We've seen the future, and it's very diverse: beyond gender and disaster in West Hollywood, California

This viewpoint describes changes in the way that gender and sexual identity are perceived by various disaster risk reduction stakeholders in the city of West Hollywood, California, USA. In general in Europe and North America, and elsewhere, the trend has been for so-called vulnerable' groups or groups of people with special needs' to be seen after a time as groups of people with agency, with special contributions' and with capacities in relation to disaster risk reduction. This transition from victim' to stakeholder' has been observed as regards women, youth, the elderly and people living with incapacities or disabilities. The important contribution of our viewpoint is to document a similar transition or evolution of roles for lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, transgender and queer (LGBITQ) groups in the city of West Hollywood. The broader context of the city's site, situation, demography, exposure to hazards, civic culture and the organisation of public safety is also described.