List of LGBTQ-related observances
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Internationally recognized
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agender Pride Day | 19 May | 2017 | A day celebrated internationally[2][3] to promote awareness of agender individuals.[4] |
| Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week[5] | The first full week following Valentine's Day (14 February), beginning on Sunday[6] | 2014 | A week to promote information and awareness about aromantic spectrum identities ("an identity within the LGBTQIA+ community in which someone experiences little to no romantic attraction."[7]) and the issues they face.[8] This week was first recognized from 10 to 17 November 2014, under the name Aromantic Awareness Week. In 2015, it was moved to late February and the name was changed to Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, to be more inclusive of all arospec identities.[9] |
| Aromantic Visibility Day | 5 June | 2023 | A day to promote the visibility of aromantic people.[10][11] |
| International Asexuality Day | 6 April | 2021 | IAD is a coordinated worldwide campaign promoting asexuality as a valid sexual orientation.[12][13][14]
The four themes of IAD are Advocacy, Celebration, Education and Solidarity.[15] |
| Ace Week | Last full week in October | 2010 | Week to promote awareness of those who do not feel sexual attraction to anyone.[16] It was founded by Sara Beth Brooks in 2010.[17][18] |
| Bisexual Awareness Week | 16–22 September | 2014 | Also referred to as BiWeek and Bisexual+ Awareness Week.[19] |
| Celebrate Bisexuality Day | 23 September | 1999 | Also referred to as Bisexual Pride Day, CBD, Bisexual Pride, and Bi Visibility Day.[20] |
| Genderfluid Visibility Week | 17-24 October | 2021 | Also referred to as Genderfluid Week, Fluid Week[21] or Genderfluid Awareness Week.[22] |
| Drag Day | 16 July | 2009 | A day that aims to celebrate and recognize drag art all around the world.[23] |
| International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia | 17 May | 2005 | The main purpose of the 17 May mobilizations is to raise awareness of violence, discrimination, abuse, and repression of LGBT communities worldwide. |
| International Day of Pink | The second Wednesday in April | 2007 | The International Day of Pink is a worldwide anti-bullying and anti-homophobia event[24] where participants are encouraged to wear or display a pink shirt, echoing a mass gesture of solidarity with a student subjected to homophobic bullying in Cambridge, Nova Scotia, Canada in 2007. |
| International LGBT Pride Day | 28 June | Celebrates LGBT pride. It's considered to be Stonewall riots' anniversary. | |
| International Day to End Conversion Therapy | 7 January | 2025 | International Day to End Conversion Therapy (IDECT) is an annual observance held on January 7 that seeks to raise awareness about the harms associated with conversion therapy practices worldwide. The day highlights the resilience of survivors, amplifies their experiences, and promotes advocacy for the global elimination of such practices. It also calls on policymakers, allies, and communities to support affirming, evidence-based care for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals. It was started by the nonprofits C.T. Survivors Connect & Conversion Therapy Survivor Network. |
| Intersex Awareness Day | 26 October | 1996 | Celebrated in October to commemorate the first intersex protest, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts.[25] |
| Intersex Day of Remembrance | 8 November[26] | 2005 | A day designed to raise awareness of the issues faced by intersex people. It marks the birthday of Herculine Barbin, a French intersex person. The event began as Intersex Solidarity Day, following an invitation issued by Joëlle-Circé Laramée, the then Canadian spokeswoman for Organization Intersex International.[27] |
| Lesbian Day[28] | 8 October | 1980 (NZ) or 1990 (Aus)[29] | An annual day celebrating lesbian culture that originated in New Zealand and Australia,[30] but is now celebrated internationally.[31] |
| Lesbian Visibility Day | 26 April | 2008 | Annual day to celebrate, recognize, and bring visibility to lesbians.[32][33][34] |
| National Coming Out Day | 11 October | 1988[35] | A day to celebrate the act of "coming out", i.e. when an LGBT person decides to publicly share their gender identities or sexual orientation.[36] National Coming out Day was founded in the United States by gay rights activists Robert Eichberg and Jean O' Leary on 1988 in Washington, DC, United States. By 1990 it was being celebrated in all 50 states.[37] Although still named "National Coming Out Day", it is currently observed around the world, in countries such as Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Australia also on 11 October, and in the United Kingdom on 12 October. |
| Dyke Week | 9 August | 2022 | An annual day to promote Dyke history, culture and dyke communities. Inspired by Dyke Day in LA or Dyke Weekend in Japan. Established by HER app in 2022. |
| Non-Binary Awareness Week | The week, starting Sunday[38]/Monday,[39] surrounding 14 July | 2020[40][41] | A week dedicated to those who do not fit within the traditional gender binary,[42] i.e. those who do not exclusively identify as a man or a woman, or who may identify as both a man and a woman, or may fall outside of these categories altogether.[43] Promoted on Twitter as @NBWeek.[44] |
| Non-Binary People's Day | 14 July | 2012 | An annual day to celebrate and bring visibility to people who are non-binary in the LGBT+ community. The date is the precise midpoint between International Men's Day and International Women's Day.[45] |
| Pansexual & Panromantic Awareness Day | 24 May[46] | 2015 | An annual day to promote awareness of, and celebrate, pansexual and panromantic identities. |
| Pronouns Day | The third Wednesday in October | 2018 | An annual event that seeks to make sharing, respecting and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.[47][48][49] |
| Trans Awareness Month | November[50][51] | 2017 | A month to celebrate transgender and gender nonconforming communities and to raise awareness for this community through education and advocacy activities. |
| Trans Awareness Week | 13-19 November[52] | 2017 | A week to educate about transgender and gender non-conforming people, and the issues associated with their transition and/or identity. |
| Transgender Day of Remembrance | 20 November | 1999 | Day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. |
| Trans Day of Visibility | 31 March[53] | 2009[54] | A day to celebrate the trans community in a positive light, celebrating their lives and cultural achievements. This observance date was founded in 2009 by transgender activist Rachel Crandall Crocker (Michigan, United States),[55] the head of Transgender Michigan,[56] as a reaction to the lack of a day celebrating transgender people. |
| Trans Parent Day | The first Sunday in November[57] | 2009[58] | A day that celebrates life and the love between transgender parents and their children, and between parents and their transgender children.[59] |
| World AIDS Day | 1 December | 1988 | Day to raise awareness of the ongoing AIDS pandemic and mourning those who have died of the disease. |
| Zero Discrimination Day | 1 March[60] | 2014 | A United Nations (UN) recognized day[61] promoting equality before the law, and in practice, throughout all of the member countries of the UN. The UN first celebrated this day on 1 March 2014, launched as part of the previous year's Zero Discrimination campaign run by UNAIDS on World AIDS Day (1 December 2013).[62] |
Domestically recognized
Australia
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGBT History Month | October | 2016 | Based on a similarly named awareness period in the United States, this is a month encouraging openness and education about LGBTIQ history and rights.[63] |
| Mardi Gras Parade | The first Saturday of March | 1978 | A day in the annual Mardi Gras festival held in the Australia state of New South Wales which features a pride parade, commemorating the first rally in 1978 where numerous participants were arrested by the police. The current Mardi Gras Parade maintains the original rallies' political flavour, with many of the marching groups and floats promoting LGBTIQ rights issues and/or themes. |
| Wear it Purple Day | The final Friday of August | 2010 | A day to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people. The day was co-founded by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams.[64] Comparable days exist in a number of other countries, including the Netherlands (Purple Friday) and the United States (Spirit Day). |
Brazil
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Trans Visibility Day | January 29 | 2004 | A day celebrated annually on 29 January and celebrates, since 2004, the pride, existence and resistance of the trans and travesti community within the LGBTQ+ movement in Brazil.[65][66] |
| Trans Men and Transmasculine People Day | February 20 | 2015 | Commemorative date annually celebrating transmasculinity and trans men in Brazil.[67][68] |
| National Gay Pride Day | March 25 | A day started around 2020 to celebrate gay pride, specially gay men pride, in Brazil.[69][70][71][72] | |
| National Trans Pride Day | May 15 | 2017 | Celebrating 1992 travesti and trans movement of Rio de Janeiro.[73] The activity became part of the policies developed by the Senate administration[74][75] — under the Senate Gender and Race Equity Plan for the 2026-2027 biennium.[76][77] |
| National Lesbian Pride Day | August 19 | 2003 | Referring to the 1983 occupation of Ferro's Bar by Grupo Ação Lésbica Feminista,[78] denouncing the violence lived in the place.[79][80] |
| National Lesbian Visibility Day | August 29 | 2003 | An established date in Brazil created by Brazilian lesbian activists and dedicated to the date on which the 1st National Lesbian Seminar - Senale took place, on 29 August 1996.[81][82] |
Canada
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGBT History Month | October | 1994 | Based on a similarly named awareness period in the United States, this is a month encouraging openness and education about LGBTI history and rights. |
Chile
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesbian Visibility Day | 9 July | 2015 | Commemorates the anniversary of Mónica Briones' murder, the first documented act of lesbophobia in Chile. |
India
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Coming Out Day | 2 July | 2012 | A commemoration of the Delhi High Court's decriminalisation of same-sex sexual activity by reading down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (for the first time) in 2009. [83] |
Ireland
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Marriage Referendum | 22 May | 2015 | A commemoration of Ireland legalizing same-sex marriage through a plebiscite. |
Japan
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyke Weekend | March | 1994 | A semi-annual weekend event of workshops, seminars, guest speakers and sports run by volunteer group of a queer woman to come together and share ideas, build new friendships and strengthen community. [84] |
Netherlands
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purple Friday | The second Friday of December | 2010 | A day aimed at reducing bullying and increasing inclusivity in schools, using a purple theme in which people are encouraged to wear purple clothes. In December 2010, COC Nederland named the second Friday of December "Paarse Vrijdag" (Dutch: Purple Friday).[85] The Gender Sexuality Alliance Network has continued to celebrate its observance annually since then.[86] Comparable days exist in a number of other countries, including Australia (Wear it Purple Day) and the United States (Spirit Day). |
New Zealand
Ukraine
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day of Remembrance of Homosexuals in Ukraine (victims of the totalitarian Soviet regime) | 12 December | 2006 | This day is celebrated as an important date to honor those who suffered from systematic repression and discrimination during the Soviet period. [89]
On December 12, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a law that decriminalized voluntary homosexual relations between adult men.[90] |
United Kingdom
| Name | Date | Year Started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGBT History Month | February | 2005 | Celebrated throughout February since 2005. Founded by Schools OUT UK - The LGBT+ Education Charity.[91] |
| Trans+ History Week | May 6 | 2024 | Observed the week starting with 6 May.[92] |
United States
| Name | Date | Year started | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bisexual Health Awareness Month | March | 2014 | A month to raise awareness about the bisexual community's social, economic, and health disparities, advocate for resources, and inspire actions to improve bi people's well-being.[93] Promoted on social media through #BiHealthMonth.[94] |
| Day of Silence | The second Friday in April | 1996 | A student-orientated day to end the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bias. Initially created by then-student Maria Pulzetti, the first event was organized by students at University of Virginia in 1996.[95] It is currently organized by GLSEN. In 1997, one year after the day's creation, it went national, with over 100 institutions participating.[96] Whilst there has been some participation from other countries, including New Zealand and Singapore, as of 2021 it is still categorized as a "national student-led demonstration".[97] |
| Harvey Milk Day | 22 May | 2010 | Celebrated to honor Harvey Milk, assassinated politician, on his birthday. It is celebrated officially in California, Milk's home state.[98] |
| Sapphic Visibility Day | 9 April | 2024 | Celebrated to promote the term "sapphic" as an identity for many women, nonbinary, trans and gender nonconforming people.[99] |
| HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day | 5 June | 2014 | A day to highlight the resilience and strengths of people living longest with HIV and AIDS, while pointing out the challenges facing this population and demanding action to improve their quality of life.[100] It was started by Tez Anderson, founder of Let's Kick ASS (LKA)[101] and promoted on social media using #HLTSAD.[102] |
| LGBTQ+ business week | Fall/Winter | 2023 | A week to celebrate and support LGBTQ+ businesses and raise awareness of economic issues faced by the community.[103] In 2024, it will be celebrated the week of December 2nd.[104] |
| LGBT History Month | October | 1994 | It was declared a national history month by President Barack Obama in 2009. The month was created with the intent to encourage openness and education about LGBT history and rights. |
| LGBT Pride Month | June[105][106][107] | June is celebrated as Pride in honor of the Stonewall Riots, though Pride events occur all year round. It also marks the month that same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States. | |
| Pulse Night of Remembrance | 12 June | 2017 | Annual day of US remembrance for the loss of 49 LGBT people in the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.[108] |
| Spirit Day | The third Thursday in October[109] | 2010 | Support for LGBTQ+ youth who are the victims of bullying, as well as to honor LGBTQ+ victims of bullying-related suicide. Comparable days exist in a number of other countries, including Australia (Wear it Purple Day) and the Netherlands (Purple Friday). |
| Stonewall Riots Anniversary | 28 June[110] | 1969 | A day to remember the Stonewall Riots, a reaction to the NYPD raid of the Stonewall Inn.[111] This initial event was a galvanizing force for LGBT political activism, and argued by some to be the birth of the gay rights movement, in the United States and around the world.[112][113] The world's first pride parade occurred on the 1st anniversary (28 June 1970). It's also known as International LGBT Pride Day.[114] |
| Transgender History Month | August | 2024 | Recognized in California following the State Legislature's passage of House Resolution 57 on 6 September 2023.[115] |
