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A more inclusive acronym

The River of Pride The River of Pride LGBTQ LGBTQQIP2SAA

We’ve all seen the different acronyms like LGBT, LGBTQ+ and everything in between. Do you know what they all mean? The initialisms can sometimes being confusing and unintentionally leave some out. As our community evolves so will our acronyms.

An alternative, more comprehensive (though not exhaustive) acronym is LGBTQQIP2SAA+: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Queer, Intersex, Pansexual, Two-Spirit (2S), Androgynous, and Asexual. Occasionally, we’ll see a third A for Ally, and sometimes it’s preceded by an S for Straight Ally.

Projects like The River of Pride Flag and The Unity Pride Flag are building awareness to our diverse community.

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First World AIDS Day Dec 1st 1988

The River of Pride Shahida Keen

The 1st World AIDS day was 30 years ago!!!

So much has changed since then.  And not enough has changed.
I was living in NYC, when people started “getting sick” and ultimately dying. Even in writing this, it reveals the depth of my collective sadness due to so much unnecessary loss, heartbreak, ignorance and fear.
In every crisis, there is the opportunity for people to reveal the best of themselves.
Crisis can help us dig deep and give with an open heart, to show one’s fierceness in the face of ignorance, ones vulnerability & resiliency in the shelter of community.
AIDS has impacted every corner of the world, there is not one country or group of people who has been left unchallenged by this epidemic.
For years, I had a FT gig as an HIV Prevention Educator in school systems for students, parents & teachers, I spoke to over 20,000 people. There were/are thousands of us around the globe providing facts as pathways to safety & sanity when shame was being heaped on like quicksand.
There were amazing things happening in our larger community, which became integral doors to opening our own minds & hearts to struggles within our own communities and the larger world.

Continue reading “First World AIDS Day Dec 1st 1988”

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We’re not alone!

The River of Pride Flag

7.3 percent of people born between 1980 and 1998 who now identify as
LGBTQQIP2SAA+—up from 5.8 percent in 2012. (This new data reinforces a 2015 conclusion from the Public Religion Research Institute that “7 percent of millennials identify either as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender,” based on a survey of 2,000 adults.) It’s uncertain if this data take in account for the 2.7% of millennials who identify as genderqueer, gender-fluid or unsure of their gender identification.

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Beauty In Nature?

The River of Pride Flag

A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows caused by sunlight always appear in the section of sky directly opposite the sun.

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Meaning of the 8 Colors

The River of Pride Flag

The original pride flag Gilbert Baker created had eight colors each with their own meanings. Pink – sexuality, Red – Life, Orange – healing, Yellow – sun, Green – nature, Turquoise – art & magic, Blue – harmony & serenity, and Purple – spirit.
Pink was removed because finding an adequate source was not possible for this color in that time. Turquoise was removed after Harvey Milk’s assassination. During the parade the colors were separated with three to each side of the street.

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A colorful Inspiration

The River of Pride A Colorful Inspiration

Did you know how the creator of the Gay Pride Rainbow Flag come up with the idea? Harvey Milk, an openly gay elected politicians challenge Gilbert Baker who worked making clothing. Some say because he was from Kansas, his inspiration came from “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in “The Wizard of Oz” according to Queer Sites: Gay Urban Histories Since 1600