Chula Vista raised the Pride flag and is lighting up city hall in rainbow colors through the end of June in honor of the LGBTQ+ community celebrating the freedom of being themselves.
The origins of National LGBTQ+ month stems from the Stonewall Riots in June 1969 when police raided a group of patrons at Stonewall Inn, a gay club in Greenwich Village, New York, on the basis of their sexual orientation. The raid ignited a riot among neighbors, leading to nearly six days of protests and violent clashes. The Stonewall Riots were the catalysts for forming gay liberation organizations and the modern-day LGBTQ rights movement.
LGBTQ is an acronym meaning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The term sometimes is extended to LGBTQIA, to include intersex and asexual groups.
According to Planned Parenthood, Queer is a word that describes sexual and gender identities other than straight and cisgender. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people may all identify with the word queer.
Intersex is an umbrella term that describes bodies that fall outside the strict male/female binary. People who are asexual do not experience sexual attraction.
According to the LGBT Foundation, Non-binary is used to describe people who feel their gender cannot be defined within the margins of the gender binary.
“Because non-binary includes anyone that doesn’t fit the traditional narrative of male or female, non-binary communities are incredibly diverse. Non-binary people may identify as both male and female or neither male nor female. They may feel their gender is fluid and can change and fluctuate or perhaps they permanently don’t identify with one particular gender,” the foundation said.
The foundation said language is “incredibly diverse” within LGBT communities.
“​​Language can be really powerful in helping to affirm your identity, feel confident, and share your authentic self with others. In many cases, the labels that we give ourselves can help us connect with others who share the same identity and integrate into a larger community,” the foundation explained.
Chula Vista will be celebrating South Bay Pride in September. The City website has a page dedicated to LGBTQ+ community liaisons and resources at https://www.chulavistaca.gov/residents/lgbtq-resources.
