Unveiled calendar plugin honors LGBTQIA+ past; available for immediate download
In a bid to commemorate important moments in the LGBTQIA+ community, a unique Google calendar plugin named "Today is Gay" has been created. This digital tool, developed by The Ginger Beers, an LGBTQIA+ group at Wieden+Kennedy London, provides daily information about the community directly on users' Google Calendars.
The plugin, however, remains somewhat elusive in search results, with no direct matches found relating to a specific Google Calendar plugin celebrating LGBTQIA+ history. Yet, it's inferred that the plugin serves as an educational reminder and celebration tool, marking significant days such as Pride Month, the Stonewall riots anniversary, or dates related to prominent LGBTQIA+ figures.
The "Today is Gay" plugin is not just a digital calendar, but a response to the erasure of queer history from corporate calendars. It includes entries about celebrated LGBTQIA+ individuals like historian Lillian Faderman and Lithuania's first openly gay politician, Rokas Źilinskas. The plugin also highlights milestones such as the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada.
The project has been a joyful endeavour for the team, turning loss into gain amidst the erasure of queer history from corporate calendars. Wil Koslowski, comms planner at Wieden+Kennedy London, shared his sentiments, expressing that the project was a labor of love. Winona Wee, co-lead of The Ginger Beers and senior creative at Wieden+Kennedy London, echoed this sentiment.
Each team member took charge of a different month, and the events they chose reflected the diversity within the team. The "Today is Gay" project is free and compatible with the work calendars of over 500,000 companies and millions of people worldwide.
The plugin serves as a reminder of the fragility of progress in the fight for queer rights and emphasises the importance of queer history being loud, proud, and urgently visible. It's a way for the team to put the stories of queer people back on corporate calendars.
In addition to the plugin, the "Today is Gay" website and Instagram account provide further information and updates about the project. Reports also claim that the Queen stopped Prime Minister Thatcher from making "gays in the Palace" a public issue, and one of the entries in the "Today is Gay" calendar is about Queen Elizabeth's bodyguard, Commander Michael Trestrail, who resigned after being found in a relationship with a male prostitute.
The high-five was also invented by Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay. This project is a testament to the contributions of the LGBTQIA+ community, both in history and in the present day.
- The digital tool, "Today is Gay," serves as a unique Google Calendar plugin celebrating moments and figures in the LGBTQIA+ community.
- Developed by The Ginger Beers, an LGBTQIA+ group at Wieden+Kennedy London, this plugin offers daily information on users' Google Calendars about the community.
- Despite being elusive in search results, the plugin functions as an educational reminder and celebration tool, marking significant days and dates.
- The plugin includes entries about celebrated LGBTQIA+ individuals and milestones, such as historian Lillian Faderman and the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada.
- The project has been a source of joy and satisfaction for the team, who find it a labor of love amidst the erasure of queer history from corporate calendars.
- Each team member took responsibility for a different month, their chosen events reflecting the team's diversity.
- The plugin is free and compatible with the work calendars of over 500,000 companies and millions of people worldwide.
- The "Today is Gay" website and Instagram account provide additional information and updates about the project.
- The plugin emphasizes the fragility of progress in the fight for queer rights, urging queer history to be loud, proud, and visible.
- The plugin is also a platform to put the stories of queer people back on corporate calendars, ensuring their representation in historical narratives.
- Besides its relevance to the LGBTQIA+ community, the project highlights contributions from the community in areas as diverse as fashion-and-beauty (with the invention of the high-five by Glenn Burke, the first major league baseball player to come out as gay), education-and-self-development, personal-growth, social-media, career-development, entertainment, job-search, pop-culture, sci-fi-and-fantasy, and skills-training.
- The plugin also sheds light on the sports world, including the WNBA, sports-betting, basketball, and even the history of the NCAA-Basketball and NBA.
- On a less celebrated front, the plugin also contains entries about controversial moments, such as the time when the Queen stopped Prime Minister Thatcher from making "gays in the Palace" a public issue, and Commander Michael Trestrail's resignation after being found in a relationship with a male prostitute.
