NYU SPS Adjunct Associate Professor, Raymond A. Smith, recently published an article, "From LGBTQIA+ to SOGIESC: Reframing Sexuality, Gender, and Human Rights," in media platform, Open Global Rights.
Professor Smith's piece discusses the limitations of using LGBTQ+ as terminology in human rights law, proposing the terminology, SOGIESC, as an alternative framework.
Professor Smith describes the new term, SOGIESC, as more expansive and inclusive when discussing gender and sexual identity:
Fortunately, the alternative term SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics, often pronounced “soh-jee-esque”) has increasingly been adopted by human rights advocates. More than a mere shift from one awkward abbreviation to another, the use of SOGIESC promises a reframing of sexuality, gender, and human rights that is more accurate, more inclusive, and ultimately more universal—and therefore one that is a better tool for advancing human rights.