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The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

The Student News Site of Saint Louis University

The University News

Inaugural LGBT Pride Week to celebrate identity spectrum

Inaugural+LGBT+Pride+Week+to+celebrate+identity+spectrum

Saint Louis University will be holding its first annual LGBT Pride week Oct. 4-10.  Events will be held throughout the week to celebrate queer people, foster community, and provide opportunities for both LGBT people and allies to become more educated on sexual orientations and gender identities.

The week will kick off on Monday with the
‘Sharing Our Stories’ event, where individuals are welcome to speak about their experience with coming out and discovering their identities.  Those wishing to attend will be required to be respectful of those that are sharing.

Tuesday, the Rainbow Alliance will be throwing an event in the quad called ‘Come Out and Play.’  This is a chance for SLU’s LGBT community to make themselves visible and to celebrate queerness.  All are welcome to come by and take photos; food will be available.  The event will start at 10:00 a.m. and continue until 2:00 p.m.

Thursday will host the ‘Coming Out Panel’ in Ritter room 242.  It will host a diverse group of individuals from different identities — race, gender, and sexual orientation — and will lead a discussion on the process of coming out, ally-ship, and what it means to be queer.  The panel will commence at 7:00 p.m. and all are welcome to attend in an attempt to learn more about the queer community.

Friday, Rainbow Alliance, alongside the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement, will be sponsoring a meet and greet for faculty supportive of the LGBT community.  This ‘Pride Reception’ is a chance for Rainbow Alliance members to talk with supportive faculty.  It will be held in the Busch Student Center in room 353.  The reception is open to the public and refreshments will be provided.

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Accompanying the week’s events, there will be a clothing drive for the Metro Trans Umbrella Group (MTUG), St. Louis’s premier trans* support group and community, and identity luncheons focused on different identities within the LGBT community.

The clothing drive for MTUG is to help provide clothing options for those people that identify as trans* and might need help procuring clothing that matches with their gender identities.  Shopping for trans* people can be very overwhelming and stressful as they are often accosted while shopping for proper clothing.

Another issue many trans* individuals face is finding clothing that fits properly. Shopping for unfamiliar clothing can be difficult when navigating a new variety of sizing.  It can also be very expensive, especially for those that are transitioning, who may find their bodies undergoing a significant amount of change.

The luncheons will be held daily throughout Pride Week.  Monday’s topic is Queer People of Color, Tuesday’s is Trans* identities, Wednesday is Gay Lesbian and Bisexual identities, Thursday will be on Asexual and Aromantic identities, and Friday’s topic is for those that are questioning their identities and/or their sexualities.  Luncheons will be held in the conference rooms of the Center for Global Citizenship. It is encouraged that those who identify with the topic of the luncheon attend.

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