LGBT Life This Month

Teen Life     From Ellen Friedrichs, your About Teen Life Editor     October is a big month for LGBT issues. Not only is October LGBT History Month, but it also hosts National Coming Out Day and Ally Week. Here's what you need to know about these events.   Follow us on:     Sign up for more free newsletters: About Today About Parenting About Health   What is LGBT History Month? LGBT History Month-first organized in the States in 1995 by GLSEN and a group of organizers and educators-was modeled after the Black and Women's History Month celebrations. October was chosen to coincide with school sessions and National Coming Out Day. READ NOW   What is National Coming Out Day? National Coming Out Day was founded by Robert Eichberg and Jean O'Leary on October 11, 1988 in celebration of the first gay march on Washington D.C. a year earlier. The purpose of the march and of National Coming Out Day is to promote government and public awareness of gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender rights and to celebrate homosexuality. READ NOW   What is Ally Week? Ally Week was started in 2005, and occurs annually. with the purpose being to, "celebrate allies committed to ensuring safe and effective schools for all and to encourage students to take action." One teen explains how his school observed ally week. "We just handed out buttons during lunch and on Wednesday we're going to do face painting and then show the movie Trans-America after school." READ NOW   What is GLSEN? Many of the events we celebrate in October were founded by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, an organization which works towards making sure "that every member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression." READ NOW   ADVERTISEMENT Featured Articles Is the Guy You're Dating Afraid of Commitment? 5 Ways to Deal With Jealousy How Lesbians Can Get Pregnant How to Be a Good Study Group Member 10 Totally Fun (and Cheap!) Date Ideas for Teens 5 Ways to Get Distance from Your Parents More from About.com Sign up for Shareables! An every-morning rundown of the day in history, with headlines and trends produced by your pals at About.com. Click here to sign up! It's free (of course) and we think you'll like it! Want More From About.com? Check out our social channels tailored to every interest! Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About.com Teen Life newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here. If you would like to unsubscribe from all newsletters sent from About.com, please send an email to optout@about.com with "Unsubscribe" as the subject line. Contact Information: 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor New York, NY, 10036 Privacy Policy © 2014 About.com