LGBTIQ+ Calendar

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.

World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December each year. It’s an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history. HIV and AIDS had, and still has today, a direct effect on the LGBT community which is why world AIDS day holds significance among the LGBT+ community. 

World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

The overall aim of LGBT History month is to promote equality and diversity for the benefit of the public by increasing visibility, raising awareness and promoting the welfare of LGBTQ+ people. 

The LGBT community is one that still faces a great deal of prejudice and discrimination in society. It is important that we all work to take a stand against LGBT+ phobia, as well as remember and celebrate the huge impact LGBT+ people have had on our society for centuries. LGBT History Month is a chance to spread a positive message of inclusion and respect. 

Football v Homophobia (FvH) takes place year round and the campaign has its Month of Action in February. It is an international campaign to tackle homophobia and prejudice against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) people in football. The aim of FvH is to make football safe and welcoming for everyone.

An aromantic person is someone who doesn’t experience romantic attraction. Aromanticism is often confused for asexuality, but asexuality is only a lack of sexual attraction. Not all asexuals are aromantic, nor are all aromantics asexual.

AAW is a week centered around spreading information and awareness about aromanticism and making sure aromantic spectrum voices and issues are heard and understood. This is an important day to bring visibility to a sometimes forgotten about section of the LGBTQ+ community, their struggles and experiences.

Football v Transphobia week ends on 31st March & encompasses Transgender Day of Visibility

Transgender (trans) people have long been part of football. Across the leagues trans fans have been supporting their clubs for many years and on pitches up and down the country, trans people have been playing the game they love.

In 2015 the FA updated their policy on trans people in football to make it easier and fairer for trans people to participate in the game. The FA believes that ‘gender identity should not be a barrier to participation in football’.

Nor do we. 

Lucy Clark, a Non-League referee who is trans talked to the papers about her transition. She told the press “I have kept this secret hidden away most of my life. Now is the time to be ME”. 

We believe that football is at its best when people can bring their whole selves to the game, which is why we’ve launched the Football v Transphobia week of action in March. We’re standing up for transgender people in the beautiful game. Will you? 

Trans people come from all walks of life. Trans people  are your coworkers, family and neighbours. They are 7-year-old children and 70-year-old grandparents. Trans people are a diverse community representing all racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as faith backgrounds.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is honoured every year on March 31 and is a time to celebrate transgender people around the globe and the courage it takes to live openly and authentically, while also raising awareness around the discrimination trans people still face.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The Day represents a major global annual landmark to draw the attention of decision-makers, the media, the public, corporations, opinion leaders, local authorities, etc. to the alarming situation faced by people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.

Harvey Milk Day is celebrated each year on May 22 in memory of Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist assassinated in 1978.

Harvey Milk served less than a year in public office before his brutal assassination, but his life profoundly changed a city, state, nation and a global community. His courage, passion and sense of justice rocked a country and stirred the very core of a put down and pushed out community, bringing forward new hope and a new vision of freedom. This day is a chance to honour his life and legacy and every year it highlights the strides we have taken to make society a better place for LGBTQ+ people and how far we still have to go to achieve an equal society. 

Pan Visibility Day is on May 24th and is a day to celebrate and recognize those who identify as pansexual.

Pansexuality is different from bisexuality but the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Being bisexual means being attracted to more than one gender, while being pansexual means being attracted to people regardless of gender. Pansexuality and bisexuality are not in conflict, some people believe that pansexuality better includes people all genders while others are happy identifying as Bi  In fact, some bisexual people also identify as pansexual, and vice versa. Pansexuality is included under the bisexual umbrella, which covers anyone who experiences sexual or romantic attraction to more than one gender.

Like its LGBTQ+ counterparts, Pan visibility day is an opportunity to bring to light the stories and experiences of Pansexual people in society and look at how we can work to improve inclusivity for pansexual people.

The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride events are held during this month to recognize the impact LGBT people have had in the world.

There are so many Pride events today that they can no longer fit in just one month and now cover most of the summer months. While this is an amazing indication of how far the LGBTQ+ community has come, there is still work to be done, and celebrating Pride Month is a way to draw attention to that work and protest the injustices the LGBTQ+ community still face.

On 28th June 1969, an uprising took place at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. As it was raided by the police in the early hours, three nights of unrest followed, with LGBT people, long frustrated by police brutality, finally fighting back. Lesbians and trans women of colour were some of the key people involved in the act of resistance, including Stormé DeLarverie, Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. This anniversary is a reminder of the power of standing together in defiance of those who seek to divide us.

The 14 July is International Non-binary People’s Day, which aims to celebrate the wide range of people worldwide who identify as non-binary. Non-binary is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with ‘man’ or ‘woman’. Non-binary identities are varied and can include people who identify with some aspects of binary identities, while others reject them entirely.

Non-binary people can feel that their gender identity and gender experience involves being both a man and a woman, or that it is fluid, in between, or completely outside of that binary. 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 non-binary phobia on this day and all days. 

Bisexual people are people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to people of more than one gender, often seen as being attracted both men and women, however, Bisexual people can be attracted to people of all genders not just men and women.

Bi Visibility Day, also known as International Celebrate Bisexuality Day, has been marked each year since 1999 to highlight biphobia and to help people find the bisexual community. This day can be used to share stories and experiences, both positive and negative, and to celebrate Bisexuality in all its forms.

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. 

Ace Week, formerly Asexual Awareness Week, is an international campaign dedicated to raising awareness and expanding education of asexuality.

Ace Week is driven by local community organizers. Each year, countless workshops, socials, and discussion groups are held in cities around the world.

What is asexuality?

An asexual person experiences little to no sexual attraction and/or sexual desire.

Our community uses the word ace to encompass anyone who fits within the spectrum of asexuality.

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.