Tqia meaning

Happy Pride: Do you realize your Pride Flags?

Thousands of people will fill the streets of Vancouver’s West End on August 3 to view the annual Pride parade. The staff at the Equity and Inclusion Office wish a Happy Pride to all our fellow UBC students, faculty and staff.

For those watching the parade here are some examples of the flags you may see to represent the gender and sexual diversity of the lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, trans* (transgender, transsexual, trans-identified), two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual + (LGBT*TQIA+) communities.

Make UBC a Positive Space for LGBT*TQIA+ communities
Attend a Positive Cosmos workshop and help create UBC community a more inclusive and welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bi, trans* (transgender, transsexual, trans-identified), two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBT*TQIA+) communities and individuals on campus. Workshops are held throughout the year at UBC Vancouver and Okanagan campuses.

The famous Gay Pride rainbow flag originally designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker

Trans* Pride flag (Transgender, Trans-identified +)

Bisexual Pride

Some of the flags to represent Linear

Neil’s Substack

Many people will remember sex awareness in school with a cringe.

But sex education in schools today is more than cringe. We’ve drifted into a position where there are too many examples of sex education which, instead of providing neutral information, promotes, pushes and celebrates a set of ideas with bad real-world consequences.

While there is perfectly pleasant sex and relationships education happening in many schools, there is too much that is not.

Take just one concept to start with.

In recent years sex education in many schools has deliberately told kids that they may possess somehow been “born in the erroneous body”. In so doing, schools possess amplified and given official confirmation to bad ideas that kids are exposed to on social media.

What has been the result of encouraging such ideas? In 2009 the NHS’s gender persona development service (Gids) saw fewer than 50 children a year. By 2021-22 it was more than 5,000.

The number of children in England with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria by a GP rose fiftyfold over 10 years, between 2011 and 2021. According to one study, around 5% were given puberty blockers and around 8% were prescribed masculinising/fe

We know what LGBT means but here's what LGBTQQIAAP stands for

LGBT+ is an "inclusive" way to represent all the different identities in the longer acronym but here's a breakdown of what each of the letters in LGBTQQIAAP mean.

L - lesbian: a woman who is attracted to other women

G - gay: a guy who is attracted to other men or broadly people who identify as homosexual

B - bisexual: a person who is attracted to both men and women

T - transgender: a person whose gender identity is different from the sex the surgeon put down on their birth certificate

Q - queer: originally used as a hate term, some people want to reclaim the pos, while others uncover it offensive. It can be a political statement, hint that someone doesn't want to determine with "binaries" (e.g. male v female, homosexual v straight) or that they don't want to label themselves only by their sexual activity

Q - questioning: a person who is still exploring their sexuality or gender identity

I - intersex: a person whose body is not definitively male or female. This may be because they have chromosomes which are not XX or XY or because their genitals or reproductive organs are

International Travel

Travelers can face unique challenges abroad based on their authentic or perceived sexual orientation. Laws and attitudes in some countries may affect safety and ease of travel. 

More than 60 countries consider consensual same-sex relations a crime. In some of these countries, people who engage in consensual same-sex relations may confront severe punishment. Many countries do not recognize same-sex marriage.

Research your destination before you travel 

Review the travel advisory and destination information page of the place you plan to visit. Check the Local Laws & Customs section.  This has information specific to travelers who may be targeted by discrimination or violence on the basis of sexual orientation.  

Many countries only recognize male and female sex markers in passports. They do not have IT systems at ports of entry that can accept other sex markers, including valid U.S. passports with an X sex marker. If traveling with a valid U.S. passport with an X sex marker, check the immigration regulations for your destination as acceptance can vary by country. 

Bring essential documents 

Bring copies of important documents. This is es