LGBTQ community members call in 'gay'

Members of the LGBTQ community called in "gay" to raise awareness.

By Joey Soto

Published Dec. 11, 2008

Gay men and lesbians throughout the nation "called in gay" on Wednesday.

Their act, and the act of sympathizers, was part of a nationwide event called, "A Day Without a Gay." The idea spurred from two Californians' initial idea of "Join the Impact."

"Join the Impact" is a movement that surfaced after California referendum Proposition 8 overturned the state Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Rather than acting in retaliation to the public's call for banning same-sex marriage with violence, "Join the Impact" sought to respond by joining together with love and the objective of equality for everyone in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning community.

The objective of "A Day Without a Gay" closely resembled its predecessor. Members of the LGBTQ community were encouraged to call in to work or school "gay," not sick, and then to spend the day volunteering in the community.

"The thought behind 'A Day Without a Gay' is to show that we are positive contributing members to society and take that time to work with volunteer organizations instead," Allies in Action member Dan Williams said.

AIA is an all-inclusive student organization that promotes tolerance of the LGBTQ community.

Allies in Action president Lance Pierce echoed Williams' explanation for the event. Pierce said he thinks it's important for society to realize the magnitude of the LGBTQ community.

"If it's not talked about, we're an invisible community," Pierce said. "When you walk into a room, you can't tell if a person is gay, intersex or transgender.  We don't wear our identity on our sleeves. So if it's not talked about, it kind of disappears."

AIA webmaster Tony Almond said he believes the event could serve as a realization to society as a whole.

"I think that if it's successful and people notice that LGTBQ are not present, it'll show just how big of an impact we have and how much we really mean to the community," Almond said.

As with any movement, there tend to be those who are at odds with the objectives. Williams said even before the day of the event, negative comments were being posted online.

Williams said what he considered hate speech had probably come from people who were ignorant to the event's purpose.

"I think that a lot of people in the heterosexual or non-LGBTG communities really don't understand why we want to start this," Williams said. "They don't think it's going to be handled responsibly. Instead of it being a sit-in, they think it's going to be a strike. But it's not."

The basic premise, Pierce said, is to show the community the versatility of the gay community and its importance to society both economically and socially.

"I think it shows all the facets and diversity of the LGBTQ community," Pierce said. "A lot of people have said 'a day without a gay, we won't have hair dressers or people to design our clothes.' But we have people that are construction workers, advertising people, business people, anthropologists."

Pierce said members of the LGBTQ community work on the most masculine and feminine fields.

"I think we're just as diverse as the heterosexual community," Pierce said. "We're rich, poor, black, white, Hispanic and all other socioeconomic levels."

While ultimately the LGTBQ community would like to achieve their goal of social equality, Almond believes a "Day Without a Gay" is not about getting immediate change.

"I think it's more about treating each other respectfully than getting equal rights," Almond said. "I think it's a step into getting equal rights, but it's just more about awareness than change at the moment."

Williams said he expects this year's inaugural event to become a tradition and hopes for increased impact in the future.

"If we can get it to be national or even international and handled responsibly, we'd have a situation that wherever you were, you might have a coworker that participates," Williams said. "And if everyone knows about it, hopefully it would increase awareness of how we're not just a small fringe group."