Each year on April 26th, we celebrate International Lesbian Visibility Day. Lesbians, and by extension sapphic relations, have always existed. Lesbian Visibility Week (April 22nd to April 26th) aims to celebrate cis and trans lesbians, showing solidarity with all women in the community. This year's theme is celebrating the power of sisterhood by uplifting women from every generation, in every field, and in every country around the world.  Lesbians are a vital part of the queer community, having been instrumental in the collective fight for equal rights. Let's take a lo ..read more

What happens when you realise that you were wrong? That the things you were taught growing up were actually preventing you from being there for those you love. That’s what happened to me when my daughter came out as trans seven years ago. My whole world opened up.  Coming from a very conservative and religious country, I’d never even heard the word transgender before. However, in the midst of my confusion, there was one thing I knew for sure: I wanted to learn and understand so I could be there for my daughter.  Eventually, I came across Toronto Pflag, a group focused on supporting a ..read more

What do we Celebrate on Bisexuality Day? Also known as Bi Visibility Day, Celebrate Bisexuality Day is held every September 23. This event started in 1999 by Wendy Curry, Gigi Raven Wilbur, and Michael Page. These three American bi rights activists decided to set aside a separate day for celebrating bisexuality as a response to discrimination from both straight people and other LGBTQIA+ communities. Berkeley, California, became the first U.S. city to officially proclaim this day and celebrate it in 2012. Many associations and cities soon followed suit, with BiNet USA proclaiming the days befor ..read more

What Does AMAB & AFAB Mean?  If you’ve been reading up about 2SLGBTQ concepts and terminologies, you may have already come across the terms “AMAB” and “AFAB”. Like the terms “non-binary”, “assumed gender”, and the singular they pronoun, AMAB and AFAB are part of the growing queer lexicon that the 2SLGBTQ community uses to explain their experiences.  Read on to discover the meaning and importance of these terms. AMAB Meaning AMAB is an acronym that stands for “assigned male at birth”. Also written as “male assigned at birth” or “male at birth”, this term describes the biological s ..read more

Pride Celebrations Around The World Before the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ people around the world would flock to the streets in June, waving their rainbow flags and banners in celebration of Pride. Sadly, the pandemic put a pause on the celebrations and protests that we have all come to look forward to.  Thankfully, in 2022, Pride appears to be back in full swing, and it looks like the parades are about to be bigger and louder than ever before!  If you’re eager to celebrate Pride again – and let’s face it, who isn’t? – you must be wondering where in the world to go. Here are some of th ..read more

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an event to celebrate the lives of transgender people, their achievements and their contributions to society; all that, while also reminding us the discrimination still faced by transgender people worldwide. This milestone is held across the globe, every March 31st, with advocacy gatherings, social media campaigns, exhibitions, workshops, presentations, rallies and protests. The International Day of Visibility Back in 2009, trans activist Rachel Crandall realized that every time she heard about the trans community in the media, it was in rela ..read more

How We Can Celebrate ALL Women On International Women’s Day? On March 8th of each year, countries around the world celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), a day to recognize the great strides that women have made towards achieving gender equality. It also highlights the many challenges that women still face because of their gender.  However, oftentimes, conversations about IWD (and women’s issues in general) tend to forget a certain faction of society that has historically been silenced just as much, if not even more, than cisgender women: trans women and non-binary people. This IWD, l ..read more

What Is Zero Discrimination Day? Zero Discrimination Day is an internationally recognized day of observance celebrated on March 1st of each year. The event is celebrated by the United Nations as a means of “helping create a global movement of solidarity to end all forms of discrimination”, and recognizing that everyone deserve the right to a full, productive, and dignified life. UNAIDS, in particular, celebrates the day to shed light on the stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) have and continue to experience to this day.  In 2022, UNAIDS highlights the “urgen ..read more

What Is Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week? While the asexual community has begun to see more attention and media representation in the past few years, the same can’t yet be said for the aromantic community. But if you are or know someone who is on the aromantic spectrum, you can help change that by celebrating Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week. Happening on the first week after Valentine’s Day of each year – that’s February 21 to 27 – Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week is a time to bring more awareness to and show support for those who identify as aromantic.  What Does It Mean To Be Aroman ..read more

Conversion Therapy: What Is It And Why Did Canada Ban It? Understanding Conversion Therapy Conversion therapy, also called “reparative therapy”, is a range of practices done in an attempt to “change” a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. These practices have often been found to be extremely dangerous and detrimental to the mental health of those who undergo them.  Much of the scientific community have denounced conversion therapy as both ineffective and detrimental to the mental health of those who undergo them. As the American Psychological Association reports, “the results o ..read more