October is LGBTQ+ History Month

The UIC Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People and Gender and Sexuality Center are excited to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month throughout the month of October!

First observed in 1994, LGBTQ+ History Month was declared a national history month in 2009 by President Barack Obama. It celebrates LGBTQ+ history and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. LGBTQ+ History Month provides role models, builds community and represents a civil rights statement about the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. Look for these upcoming dates in October:

• Friday, Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day: First celebrated in the United States in 1988, National Coming Out Day emphasizes the most basic form of LGBTQ+ activism: coming out and living life openly as your true self.
• Wednesday, Oct. 16, International Pronouns Day: The purpose of International Pronouns Day is to make asking, sharing and respecting personal pronouns commonplace.
• Saturday, Oct. 26, Intersex Awareness Day: Intersex Awareness Day works to raise awareness about intersex people and the struggles they face in society.

The LGBTQ+ community still faces violence and discrimination. The ACLU is currently tracking 530 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the United States, with six of them being in Illinois. Many of these bills include prohibiting gender-affirming health care to transgender youth. Please visit Lambda Legal or Transgender Law Center to learn more. The chancellor’s committee encourages all UIC community members to work in allyship with and learn more about LGBTQ+ people. We reinforce our commitment to greater inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals at UIC with the following resources:

• UIC Gender and Sexuality Center: The cultural center serves UIC’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual students, faculty and staff. Through the production, curation and preservation of intersectional LGBTQIA+ culture, the center aims to inspire critical thinking, learning and action on campus and beyond.
• Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence Pronoun Usage Guide.
• UIC Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People: Established in 1991, the committee’s mission is to promote the academic, cultural, professional and social welfare of the LGBTQ+ community at UIC.
• All-gender restrooms.
• UIC Bias Reporting Tool: bias reporting and prevention.
• UI Health LGBTQ+ Inclusive Care.