LesbianVisibilityDay 2020

Did you know? Gay Men’s Awareness Day is September 27th, Bisexuality Day is September 23rd and International Transgender Day of Visibility is celebrated on March 31st, today the 27th April is a Lesbian Visibility day.

Thanks to all of those who fought for the rights and continue to do so of the LGBTQ community. ‎

Reddit’s lesbian community posted about #LesbianVisibilityDay today, and one commenter recommended watching the video below.

Taken from the YouTube description “An Emmy-winning documentary that traces the political activism behind an equal-rights statute in Miami, and how it galvanized the gay rights movement in Florida and beyond.

Directed by Joe Cardona. Narrated by Margot Winick. Produced by Shed Boren of Genesis Fund, Cardona, el Nuevo Herald videographer Jose Iglesias, Miami Herald LGBT issues reporter Steve Rothaus and Miami Herald interactive editor Nancy San Martin.
Co-presented by Miami Herald Media Company and WPBT-Channel 2.”

Lesbians visible in Vancouver for decades

Vancouver has long been a centre of lesbian activism and lesbian culture.

For many years, it was centred on Commercial Drive—the site of the annual Vancouver Dyke March and where lesbians used to defiantly kiss at a cafe over the objections of the owner.

Vancouver has also been home to many distinguished lesbian writers, some of whom have been published by Arsenal Pulp Press over the years.

One of the pioneers was Jane Rule, who died in 2007 source.

Vancouver’s Out on Screen festival, which is headed by Stephanie Goodwin, turned 31 last year; Rainbow Refugee Society, founded by Chris Morrissey, is more than 20 years old.

In addition, Vancouver-based lesbian academics have left a major mark on the country in a variety of areas, including law, medical research, creative writing, and education.

To cite two examples, the future president and current vice president of Simon Fraser University, Joy Johnson, has a female partner, Pam Ratner, who’s UBC’s vice-provost and associate vice-president-president, enrolment and academic facilities.

The first out lesbian ever elected in Vancouver was Sue Harris. Running with the Coalition of Progressive Electors, she received enough votes to join the Vancouver park board in 1984.

Vancouver is also home to the first female openly LGBT MP, Libby Davies, who came out in 2001 while representing the NDP in Vancouver East.

The first female LGBT politician to be elected to council was COPE’s Ellen Woodworth in 2002.

New Democrat Jen McGinn was the first out lesbian to be elected to the B.C. legislature when she won the Vancouver-Fairview by-election in 2008.

That was the same year that Lesbian Visibility Day was launched.
Below, you can see how it’s being celebrated today over social media.

April 26 is #LesbianVisibilityDay! Today we celebrate the L in the LGBTQ+ as we aim to amplify lesbian voices in our expanding community.

Cheers to all the cis, trans and non binary lesbians in the world! 🌈 pic.twitter.com/WGLiWGW0AS

— Tina B. 🏳️‍🌈 (@inaurner) April 26, 2020