What’s a Guncle? | Celebrate Gay Uncles Day

What is Gay Uncles Day and Why is it Important?

Family can be a challenging topic in the LGBTQ+ community. While “[92% of LGBT+ adults] say society has become more accepting of them in the past decade and an equal number expect it to grow even more accepting in the decade ahead…, (Pew Research Center, 2013) this does not mean that everyone is accepting of identities outside of heterosexual cisgender ‘norm’. In the same 2013 study “[a]bout four-in-ten (39%) say that at some point in their lives they were rejected by a family member or close friend because of their sexual orientation or gender identity…,” (Pew Research Center, 2013).

Six years later, in a 2019 study conducted by Just Like Us (a Uk-based organization as opposed to the Pew Research Center, which focused on American LGBTQ+ individuals) interviewed “3,695 adults aged 18 to 25 [and] found that LGBT+ young adults were twice as likely as non-LGBT+ young adults to say they were not close to their immediate family members (14% compared to 6%)”.

This means that a holiday like Gay Uncle’s Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of August each year (2024 being the 13th) (Ghazali, 2023) can be a time to celebrate those family connections, whether the ‘Guncle’ (gay uncle!) and the niblings (a gender-neutral term for those kids typically called niece or nephew) are related by blood or not. Found family is a huge part of the LGBTQ+ community!

See-ming Lee 李思明 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/seeminglee/), CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Gay Uncles Day is an opportunity to “increase the visibility of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ people in families, rather than being seen as just another group of people” (Ghazali, 2023). I love this outlook, we, as LGBTQ+ people are whole people, including our familial relationships.

As the stereotype of queer individuals (particularly men and those assigned male at birth) being harmful to children for a variety of reasons, a holiday that celebrates the inclusion of, in this case, specifically, gay relatives in the lives of children, and the family at large and it being a normal, healthy part of family life, is very affirming for the Guncles it celebrates, as well as creating examples to normalize this for individuals who are unused to having LGBT+ individuals in their families.

Gay Uncles Day is usually celebrated by the Guncles themselves (or their family members) sharing pictures of them with their niblings on social media, with captions celebrating the Guncles’ involvement and impact on their niblings’ lives (checkiday, n.d.). It’s also a great time to spend time with your Niblings, or your Guncle. You could also give your guncle a gift or send him a card.

History

Gay Uncles Day is a new holiday, “[t]he idea for the day came from C.J. Hatter of Florida, who made a Facebook post on May 8, 2016, that said: "I hereby proclaim the second Sunday in August to be Gay Uncles' Day! Hey, we deserve a holiday of our own!" (checkiday, n.d.). Simon Dunn, an Australian athlete, also posted “I've seen a few post today wanting to make August 14 "Gay Uncles Day" or "Guncles Day" what do you think?” on Instagram (Harper, 2016) as well, and like a lot of good (and bad) things on the internet, it took off. Now it’s celebrated on the second Sunday every August, and it’s no longer the only holiday of this type. Nonbinary Parents Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of April (Planned Parenthood, n.d.).

Bibliography

Checkiday. (2024, August 4). It’s Gay Uncles Day! Checkiday.com. https://www.checkiday.com/747690e5293a7466f7c85e6d4222acf2/gay-uncles-day#:~:text=The%20idea%20for%20the%20day,isn’t%20just%20for%20uncles.

Data shows majority of LGBT adults estranged from family. Just Like Us. (2023, April 18). https://www.justlikeus.org/blog/2023/04/19/new-research-shows-almost-half-of-lgbt-adults-are-estranged-from-family-and-a-third-not-confident-their-parents-will-accept-them/

Ghazali, S. (2023, August 4). Gay uncles day. National Today. https://nationaltoday.com/gay-uncles-day/

Harper, N. (2023, October 23). Photos celebrating “national gay uncles day” are adorable. QNews. https://qnews.com.au/these-photos-celebrating-national-gay-uncles-day-are-adorable/

Let’s celebrate nonbinary parents! Planned Parenthood. (n.d.). https://www.plannedparenthood.org/blog/lets-celebrate-nonbinary-parents#:~:text=Each%20year%20the%20third%20Sunday%20in%20April%20marks%20Nonbinary%20Parent’s%20Day.

Pew Research Center. (2013, June 13). A survey of LGBT Americans. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/06/13/a-survey-of-lgbt-americans/

Lesbian Visibility Week: A Week of WLW Love

Lesbian Awareness Week occurs for the final full week of the month of April, and this year that is from the 22nd to the 27th.

This sunset pride flag is a part of my Patchwork Pride collection, and can be purchased in my shop.

History and Observance

This week-long even is relatively new, despite having been “first celebrated in mid-July in 1990, and was conceived out of lesbians' frustrations with the higher visibility of LGBT men than LBGT women… The week was coordinated by West Hollywood Lesbian Visibility Committee and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center and devoted to raising awareness of lesbian identities and topics and celebrating the lesbian community” (Heckin’ Unicorn, 2023).

After a few years, Lesbian Visibility Week became less as less widespread. In 2008 Lesbian Visibility was established, but the week long celebration was only resume in 2020, thanks to However, after 1992, the week fell off until International Lesbian Visibility Day came to be in 2008. A whole week still didn’t exist again until 2020 when Linda Riley, the publisher of DIVA Magazine, (re)founded Lesbian Awareness Week (Vargas, 2024).

Lesbian Pride Symbols and Terminology

Double Venus: The venus symbol, which is often used to denote female, is duplicated and interlocked (De Montfort)

Labrys Pride Flag: “The first well-documented design for a lesbian pride flag… designed by a gay graphic designer named Sean Campbell in 1999. The Labrys Flag features a white double-headed axe, called a labrys, superimposed on top of an inverted black triangle with a purple background” (Bauer, 2023). The Purple background is connected to Sappho who wrote about girls with wreathes of violets on their heads. The Black triangle is a symbol that was used by the Nazis to label lesbians, along with other groups, as ‘asocial’ during the holocaust. The labrys is connected to the Amazons, a mythical race of warrior women who were considered to be lesbians.

Lipstick Lesbian Pride Flag: “Created by blogger Natalie McCray in 2010, [and also known as the Pink Lesbian Pride flag], this flag features seven stripes in various shades of red and pink with a lipstick mark placed in the top left corner (Bauer, 2023). This flag fell out of use as many lesbians who were butch, or generally less femme, did not identify with the colors and design of the flag. It was further abandoned by the community when, in the late twenty teens, the creators bigoted opinions became more widely known (Bauer, 2023)

Sapphic: “an umbrella term that includes lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual trans femmes, mascs, nonbinary folks, and cis women…. "sapphic" strives to conjure an experience more akin to an intention toward attraction — one oriented less to any specific gender identity and more to the fullness of a potential lovers' humanity” (Hamou, 2022). The term originates from the ancient Greek poet Sappho of Lesbos, who wrote poetry about her love for women.

Sunset Pride Flag: “created by a nonbinary lesbian named Emily Gwen in 2018….[There were initially] seven stripes in a gradient of orange to pink…” (Bauer 2023). From top to bottom: dark orange represents gender nonconformity, coral; independence, pale orange; community, white; unique relationships to womanhood, pinkish purple for serenity and peace, darker purple-pink for love and sex, and finally deep magenta represents femininity (Bauer, 2023). This version might be one of the most widely-used versions of the lesbian flag today, whether in its seven-stripe or simplified five-stripe form (Bauer, 2023).

This sunset pride flag is a part of my Patchwork Pride collection, and can be purchased in my shop.

Toaster Oven: A reference to the episode of the sit-com ‘Ellen’, where it is mentioned to Ellen DeGenerous’ character (who does come out in the episode) that if a lesbian recruits a straight woman she is gifted a toaster oven (Devil’s Food Cake, 2011)

Violets: A symbol that comes for Sappho’s poetry about her love for women. The violet was made into a modern symbol for lesbian love by Édouard Bourdet in his 1927 play; “The Captive” (University of Washington, 2021).

WLW: An acronym that means ‘women loving women’ or ‘women (who) love women’.

A Book with Lesbian Representation

Deus Ex Mechanic* is the first book in The Cricket Chronicles, written by Ryann Fletcher. The main character Alice is the best mechanic in the Galaxy, (and also a lesbian). She unwillingly joins a pirate crew, led by the beautiful and powerful Violet. She finds herself falling for her new captain as well as reconsidering everything she knows about the Coalition. 

I admit, Ryann is a friend of mine, but I absolutely love the crew of the Cricket, and this book is a wonderful representation of a sapphic romance. The cast of characters is diverse in many ways, and the writing is great. This book is definitely worth a read if you enjoy Becky Chambers’ work, and want a sweet Sapphic read. 

Any hyperlinks followed with an asterisk (*) indicate that they are affiliate links. This means that if you purchase something from this link, I receive a small commission from the site. It will not change the price of the product for you.

Bibliography

Bauer, E. (2023, June 23). A brief and very online history of the Lesbian Pride Flag. Them. https://www.them.us/story/history-of-the-lesbian-pride-flag

De Montfort University Leicester . (n.d.). LGBTQ+ Symbols & Meanings. De Montfort University Leicester . https://www.dmu.ac.uk/events/pride/symbols.aspx#:~:text=The%20double%20Venus%20symbol%20takes,symbol%20for%20the%20lesbian%20community.

Devil’s Food Cake. (2011, February 14). Gay slang vol. 5: Toaster oven. The Most Cake. https://themostcake.co.uk/we-like/gay-slang-vol-5-toaster-oven/

Hamou, Y. (2022, April 27). What does it mean to be sapphic?. Them. https://www.them.us/story/what-does-sapphic-mean

Unicorn, H. (2023, December 18). When is Lesbian Visibility Week 2024 and what does it mean?. Heckin’ Unicorn. https://heckinunicorn.com/blogs/heckin-unicorn-blog/when-is-lesbian-visibility-week-2024-and-what-does-it-mean?currency=USD

Vargas, A. (2024, February 1). When is Lesbian Visibility Week 2024? all about it - parade. Parade. https://parade.com/living/what-is-lesbian-visibility-week