Celebrating family equality every day

International Family Equality Day (IFED) recognizes and “celebrates the diversity of LGBTQ[IA]+ families around the world, and takes place every year on the first Sunday in May.” (source: FamilyEquality.org).

Yay, a celebration! Wait… for what, exactly?! Some of y’all are probably thinking, “WTH is ‘[International] Family Equality Day??,’ ” while others are raging, “Um, that was like… 3+ months ago. YTF are you just mentioning it now?!” Both are great questions that I’ll try to address. So, let’s get down to business! Family Equality is for all of us, every day.

According to FamilyEquality, “International Family Equality Day (IFED) celebrates the diversity of LGBTQ[IA]+ families around the world, and takes place every year on the first Sunday in May,” and by celebrating we “raise awareness among politicians and the general public about the need for equal treatment and recognition for all families, regardless of the sexual orientation or gender identity of their family’s members.” This year’s celebration was May 2, 2021, so why celebrate at all then? Why not wait until May 1, 2022?

All over the world, more and more children are growing up in families where one or both of their parents identify as LGBTQ[IA]+. [And in many countries] both parents and their children face overt discrimination and have to live under [the] constant threat of violence. — FamilyEquality

Much like Valentine’s Day gets bashed for “being the only day of the year that we show our partners that we care,” family equality (hell, all equality) is something that we should demonstrate every day. If your SO only ever showed you love and kindness once a year, I bet that relationship would get the boot pretty fast! Relationships take effort, and so does allyship. Allyship is a verb; it takes work, work that we must do every. single. day. So I choose to recognize International Family Equality Day in August. You may say, “Why?” I argue, “Why not?”

This truncated world map marks the cities, states, and countries that currently recognize and celebrate International Family Equality Day (source: InternationalFamilyEqualityDay.org).

And by the same logic as that immortal song sung by The Mad Hatter and The March Hare… We’ve 364 more days to celebrate this way!

Mad Hatter: Now, statistics prove, prove that you’ve one birthday.
March Hare: Imagine, just one birthday every year.
Mad Hatter: Ah, but there are three hundred and sixty four unbirthdays!
March Hare: Precisely why we’re gathered here to cheer!

The bright rainbows of Pride Month have long since faded and the homage to the historic queer figures is still weeks away… (October is National LGBTQIA+ History Month.) So, why not choose a lovely time during the Dog Days of Summer to shine a light on and cheer for family equality?

So, how can we celebrate family equality today and every day? How can we ally?

• Find a local Family Equality or LGBTQIA+ event or host one of your own.
• Support queer-owned businesses and donate to organizations and charities.
• Listen to queer artists, read books written by queer authors and poets, watch queer TV shows and movies, and visit exhibits and museums dedicated to queer culture.

Does that list seem a bit daunting for your first foray into Family Equality Day? No worries, start small by using inclusive language to avoid “othering” (The Barton Lab, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University). Everyone has a family, regardless of biology, race, religion, sexual orientation, legal status, etc., so let’s celebrate ’em all!

Start simple and small. Using inclusive language is an easy way to make everyday Family Equality Day (Source: American Alliance of Musuems, Jan./Feb. 2016 issue).

So as we stumble along in our days and onward towards summer’s end, I bid you all a Happy Family Equality Day. May you always experience “being [y]our authentic best” (FamilyEquality).