Today was the observance of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. No thanks to haters using the world's great religions to twist religious doctrine into a billy club to attack TBLG people, it is a day that is sorely needed.
IDAHOT is different from pride events because it is focused on pointing out '..that in reality it is homophobia that is shameful and must be deconstructed in its social logic and fought against openly.'
The IDAHOT got its start thanks to our Canadian friends in Quebec. An organization called Fondation Emergence created a National Day Against Homophobia that was celebrated on June 1, 2003.
Afro-French academic Louis-Georges Tin in August 2004 launched the successful campaign to create a similar day that was global in scope and impact. Tin proposed that the IDAHOT be celebrated on May 17th to commemorate the day in 1990 that the World Health Organization decided to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders.The first celebration of it occurred in 2005 and was supported by several international GLBT organizations. Transphobia was added as a focus in 2009 and the French in advance of last year's IDAHOT observance, became the first nation in the world to officially remove transgender issues from its list of mental illnesses.
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia is now celebrated in more than 50 countries around the world, and recognized officially by the European Union, Belgium, United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Mexico, and Costa Rica.
So Happy IDAHOT! Let's hope and pray that the rest of the nations of the world and the committee putting together the DSM VI manual will follow the example of France in the years to come.
