IDAHOBIT community archive
IDAHOBIT is an important reminder of where we have come from and where we are going as a community. Being a queer person born in a rainbow family, days like this are so important to me and I’m sure they are to many people in this community.
30 years ago - on May 17, 1990 - the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) celebrates LGBTIQ people globally, and raise awareness for the work still needed
We wanted to give a shout out to anyone in our community who raises awareness as a queer person or ally. If you would like to take action there are some ideas on the IDAHOBIT website here.
There are also some zoom backgrounds they have put together, if you feel like showing solidarity in the countless virtual hangouts/meetings we are all doing more of these days. Here is an example:
Discussion:
What makes you proud to be part of the LGBTIQA+ community?
What action do you take as an ally, to combat homophobia, transphobia and biphobia?
Hmm what would day 30 be? I.e the hardest? And what would day 1 be?
Hmm that's a good idea @FootyFan26 maybe we could all get one going? Or try it on the forums and see what it's like?
Do you think we need more events like this that celebrate diversity in our communities?
Yes, because as has been said earlier, it could cause people to discover new things or see different issues in a new and hopefully more positive light.
Yeah! 🙂 Although sometimes I feel like there's a lot of these that people don't know about so I guess we should try and do a better job of spreading the word about them 😛
YES PLEASE.
It's really important to celebrate diversity and emphasise that everyone is welcome and valid, and I don't think it happens enough.
It's a tricky one, especially as a lot of people get more upset about being called out. But if you're able to, say something, every little bit helps.
there's a comic that i love about this. I'm trying to dig it up. But the main theme of the comic is how to help people understand why what they say is harmful. The comic suggests the phrase " i know you don't mean it this way, but saying that spreads an idea that hurts people, do you really want to do that?
It's soo cool to hear that your schools are taking part in this stuff @FootyFan26 @roseisnotaplant! Because i reckon it means that less people will be phobic in the future, yay!
Why are these kind of phobias bad/such a big deal?
Hate like this is a big deal because it's kind of the reason the LGBT+ struggle so much compared to everyone else. It can make people feel really down, especially closeted people. There's a lot of casual homophobia at school amongst people my age, and it always makes me really uncomfortable but I've learned to just sort of brush it off and move on.
Hmm that's a good point about where it comes from @May_ I find it hard to understand... and that makes it tricky to try and help change!
Today is international day against homophobia, biphobia, intersexism, and transphobia.
https://www.idahobit.org.au has more info.
I have some questions for you.
Are you doing anything for IDAHOBIT
What's the best thing about being queer if you are?
What can you do to reduce queer phobia amongst your friends and family?
@redhead awesome thread!!
I didnt do anything for IDAHOBIT as I haven't been feeling well unfortunately 😞
My fave thing about being queer is that I get to have complex and romantic relationships with women, I love girls so much and being gay makes me so happy 
Not exactly friends and family, but I am planning to send some detailed feedback to my uni about wanting them to include transgender and intersex bodies in their bioscience classes, because all their resources and teaching are about cisgender people and bodies.
Wow I think it's great that you're sending that feedback @DruidChild - that's not something I've ever considered but you're right, it's super important!
Great thread @redhead!
I didn't do anything for IDAHOBIT, and I don't identify that way. BUT, I do really want to tackle the last question, because my family can be homophobic and it makes me really angry.
I think the normalising of being LGBTQ in TV shows, and having the character's sexual preferences not be the main focus of their arc/story is one powerful way to slowly start to change people's minds. For example, I think the TV show Person of Interest does this really well with a female couple (Root and Shaw).
What do you reckon?
