Day Without a Gay
Years ago, lesbian comedian Robin Tyler told a joke that went something like this. "If homosexuality is a disease, let's all call in gay." Well, a group of activists is calling for just that. Well, they're not saying homosexuality is a disease. Of course it's not, but in protest of the passage of Proposition 8 in California and the denial of gays and lesbians equal rights across the nation, they're asking the LGBT community to take a day to make a stand.
(Ironically, Robin Tyler is one of the main plaintiffs in the case that allowed gays and lesbians to marry in California in the first place.)
On December 10th, 2008 members of the LGBT community and their straight allies are being asked to "Call in gay" to work and to not spend any money that day. Kind of like a big gay general strike. But you can't just hang out in your pajamas all day and eat bon bons. The second part of Day Without a Gay involves going out into the community and giving back. We will have a much greater impact if people see us out there at soup kitchens, youth organizations, senior centers and animal shelters. Find places near you that need volunteers.
We also recognize that many people can't take the day off of work. You can still be fired in most states simply for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans. If you think calling in gay would cause too great a risk, you can still be involved in Day Without a Gay. Here's how.
Are you participating? Let us know what you plan to do on December 10th in the comments section below.
Image used with permission from daywithoutagay.org
Comments
I am volunteering. I work for Duke, so I’m volunteering 1/2 the day at the Children’s Health Clinic and 1/2 the day at the Ronald McDonald House. It was so easy. I simply called, found the volunteer chairperson, told her about STOP THE H8, and signed me up. I have COMPLETE support from my co-workers! I encourage everyone who can, to call in the 10th!
All of the writers from our site are participating in some way… volunteering, rallying at lunch breaks, wearing white ribbons in support, some staying home under the covers not using electricity, internet, phones, or anything. Some are planning to go to the store before hand to stock up and not spend one dollar on that day. There are many ways to take yourself ‘off of the grid as a gay’. Thanks for sharing the info on this historic day!
I’m not sure I agreed with the point of this “passive protest”. Much like e-mail chain letters imploring people to boycott the gas pumps for one day, in efforts to get gas companies to lower the price of gas (and logic showing that buying gas on Wed instead of Tues would have little or no effect on the industry), what message did we really send?
I don’t think it was meant to be: I’m gay, so I shirk my responsibilities (or dump them in the laps of my coworkers).
So, I went to work. And yes, this was a big enough blip or a slow enough day in the media, that folks (unfortunately) at work knew about “Call in Gay Day”.
I am embarrassed for our community. Isn’t it more constructive to GO to work, and TALK to our coworkers, and continue to be good upstanding citizens to demonstrate that we deserve the same human rights?
I didn’t “call in gay” on Dec 10, I went to work gay, and spoke about equality to my coworkers.