LGBTQ issues are human issues: here's why

Matters that impact LGBTQ people, like access to hormone therapy and safe gender-affirming surgeries, are often seen as unique. 

But LGBTQ people also interact with areas of everyday society, such as education and health care, where their identities can affect their experiences.

Much more still needs to be done to accommodate the different standpoints and needs of the LGBTQ community in different facets of everyday life, advocates say.

To delve into this idea deeper, CBC's The Early Edition in Vancouver heard from some members of the LGBTQ community during July, ahead of Vancouver Pride. 

These are a few of their stories. 

CBC's Kiran Singh and Xtra Magazine's Mel Woods join Stephen Quinn, host of CBC's The Early Edition, to talk about the importance of examining social issues through the experiences of LGBTQ people.

Serene Carter and Stevie Nguyen tell CBC's Kiran Singh about raising their 10-year-old Noah in a diverse family setting.

Heather McCain sits down with CBC's Kiran Singh to explore the complexities intersecting identities can present when you are disabled, trans and asexual. 

The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn speaks to Tori Phillips and Lynda Dickson, now engaged to be wed, about the deaths of their respective former partners and how they found each other.

Ellen Woodsworth and Joy Masuhara can be considered a power couple when it comes to advocating for marginalized communities. CBC's Stephen Quinn sits down with them to explore the idea of intersectionality in activism.