Every year on National Coming Out Day, we celebrate coming out as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) or as an ally. 

Coming out – whether it is as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or allied – STILL MATTERS. When people know someone who is LGBTQ, they are far more likely to support equality under the law. Beyond that, our stories can be powerful to each other. Coming out is a personal choice and should never be forced upon someone. This day can be used to take a look back on peoples coming out stories, see how far individuals and the LGBTQ+ community have come, share tools and tips for coming out and support those who may have been rejected or not accepted after coming out. 

Intersex Awareness Day on October 26 marks the first public demonstration by intersex people in North America. Morgan Holmes and Max Beck of Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) were joined by allies from Transexual Menace and other organizations. It took place on October 26, 1996, in Boston, Massachusetts outside a conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics.  

Intersex people are often erased from the LGBTQ+ community for a number of reasons, so it is important to use this day to bring awareness to Intersex people and share ways that people can support and uplift Intersex people. 

Intersex Day of Solidarity, also known as Intersex Day of Remembrance, takes place on November 8. The Day marks the birthday of Herculine Barbin, a French intersex person whose memoirs were later published by the philosopher Michel Foucault, along with contemporary texts and a later fictionalized account. Intersex Solidarity day is used to bring awareness to the issues faced by Intersex people and remember those Intersex people who we have lost along the way.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is an annual observance on November 20 that honours the memory of those who have been killed or subjected to violence due to transphobia. 2019 saw 331 (recorded) trans people murdered across the world making this date one of the most significant dates for taking time to honour the dead and gain motivation to tackle the abhorrent transphobia in the world today. 

Trans and Non-binary people are some of the most oppressed members of the LGBTQ+ community and it is vital that we have days which bring attention to the lives and experiences of Non-binary people and that we take action against trans and nonbinary phobia on this day and all days. 

Rainbow Laces is a Stonewall campaign where participants do something active while wearing Rainbow Laces in their boots or trainers, to show their support for LGBT equality. It has grown from a campaign that specifically focused on homophobia in football, to something that now acknowledges the challenges all spectrums of the LGBT community face within sport as a whole. It’s a positive campaign that celebrates LGBT people and helps to start conversations about how we can improve LGBT inclusion across sports so that they become everyone’s game.