This is what I did when I started to prepare my article in celebration of Bi-Visibility Day and I found lots of interesting information which I am sharing with you. I thought of celebrating by learning a little more of what I didn’t know, like the meaning of different pride flags; what acronyms stand for and this is what I found. I am sharing some of the websites below so that you may also take this journey and learn how to support each other.
September 23 marks the 22nd Bi Visibility Day. It was created by three bi activists from the USA – Wendy Curry, Michael Page, and Gigi Raven Wilbur, and established in 1999 to help raise bi awareness and challenge bisexual & biromantic erasure.
The original pride flag was created by Gilbert Baker in 1977. Tasked by Harvey Milk, a historic figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights, to create a flag for the queer community, Baker created a rainbow flag with eight different colors.
Inspired by the classic song “Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Baker created a rainbow flag to represent LGBTQ folks. Each color in the flag also had a specific meaning.
Do you know that there are many different Pride Flags?
- Hot pink symbolizes sex
- Red equals life
- Orange symbolizes healing
- Yellow stands for sunlight
- Green represents nature
- Turquoise equals magic and art
- Indigo stands for serenity
- Violet represents the spirit of LGBTQ people
Just as there are many different Pride Flags there are also many different acronyms used for the community and the most common ones used within the Government of Canada are:
LGBTQ2 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit. (This is the acronym used by the Government of Canada to refer to the Canadian community.
LGBTI Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex. ( This is the internationally recognized acronym.)
SGM Sexual and Gender Minorities
SOGI Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
SOGIE Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression
SOGIESC Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics
SSOGIE Sex, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression. (This is the acronym used by WAGE.)
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/free-to-be-me/lgbtq2-glossary.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celebrate_Bisexuality_Day
https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g32867826/lgbt-pride-flags-guide/
https://cadehildreth.com/pride-flags/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/21/style/lgbtq-gender-language.html