Today Is International Lesbian Day

International Lesbian Day is an annual day to celebrate and bring visibility to lesbians in the LGBT+ community.  First beginning in the late 1980’s/ early 1990’s in New Zealand and then Australia – the exact foundation of International Lesbian Day is uncertain. The first Australian event was held at the Collingwood Town Hall in Melbourne on October 13, 1990.

There are two lesbian flags:

1. The standard lesbian flag consists of six shades of red and pink colours and a white bar in the centre.
Sometimes it has a lipstick mark in the corner indicating that the holder is a “lipstick lesbian” (slang for a lesbian who exhibits a greater amount of feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make-up).  Some lesbians also oppose use of any flag revised from the lipstick original because its designer Natalie McCray reportedly wrote racist, biphobic and transphobic comments on a since-deleted blog.

2. The Labrys flag, features a battle-axe on a dark purple background.  The colour purple, or lavender is long associated with lesbianism as is the colour of violets – a flower historically used by lesbians to indicate themselves to other lesbians.
It represents the strength and feminism of homosexual women and was adopted into the lesbian community in the 1970’s. The labrys is also featured within Greek and Roman mythology, associated with the festival  Laphria,  Artemis, Goddess of wild animals, the hunt, and vegetation and of chastity and childbirth and Determis, Goddess of Fertility & Agriculture.

See all 30 LGBTQ+ flags HERE.

Monday, October 11th is National Coming Out Day, which has been recognised sonce 1980. It supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to “come out of the closet“.  It is a great opportunity for employers to demonstrate that everyone is accepted by giving visibility to this day at the workplace, making employees feel less anxious about sharing other aspects of their personality and their identity.

Stonewall is now the biggest LGBTQ+ rights organisation in Europe. Describing themselves as “a team of bold, passionate people fighting for the freedom, equity and potential of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.”
Email them at info@stonewall.org.uk.
Write to them at: Stonewall, 192 St. John Street, London, EC1V 4JY.

#Broadwindsor,#Burstock,#Blackdown,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Drimpton,#Dorset,#Village,#Pride,#InternationalLesbianDay,#LGBTQIA+,#Support,#Understanding,#WeAreAllHuman,#NCOD,#Stonewall,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe