Posts by Believe Out Loud
Pansexual Visibility Day
May 24 is the annual Pansexual Visibility Day! It is a day to uplift, educate and celebrate. “What is pansexuality?,” you might ask. Pansexuality comes from the Greek “pan,” meaning “all.” Pansexuality is a sexual orientation in which an individual is attracted to another person regardless of their sex or gender. This does not mean…
Read MoreHarvey Milk Day
In 2009, the State of California officially designated May 22 as “Harvey Milk Day” in order to commemorate one of the most outspoken LGBT government officials to this day. Harvey Milk was an activist, an organizer and the first openly gay man elected to office in the United States as a member of the San…
Read MoreWe’re all in this together
The last couple of months have shown us in unprecedented ways the connectedness of our global family. Though international travel has come to a near standstill in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, the lives and challenges of people in other parts of the world have rarely felt as close and relatable as…
Read MoreAscension Day: A Testimony of Jesus’ Trust
We don’t often think about Ascension Day as one of the important Christian holidays; however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just as Christmas and Easter remind us of the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of Emmanuel, Ascension Day solidifies the fact that God is with us. Through the ascension of Christ,…
Read MoreAgender Pride Day
May 19th marks Agender Pride Day! To be agender means to not identify as any particular gender. Agender is also called genderblank , genderfree, genderless, gendervoid, non-gendered, ungendered, or null gender. The agender identity falls under the nonbinary umbrella and (sometimes) the transgender umbrella. Agender people can have any preference for pronouns (he/she/they), but some prefer to avoid…
Read MoreInternational Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia! It was on this day in 1990 that the World Health Organization made the decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. The day was highlighted to draw attention to the discrimination and violence experienced by people with diverse sexual and gender orientations. Though the world…
Read MoreExpressing Gratitude
At this moment, I think we all feel a bit traumatized. The quality of life we are experiencing is not like anything most of us have ever lived through before. In this time of physical distancing, our thoughts are even more engaged. As we spend more time in mental solitude, it can become quite easy…
Read MoreRamadan Mubarak! Ramadan Shamil!
Ramadan Mubarak! Attempts to establish a lexicon of non-degrading appropriate terms for the LGBT community in Arabic is an ongoing process first traced back to the end of the 1990’s. In 2003, a group of LGBT identifying Arab women call the Mujadarra Grrls, published a bilingual glossary of positive expressions of sexuality in Arabic that…
Read MoreRamadan and Zakat
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and is observed worldwide by those of the Muslim faith. The Fast of Ramadan lasts the entire month, which can be 29 or 30 days, depending on sightings of the moon. Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the…
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Portal to a New World:
An Earth Day Reflection
There are so many lessons to learn in this time of COVID-19, and specifically throughout Eastertide, the 50-day period between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday. On a positive note, we have witnessed the uniting of humanity. We have seen people come together, quickly to combat colossal issues. On a challenging note, we cringe at the…
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