. For example, searching for "Lesbian feminism" will only retrieve items with "Lesbian feminism" as a subject, whereas searching for lesbian feminism could retrieve results with "Lesbian youth" as one subject and "Feminism and science" as another subject. Multiple subject headings can be combined to make a search more specific. On the Advanced Search page subject searching can be combined with other search inputs.
The following list is based on subject headings compiled by John DeSantis in 2000 as well as the "Library of Congress Subject Headings for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Topics" compiled by Thomas Bolze, Yale University Library, and updated by Deborah LaFond, SUNY Albany 2010. It was updated in February 2016.
- A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z -
Abused gay men
Abused lesbians
Abusive lesbian partners
African American gay actors
African American gay men--Identity
African American gays
African American gays--Fiction
African American lesbians
African American lesbians--Abuse of
African American lesbians--Identity
African American lesbians in motion pictures
African American bisexual men
African American bisexual women
African American transgender people
African American transsexuals
AIDS (Disease)
Alaska Native sexual minorities
Androgyny (Psychology) in literature
Androgyny (Psychology)
Androgyny (Psychology) in art
Androgyny (Psychology)--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Asian American bisexuals
Asian American gays
Asian American gay men
Asian American lesbians
Asian American sexual minorities
Astrology and homosexuality
Bears (Gay culture)
Bible and homosexuality
Bisexual college students
Bisexual feminism
Bisexual high school students
Bisexual librarians
Bisexual men
Bisexual men--United States
Bisexual parents
Bisexual students
Bisexual women
Bisexual youth
Bisexuality
Bisexuality in literature
Bisexuality in marriage
Bisexuality in motion pictures
Bisexuality on television
Bisexuality--Mythology
Bisexuality--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Bisexuals
Bisexuals' writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Buddhist gays
Butch and femme (Lesbian culture)
Butch and femme (Lesbian culture) in motion pictures
Catholic gay men
Catholic gays
Children and homosexuality
Children of gay parents
Children of sexual minority parents
Children of transgender parents
Children of transsexual parents
Christian gays
Christian gay men
Christian transgender people
Christian transsexuals
Christian sexual minorities
Church work with African American gays
Church work with gays, (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Civil unions
Closeted gays
Closeted gays in literature
Coming out (Sexual orientation)
Coming out (Sexual orientation) in literature
Coming out (Sexual orientation)--United States
Coming out (Sexual orientation)--Fiction
Coming out (Sexual orientation)--Religious aspects, (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Conflict of laws--Same-sex marriage
Cuban American lesbians
Deaf gay men
Deaf gays
Drag balls
Etiquette for gay men
Etiquette for lesbians
Ex-gay movement
Female impersonators
Female impersonators in motion pictures
Female-to-male transsexuals
Gay accommodations
Gay activists
Gay actors
Gay adoption
Gay adoption--Law and legislation
Gay and lesbian dance parties
Gay and lesbian film festivals
Gay and lesbian studies
Gay anthropologists
Gay artists
Gay artists in popular culture
Gay athletes
Gay authors
Gay bars
Gay bathhouses
Gay bodybuilders
Gay business enterprises
Gay businessmen
Gay caregivers
Gay cartoonists
Gay clergy
Gay clubs
Gay coaches (Athletics)
Gay college students
Gay college teachers
Gay columns in newspapers
Gay communities
Gay conservatives
Gay consumers
Gay counselors
Gay couples
Gay couples--United States
Gay couples--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States
Gay couples--Religious life (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Gay critics
Gay culture
Gay culture in literature
Gay deacons
Gay discotheques
Gay dramatists
Gay erotic art
Gay erotic comic books, strips, etc
Gay erotic drama
Gay erotic drama, American
Gay erotic drawing
Gay erotic films
Gay erotic literature
Gay erotic literature, American
Gay erotic literature, English
Gay erotic literature, French
Gay erotic photography
Gay erotica
Gay executives
Gay fathers
Gay figure skaters
Gay flight attendants
Gay heroes
Gay high school students
Gay human services personnel
Gay immigrants
Gay interpretations
Gay journalists
Gay kings and rulers
Gay labor union members
Gay lawyers
Gay liberation movement
Gay liberation movement--United States
Gay liberation movement--United States--History
Gay librarians
Gay libraries
Gay man-heterosexual woman relationships in motion pictures
Gay man-heterosexual woman relationships on television
Gay men
Gay men--Abuse of
Gay men--Alcohol use--United States--Case studies
Gay men and musicals
Gay men--Biography
Gay men, Black
Gay men--Books and reading--United States
Gay men--Communication
Gay men--Conduct of life
Gay men--Crimes against--Fiction
Gay men--Drama
Gay men--Family relationships--United States
Gay men--Great Britain--Biography
Gay men--Humor
Gay men in art
Gay men in literature
Gay men in mass media
Gay men--Language
Gay men--Legal status, laws, etc
Gay men--Literary collections
Gay men--Mental health
Gay men on postage stamps
Gay men on television
Gay men--Psychology
Gay men--Relations with heterosexuals
Gay men--Relations with heterosexual women
Gay men--Relations with lesbians
Gay men--Religious life
Gay men--Sexual behavior--United States
Gay men's writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Gay men--United States--Biography
Gay men--United States--Social conditions
Gays--Violence against
Gay men, White
Gay military cadets
Gay military personnel
Gay motion picture actors and actresses
Gay motion picture producers and directors
Gay motorcycle clubs
Gay musicians
Gay newspapers
Gay nurses
Gay ocean liner passengers
Gay online chat groups
Gay parents
Gay parents--Legal status, laws, etc
Gay physical education teachers
Gay police officers
Gay political refugees
Gay politicians
Gay pornographic films
Gay pornography
Gay press
Gay press publications
Gay Pride Day
Gay pride parades
Gay prisoners
Gay private investigators
Gay psychiatrists
Gay psychologists
Gay real estate agents
Gay rodeos
Gay rights
Gay rights in literature
Gay rights--Religious aspects
Gay sailors
Gay singers
Gay skinheads
Gay skinheads in motion pictures
Gay social workers
Gay song festivals
Gay spies
Gay-straight alliances in schools
Gay students
Gay teachers
Gay teenagers
Gay teenagers--Fiction
Gay teenagers--Care
Gay teenagers in literature
Gay theater
Gay theatrical producers and directors
Gay travelers
Gay wit and humor
Gay youth
Gay youth--Fiction
Gay youths' writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Gays
Gays--Abuse of
Gays--Alcohol use--United States--History
Gays--Attitudes
Gays and rock music
Gays and sports
Gays and the performing arts
Gays--Books and reading
Gays--Employment
Gays--Identity
Gays in advertising
Gays in higher education
Gays in literature
Gays in mass media
Gays in motion pictures
Gays in the civil service
Gays in the performing arts
Gays in popular culture
Gays--Mental health
Gays--Monuments
Gays--Nazi persecution
Gays--Psychology
Gays--Social life and customs
Gays--Travel
Gays--Vocational guidance
Gays with disabilities
Gays' writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Gender identity
Gender identity--congresses
Gender identity disorders in adolescence
Gender identity disorders in children
Gender identity--fiction
Gender identity in advertising
Gender identity in art
Gender identity in dance
Gender identity in education
Gender identity in literature
Gender identity in mass media
Gender identity in motion pictures
Gender identity in music
Gender identity in science
Gender identity in the Bible
Gender identity in the Qurʼan
Gender identity in the theater
Gender identity in the workplace
Gender identity on television
Gender identity--Law and legislation
Gender identity--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Handkerchief codes
Heterosexism
Hispanic American bisexual women
Hispanic American gay artists
Hispanic American gays
Hispanic American lesbians
Hispanic American sexual minorities
HIV-positive bisexual men
HIV-positive gay men
Homomonument (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Homophobia
Homophobia in anthropology
Homophobia in art
Homophobia in children
Homophobia in child welfare
Homophobia in gerontology
Homophobia in high schools
Homophobia in higher education
Homophobia--Law and legislation
Homophobia in literature
Homophobia in medical care
Homophobia in medicine
Homophobia in physical education
Homophobia--Press coverage
Homophobia in psychoanalysis
Homophobia--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Homophobia in schools
Homophobia in social work
Homophobia in sports
Homophobia in the military
Homophobia in the workplace
Homosexuality
Homosexuality (Canon law)
Homosexuality and architecture
Homosexuality and art
Homosexuality and dance
Homosexuality and education
Homosexuality and education
Homosexuality and literature
Homosexuality and literature
Homosexuality and literature--English-speaking countries
Homosexuality and literature--France
Homosexuality and literature--Great Britain--History--19th century
Homosexuality and literature--United States--History--20th century
Homosexuality and motion pictures
Homosexuality and music
Homosexuality and popular music
Homosexuality and television
Homosexuality and the arts
Homosexuality and theater
Homosexuality in animals
Homosexuality in art
Homosexuality in dance
Homosexuality in literature
Homosexuality in motion pictures
Homosexuality in music
Homosexuality in opera
Homosexuality in the Bible
Homosexuality in the theater
Homosexuality in the workplace
Homosexuality in video games
Homosexuality on radio
Homosexuality on television
Homosexuality--Biblical teaching
Homosexuality--Bibliography
Homosexuality--Fiction
Homosexuality--Folklore
Homosexuality--Genetic aspects
Homosexuality--Great Britain
Homosexuality--History
Homosexuality--Law and legislation
Homosexuality--Law and legislation
Homosexuality--Literary collections
Homosexuality--Moral and ethical aspects
Homosexuality--Moral and ethical aspects
Homosexuality--Mythology
Homosexuality--Netherlands
Homosexuality--Periodicals
Homosexuality--Philosophy
Homosexuality--Psychological aspects
Homosexuality--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Homosexuality--Social aspects
Homosexuality--Societies,etc
Homosexuality--United States
Indian gays
Indian gays in literature
Indian lesbians
Indian sexual minorities
Internalized homophobia
Internalized homophobia in lesbians
Internet and bisexual men
Internet and gay men
Intersex athletes
Intersex children
Intersex military personnel
Intersex people
Intersexuality
Intersexuality in animals
Intersexuality in art
Intersexuality in children
Intersexuality in literature
Intersexuality--Mythology
Italian American gays
Italian American lesbians
Jewish gay men
Jewish gays
Jewish lesbians
Jewish transgender people
Jewish sexual minorities
Leather bars
Leather contests
Leather lifestyle
Legal assistance to gays
Legal assistance to transgender people
Lesbian activists
Lesbian actresses
Lesbian anthropologists
Lesbian artists
Lesbian artists in popular culture
Lesbian athletes
Lesbian authors
Lesbian bars in motion pictures
Lesbian businesswomen
Lesbian business enterprises
Lesbian cartoonists
Lesbian clergy
Lesbian college students
Lesbian college teachers
Lesbian community
Lesbian composers
Lesbian consumers
Lesbian couples
Lesbian couples as parents
Lesbian couples--United States
Lesbian culture
Lesbian dramatists
Lesbian erotic art
Lesbian erotic films
Lesbian erotic literature
Lesbian erotic poetry,
Lesbian erotic stories,
Lesbian feminism
Lesbian feminist theory
Lesbian Girl Scouts
Lesbian heroes
Lesbian heroines in literature
Lesbian high school students
Lesbian librarians
Lesbian libraries
Lesbian mothers
Lesbian motion picture producers and directors
Lesbian motorcyclists
Lesbian musicians
Lesbian nuns
Lesbian nurses
Lesbian online chat groups
Lesbian partner abuse
Lesbian photographers
Lesbian physical education teachers
Lesbian police officers
Lesbian private investigators
Lesbian psychotherapists
Lesbian rabbis
Lesbian separatism
Lesbian students
Lesbian teachers
Lesbian teenagers
Lesbian teenagers in literature
Lesbian teenagers--Care
Lesbian teenagers--Identity
Lesbian theater
Lesbian vampires
Lesbian vampires in motion pictures
Lesbian youth
Lesbianism
Lesbianism--History
Lesbianism--History--To 500
Lesbianism--Religious aspects
Lesbianism--United States
Lesbianism in art
Lesbianism in literature
Lesbianism in motion pictures
Lesbianism in opera
Lesbianism on television
Lesbians
Lesbians--Abuse of
Lesbians--Alcohol use--United States--Bibliography
Lesbians and musicals
Lesbians and sports
Lesbians--Biography
Lesbians, Black
Lesbians--Books and reading
Lesbians--Conduct of life
Lesbians--Drama
Lesbians--Great Britain--Biography
Lesbians--Identity
Lesbians in advertising
Lesbians in art
Lesbians in literature
Lesbians in mass media
Lesbians in motion pictures
Lesbians in popular culture
Lesbians in the motion picture industry
Lesbians in the performing arts
Lesbians--Legal status, laws, etc
Lesbians--Literary collections
Lesbians on postage stamps
Lesbians--Poetry
Lesbians--Psychology
Lesbians--Puerto Rico
Lesbians--Relations with heterosexuals
Lesbians--Sexual behavior
Lesbians--Travel
Lesbians--United States--Psychology
Lesbians--United States--Social conditions
Lesbians' writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Libraries and bisexuals
Libraries and gays
Libraries and lesbians
Libraries and sexual minorities
Libraries and transgender people
Male homosexuality
Male homosexuality in art
Male homosexuality in literature
Male homosexuality in music
Male impersonators
Male impersonators in motion pictures
Male prostitution
Mexican American gays
Mexican American lesbians
Middle-aged gay men
Middle-aged gays
Middle-aged lesbians
Middle-aged sexual minorities
Minority gays
Minority gays in literature
Minority lesbians
Mormon gays
Motion pictures and gay men
Music by gay composers
Music by lesbian composers
Muslim gay men
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Washington, D.C., 1979
National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Washington, D.C., 1987
National socialism and homosexuality
Older gay men
Older lesbians
Older sexual minorities
Older transsexuals
Ordination of gays
Ordination of lesbians
Outing (Sexual orientation)
Pacific Islander American bisexuals
Pacific Islander American gays
Pacific Islander American lesbians
Pacific Islander American sexual minorities
Parents of AIDS patients
Parents of gays
Parents of intersex children
Parents of sexual minority youth
Parents of transsexuals
Participation, Gay
Polari
Presbyterian gay men
Prostitution - History
Prostitution - Interviews
Prostitution - law and legislation
Prostitution in art
Prostitution in literature
Prostitution in motion pictures
Protestant gays
Police services for sexual minorities
Psychoanalysis and homosexuality
Puerto Rican lesbians
Queer theology
Queer theory
Radical Faeries (New Age movement)
Radio programs for gays
Rural gay men
Rural lesbians
Same-sex divorce
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in art
Same-sex marriage in literature
Same-sex marriage--Law and legislation
Same-sex marriage--Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Same-sex marriage--United States
Same-sex partner abuse
Sex (psychology)
Sex change
Sex change in literature
Sex change (Jewish law)
Sex change--Law and legislation
Sex customs
Sex role and globalization
Sex role on television
Sex role in mass media
Sex role on radio
Sex role in art
Sex role in advertising
Sex role in literature
Sex role in the theater
Sex role in
Sex role in motion pictures
Sex role in the work environment
Sex role in children
Sex role
Sex-oriented businesses
Sex-oriented businesses--Fiction
Sex-oriented businesses--Law and legislation
Sexual behavior
Sexual ethics
Sexual ethics for teenagers
Sexual ethics for women
Sexual ethics for youth
Sexual ethics in literature
Sexual ethics--History
Sexual ethics--United States
Sexual minorities
Sexual minorities' families
Sexual minorities in advertising
Sexual minorities in art
Sexual minorities in higher education
Sexual minorities in literature
Sexual minorities in mass media
Sexual minorities in motion pictures
Sexual minorities on television
Sexual minorities with disabilities
Sexual minorities' writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Sexual minorities--Identity
Sexual minorities--Population
Sexual minorities--United States
Sexual minority business enterprises
Sexual minority college athletes
Sexual minority college students
Sexual minority community
Sexual minority consumers
Sexual minority legislators
Sexual minority men
Sexual minority parents
Sexual minority political refugees
Sexual minority politicians
Sexual minority public officers
Sexual minority religious leaders
Sexual minority students
Sexual minority women
Sexual minority youth
Sexual minority youth in mass media
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation in art
Sexual orientation in literature
Sexuality and culture
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616--Characters--Lesbians
Socialism and homosexuality
Social work with bisexuals
Social work with gay youth
Social work with gays
Social work with lesbians
Social work with lesbian youth
Social work with older sexual minorities
Social work with sexual minorities
Social work with sexual minority youth
Social work with transgender people
Social work with transgender youth
South Asian American gays
Stonewall Book Awards
Stonewall Riot, New York, N.Y., 1969
Transgender
Transgender athletes
Transgender artists
Transgender children
Transgender college students
Transgender librarians
Transgender military personnel
Transgender musicians
Transgender parents
Transgender people
Transgender people in art
Transgender people in literature
Transgender people in motion pictures
Transgender people's writings, (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Transgender prisoners
Transgender teachers
Transgender veterans
Transgender youth
Transgenderism
Transgenderism on television
Transphobia
Transsexual college students
Transsexual librarians
Transsexual parents
Transsexual students
Transsexual youth
Transsexualism
Transsexualism - Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Transsexuals
Transsexuals - Identity
Transsexuals - Legal status, laws
Transsexuals in literature
Transsexuals in motion pictures
Transsexuals' writings (can sub-categorize further by nationality)
Transvestism
Transvestism - Religious aspects (can sub-categorize further by denomination)
Transvestism in art
Transvestism in motion pictures
Transvestites
Transvestites in literature
Transvestites--Fiction
Two-spirit people
United States - Armed Forces - Gays or Gays in the military -- United States -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Unitarian Universalist sexual minorities
Web sites for sexual minorities
Women's music
Women's rights
Working class lesbians
World War, 1939-1945--Gays
World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Gay
Young bisexual men
Young gay men
by Thom Sullivan