Friday Funday......LGBTQ/Pride part 1

WARNING:

THE BANDERSNATCH BLOG CONTAINS INFORMATION AND OPINIONS THAT THE PUBLIC MIGHT FIND OFFENSIVE. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL INFORMATION WILL BE CHECKED AND OPINIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF THE MAIN BLOGGER HERSELF.

Hey there Earthlings, Alternatives and Trollers. Put down that mouse and lend an ear. Welcome to The Bandersnatch blog where we talk weird, wacky and wondrous. I'm Mama Ogre and I have no idea what I'm doing.

Random blog day boo yah. As you should know Fridays is random blog day were we talk anything and everything and pretty much run with it. Today's blog is on Gay Pride and LGBTQ+ rights

LGBTQ+ is the common term often used in conversation but the full term is LGBTTTQQIAA, the terms Queer Community and Rainbow Community are often used as well. The Initialism and the various terms are always evolving so It doesn't fully matter if you don't memorise the full list just as long as you're respectful and use the terms that people prefer.

The letters in the term mean:

LESBIEN: A female homosexual, a female who experiences romantic and/or sexual love to/with other females.

GAY: A male homosexual, a man who experiences romantic and/or sexual love with other males....Lesbians can also be referred to as Gay.

BISEXUAL: A Male/Female who experiences Romantic and or Sexual love with others of any sexual/gender identity. Some of the traits can be considered/termed as Pansexuality.

TRANSGENDER: An umbrella term for those whose gender identity differs from what was assigned to them at birth. The term is often abbreviated to Trans.

TRANSEXUAL: the experience that their gender identity is inconsistent/ not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

TWO SPIRIT: A modern term used by the Indigenous North Americans to describe those int heir community who seam to have both male and female spirits in them.

QUEER: an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that are not heterosexual or cisgender. Was once used against Gay people, Queer scholars and activists began to reclaim the word during the 1980's.

QUESTIONING: Usually tied to those who question their sexual identity, gender and orientation (Either one of them or all of them), often used when someone is unsure whilst they are exploring to apply a label to themselves.

INTERSEX: Intersex is a variant in sexual characteristics including Gonads, Gentiles and Chromosomes which causes an individual to be unable to have a label of male or female.

ASEXUAL: pretty much the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or low/absent in sexual activity. It can be considered the lack of a sexual orientation.

ALLY: A person who is considered themselves a friend to the LGBTQ+ community.

THE PLUS + tends to add

PANSEXUAL: Also called Omnisexuality its sexual attraction/romantic/emotional attraction towards anyone of any sex.

AGENDER: These people also known as Genderless/Gender-free/non-gendered or un-gendered tend to be those who identify as being without a gender identity or don't conform to the traditional gender norms.

GENDER QUEER: This is for those whose gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine and as such are outside the gender binary and cisnormativity.

BIGENDER: Is applied to those who move between masculine and feminine genders, identities and behaviours. Some Bi-genders express two distinct personas whilst others find they identify as two genders simultaneously.

GENDER VARIANT: Gender variance or Gender non-conformant that doesn't match masculine and feminine gender norms.

PANGENDER: Pan-gender people identify with all genders. The term has a great deal of overlap with gender queer.

The Stonewall riots also known as the stonewall rising or the stonewall rebellion was a series of demonstrations which were usually spontaneous and violent done by members of the LGBTQ+ community. The demonstrations were against a police raid that happened on the early morning hours of 28^th June 1969 at the Stonewall inn in Greenwich Village neighbourhood of Manhattan, New York City. They were considered the most important event leading to both the Gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ rights in the United states.

After the riots, more violence happened as well as a call for boycotting from the gay community. The Gay Liberation front joined forces with the black and anti-war demonstrators often taking on causes of the black panthers and marching to the woman's house of detention in support of Afeni Ahakur as well as other radical new left causes.......the group collapsed four months after the group formed after people couldn't agree with an operating procedure. The Gay Activists Alliance tended to focus on more gay rights and were more organised than the Gay Liberation Front.

Within two years of the riots there were several gay rights groups in every major American city as well as Canada, Australia and western Europe. Those who joined these groups often didn't have anything in common with the others part form their sexual orientation. Over the next ten years these groups worked hard to support Gay rights and as such the national march on Washington for lesbian and Gay rights was timed to happen at the same time as the ten year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

In the US President Barak Obama declared June in 2009 as LGBT pride month. Citing the riots as a reason to comit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT americans. (It marked the 40^th anniversary of the stonewall riots and gave journalists and activists cause to reflect the progress made since 1969).

In June 1999 the US Dept.' of the Interior designated 51 and 53 Christopher street and the surrounding area in Greenwich village to be placed on the national register of historic places due to being a place of significance to the LGBT community, In 2015 the NYC landmarks Preservation commission announced it was considering Stonewall inn as a landmark due to its LGBT significance alone and it was approved on June 23^rd of the same year. A year later on June 24^th President Obama announced the establishment of the Stonewall national monument site to be administered by the national park service, The designation after the transfer to the federal government protects Christopher part and adjacent areas.....The Stonewall inn is within the boundaries but remains privately owned.

Christopher street liberation day on June 28^th 1970 marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots with an assembly on Christopher street. Gay Pride marches happened simultaneously in Los Angeles and Chicago. In 1971 pride marches happened in Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee London Paris West Berlin and Stockholm respectively. The march in New York covered 51 blocks (From Christopher street to Central park) and happened in half the scheduled time due to excitement and the weariness of walking through the city with gay banners and signs. Atlanta, Buffalo, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis and Philadelphia and San Francisco joined the list of cities participating in pride by 1972.

In the UK same sex relationships were considered sinful and under the Buggery act of 1533 was outlawed and punishable by death. LGBT rights came to light in 1967 when in England and Wales (and Scotland and Northern Ireland later) decriminalised the sexual activity between gay men......Lesbians were never subjected to the same treatment. Whilst 1.5% of the UKS population identifies under the LGBTQ+ banner, Thanks to Stonewall concluded that the UK's LGBTQ+ community is hard to identity because not everyone is Willing to be “OUT”. LGBTQ+ groups and communities have been built in the UK especially in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Edinburgh and Brighton- which is considered the gay capital of the UK. All the towns have gay villages and hold annual pride festivals.

During the 1990's the UK had some protections against discrimination for LGBT people but they were extended to all areas under the equality act of 2010. In 2000 the armed forces removed its ban on LGBT individuals serving. Age of consent was levelled to 16 in 2001 regardless of orientation (northern Ireland did it in 2009). Transgender people were given the rights to change their gender and same sex couples could enter civil partnerships AND adopt in 2005 (Scotland later followed with the adoption laws in 2009 and Northern Ireland in 2013). Same sex marriage was legalised in 2014 in the majority of the UK but civil partnership remains in Northern Ireland.

Despite many steps forwards for the LGBTQ+ community rights for Transgender people still need to catch up. The UK's Lord Chancellor published a Government Policy concerning trans people document in December 2002 citing that Transsexualism is not a mental illness. And since 2005 as per the Gender Recognition act of 2004 Its been legal for trans people to change their gender, allowing them to receive a new birth certificate, this is dealt with via the GRP (Gender recognition panel) where they must receive a GRC (Gender recognition Certificate) however to receive a GRC Trans people must have transitioned to their new lives for at least two years beforehand.

Unfortunately under the Gender Recognition act of 2004 all Transgender people who were married before their transitions have been required to divorce or annul their marriage in order to receive an GRC.

For the sake of labels I have to say I am both Bisexual and Asexual, I like guys and girls regardless of their sexuality despite being married to my husband Craig but I don't necessarily look for sex. Don't get me wrong I love my partner to bits and will happily remain married unless problems arise but the difference between your sexuality and your ability to love is something completely different. I believe that everyone has the right to love whoever they wish regardless of the fact that they were male, female, trans or whatever one of the letters they are and that they should have equal rights to everyone else under law. Having Laws against sexuality is not only discriminatory but criminal too.

If you disagree with me and have completely different views then that's ok, but please be aware that stating your views with force and/or in a threatening way does not sit well with me and whilst I'll happily have a conversation discussing such views please be aware citing such views without prompt or cause isn't the best way to do so.

The websites used in the research for proper terms, general information and Websites for LGBTQ and their families who require help in general or people to talk to: 

https://ok2bme.ca/resources/kids-teens/what-does-lgbtq-mean/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_riots

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://parentinfo.org/article/lgbtq-glossary-for-parents

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/lgbti-rights?&gclid=CjwKCAjw1f_pBRAEEiwApp0JKFXwE5vo8BbELaOzYbm5JUFv6bCSNgTnDgMxo_G9RXRm8Byf7QeU_BoCkasQAvD_BwE

https://www.strongfamilyalliance.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjw1f_pBRAEEiwApp0JKDkD-M0mluDPAxYkeP6wvUIrJXyep3C6ChXsfIzPJrp5-vtyJA8t8hoCesYQAvD_BwE

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/04/03/lgbt-charities-supporting-donating/

There will be a twitch stream from inside the Parade itself  under this handle:

https://www.twitch.tv/coopertowers

It will start at 11am BST/GMT/DST when the parade starts, any and all donations made during the stream will be given to LGBTQ+ and Homeless charities. 

And there you have it, we'll be leaving this here for today. Please, Please, Please be considerate when you leave a comment. To all those who don't agree with gay rights for whatever reason please be considerate with your words and understand that the world is home to a vast diversity of people, share with others if you want or not. Tuesday is book blog day and remember all abuse will be tracked and reported to the appropriate people.

THIS IS THE BANDERSNATCH, I'M MAMA OGRE AND REMEMBER STAY WEIRD, STAY WACKY, STAY WONDEROUS AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON...