NPS Photo Asexual Awareness Week is celebrated during the last full week of October – it is dedicated to expanding asexual education. Despite the title “Asexual Awareness Week,” the festivities include celebrating people on all ends of the asexuality spectrum! Why is this week important? Most people don’t know that asexuality exists, and even among those who do there is a stigma of misunderstanding; many people believe asexual people are sick, lying, or repressed.
In fact, until 2013, asexuality was considered a mental illness that needed to be treated.Asexual Awareness Week is a time for us to break the stigma and learn the truths about asexuality– what it is, and what it isn’t. Asexual activists have worked hard to make sure everyone’s voice is heard, regardless of how they identify. This Ace Week, take some time to get to know some of the most famous asexuals throughout history!  Ally Week is a national youth-led effort encouraging students to be allies with the LGBTQ+ community. Held in October, coinciding with National Coming Out Day on the 11th. The purpose of Ally Week is to educate schools about anti-LGBTQ+ harassment. The goals of Ally Week include diminishing stereotypes and exclusion, while highlighting the benefits of peer support. October 26th is Intersex Awareness Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the human rights issues faced by the intersex community. Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20th) was founded first, twenty years before the creation of Transgender Awareness Month, by Gwendolyn Ann Smith. She created it as a vigil in 1999 to honor the momory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman killed in 1998. This was expanded to include all transgender individuals who have been killed. Beginning in the early 2000's, more and more groups began to observe this day as a whole week, including Yale colleage in 2004. Slowly, this week expanded into a month to create a safespace to think and discuss Transgender issues.
 President George H. W. Bush ushered in the first National American Indian Heritage Month in 1990 to raise awareness to this marginalized group. While the name has changed, the idea of creating time to recognize the significant contributions the Indigenous groups have made. For Stonewall National Monument, we raise the Two Spirit flag to discuss this marginalized group within Native cultural groups.
 On December 8th, we celebrate National Pansexual Pride Day. This day brings attention to the steps taken by the pansexual and panromantic community to be understood and accepted. This date is different from Pansexual Visibility day on May 24th. While the origins of National Pansexual Pride Day isn't well documented, this is a day to celebrate Pansexual individuals and to raise awareness to this marginalized group.
 March 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility to celebrate the lives and contributions of transgender people in history, culture, and society. April 8th is International Asexuality Day, a day to increase awareness and understanding of asexual identities. April 26th is International Lesbian Visibility Day, a day to celebrate, recognize, and validate lesbian-identifying members of the LGBTQ+ community. May 19th is Agender Awareness Day, a day that internationally promotes, validates, and celebrates agender individuals. May 24th is Pansexual Visibility Day, a day highlighting pansexual individuals’ achievements. June 30th is dedicated to the recognition and validation of the aromantic community. Non-Binary Pride Day is celebrated by the community on July 14th. July 16th is a day to celebrate the drag community around the world. Expand your drag art today!
 September 23rd is Bisexual Pride Day, a day dedicated to the recognition and celebration of bisexual people and their contributions in history, culture, and society. |
Last updated: April 30, 2023