A Gallup survey released earlier this year found that “the percentage of U.S. adults who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%, which is double the percentage from 2012, when Gallup first measured it.”
The generational breakdown of the study showed younger cohorts were more likely to identify as LGBT. Leading the way, Generation Z has over a 20% rate of LGBT identification, meaning one in five Gen Z individuals identify within the queer and trans community.
One in five Gen Z adults identify as #LGBTQ — and that number is only expected to go up, according to a recent Gallup poll. From a #health equity perspective, it is important for health professionals to engage in continuous learning. https://t.co/Z8GJUg9xZq @axios pic.twitter.com/ifYEJlFpPi
— Vitalyst Health (@VitalystHealth) March 7, 2022
Celebrate Pride Month on your campus
On behalf of NIRSA’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus, we would like to invite the NIRSA community to show up for, engage with, and support their queer & trans colleagues and communities for Pride Month.
Recognizing and uplifting your queer and trans colleagues shouldn’t just take place in June. But Pride Month can be a great stimulus to continue your own learning about the community and sharing your knowledge.
We have gathered a list of resources that might serve as springboards to propel your learning journey, regardless of if you have been doing the work for one week, one year, or a lifetime.
- Want to put your pronouns in your email signature? Explore the Pronouns Matter resource at mypronouns.org to see why this gesture is important.
- Thinking about hosting a movie night at your campus rec center? Here are 8 LGBTQ Documentaries to Watch During Pride Month.
- Are you familiar with the term rainbow-washing? Here are a few things to know about rainbow-washing.
- Want to directly support Queer businesses? Here your shopping list!
- Contribute to your campus recreation’s marketing efforts? Here are five dos and don’ts of Pride Month Marketing.
- Critically understanding the nuances of Pride Month.
In addition to those resources, we also invite you to earmark some time to explore NIRSA resources:
- Watch or listen to this speaker series, Gender & Trans Inclusion in Collegiate Recreation that cover the following topics:
- Gender 101 & the Trans Experience
- Navigating Trans Inclusion: Exploring Common Ground
- Playing with Inclusion, Assessing the Crossroads of Gender & Sport
- Awareness to Inclusion to Advocacy, Your Next Steps
- NIRSA EDI (Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) Guide
- LGBTQ & Allies Social Social at NIRSA conferences
- NIRSA issues statement on transgender sport participation bills
- Read about the history of “Region 7”
- Collegiate recreation is all about inclusion
- Donate to the Frederick R. Braden Endowment
Go beyond Pride Month
Here are some major annual days throughout the year that bring about awareness to our community. Click on each of them to dive in their history and purpose. You might even want to add them to your work calendar!
- International Transgender Day of Visibility: 3/31
- International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia: 5/17
- World Coming Out Day: 10/11
- Spirit Day: 10/21
- Transgender Day of Remembrance: 11/20
- International Human Rights day: 12/10
- More annual days to note!
Connect with NIRSA colleagues
NIRSA LGBTQ+ Caucus events have been scheduled for June and July, we invite members of the community to join us!
- For more information about NIRSA Caucuses, contact NIRSA Headquarters.
Amber Mateer, [they/them], is currently Associate Director of Campus Recreation at Plymouth State University; email Amber at almateer@plymouth.edu.
Lauren Brown, [she/they], is currently Director of the Student Recreation Center at Red Rocks Community College; email Lauren at lauren.brown@rrcc.edu.
