Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Encyclopedia
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a socio-political
group of family members and friends of lesbian
, gay
, bisexual
, and transgender
(LGBT
) people. Its mission statement
describes the goals of PFLAG as promoting health and well being of LGBT persons as well as actively supporting their families and friends through education and positive advocacy. This work falls into three general areas:
In 2002 PFLAG welcomed intersex
persons and their families as fully participating members.
PFLAG has more than 500 affiliates throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 11 other countries.
The acronym PFLAG is pronounced "P-FLAG" (ˈpiːflæɡ), and until removal of the hyphen in 1993 was officially styled in that manner.
The event that sparked PFLAG was in 1972 when Jeanne Manford was watching a TV news report and saw her son "being tossed down an escalator during a protest
while the New York City Police Department
stood by and watched."
The idea for the organization arose out of Jeanne Manford's marching with her gay
son
Morty, carrying a sign saying: "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children" in New York City
's Christopher Street Liberation Day
Gay Pride Parade
(now known as Heritage of Pride
) which started two years prior. People came up to Manford during and after the parade, applauding her actions and inspiring her to form a support group
for gays and lesbians
and their families. In time the scope of the organization – which turned into POG (Parents of Gays), later P-FLAG, and beginning in 1993, PFLAG – expanded to include bisexuals, and ultimately, transgender people.
PFLAG has grown to comprise 500 chapters and 250,000 members in the United States.
to give them support.
In the mid-1990s, "Project Open Mind" caused some controversy from Pat Robertson
. He threatened to sue PFLAG and any television station that aired the project's ads, which showed clips of anti-LGBT quotes from several people, including Robertson, Jerry Falwell
, and United States Sen. Jesse Helms
. The ads can currently be seen on the Commercial Closet webpage.
Conference for family, friends, and allies from across the region took place October 27 to October 29, 2006. The venue was the DCU Center
in Worcester
, Massachusetts
USA. It was held in conjunction with the Transcending Boundaries Conference
.
The 2007 PFLAG National Convention, sponsored by IBM
, was planned for October 11 through October 17, 2007 in McLean
, Virginia
. The theme is "Family Voices Moving Equality Forward."
PFLAG around the world :
Other links:
Political sociology
Contemporary political sociology involves much more than the study of the relations between state and society . Where a typical research question in political sociology might have been: "Why do so few American citizens choose to vote?" or even, "What difference does it make if women get elected?" ...
group of family members and friends of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people. Its mission statement
Mission statement
A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making...
describes the goals of PFLAG as promoting health and well being of LGBT persons as well as actively supporting their families and friends through education and positive advocacy. This work falls into three general areas:
- Support, to cope with an adverse society
- Education, to enlighten an ill-informed public
- Advocacy, to end discriminationDiscriminationDiscrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
and to secure equal civil rightsCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
In 2002 PFLAG welcomed intersex
Intersex
Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...
persons and their families as fully participating members.
PFLAG has more than 500 affiliates throughout the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 11 other countries.
The acronym PFLAG is pronounced "P-FLAG" (ˈpiːflæɡ), and until removal of the hyphen in 1993 was officially styled in that manner.
History
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
while the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
stood by and watched."
The idea for the organization arose out of Jeanne Manford's marching with her gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
son
Son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or man in relation to his parents. The female analogue is a daughter.-Social issues regarding sons:In pre-industrial societies and some current countries with agriculture-based economies, a higher value was, and still is, assigned to sons rather than daughters,...
Morty, carrying a sign saying: "Parents of Gays: Unite in Support for Our Children" in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Christopher Street Liberation Day
Christopher Street Day
Christopher Street Day is an annual European LGBT celebration and demonstration held in various cities across Europe for the rights of LGBT people, and against discrimination and exclusion. Only Germany and Switzerland use the term CSD, in other countries, the same kind of event is called Gay...
Gay Pride Parade
Gay pride parade
Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...
(now known as Heritage of Pride
Heritage of Pride
Heritage of Pride is a wholly volunteer-managed, non-partisan, tax-exempt, non-profit organization that organizes lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride events in New York City to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots...
) which started two years prior. People came up to Manford during and after the parade, applauding her actions and inspiring her to form a support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
for gays and lesbians
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual or gender identity. Among the first to argue that members of sexual minorities can constitute cultural minorities as well as...
and their families. In time the scope of the organization – which turned into POG (Parents of Gays), later P-FLAG, and beginning in 1993, PFLAG – expanded to include bisexuals, and ultimately, transgender people.
PFLAG has grown to comprise 500 chapters and 250,000 members in the United States.
Campaigns
"Stay Close" is a national campaign started in 2006 by PFLAG that encourages the family and friends of a LGBT personsLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
to give them support.
In the mid-1990s, "Project Open Mind" caused some controversy from Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
. He threatened to sue PFLAG and any television station that aired the project's ads, which showed clips of anti-LGBT quotes from several people, including Robertson, Jerry Falwell
Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator from the United States. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, and United States Sen. Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
. The ads can currently be seen on the Commercial Closet webpage.
Conferences
The PFLAG Northeast RegionalNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
Conference for family, friends, and allies from across the region took place October 27 to October 29, 2006. The venue was the DCU Center
DCU Center
The DCU Center is an indoor arena and convention center complex, located in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts....
in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
USA. It was held in conjunction with the Transcending Boundaries Conference
Transcending Boundaries Conference
The Transcending Boundaries Conference , is a Northeast American conference for bisexual/fluid/pansexual, transgender/genderqueer, intersex and polyamorous people and their friends, families and allies.-History:...
.
The 2007 PFLAG National Convention, sponsored by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, was planned for October 11 through October 17, 2007 in McLean
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The theme is "Family Voices Moving Equality Forward."
Other organizations
- TehilaTehilaTehila is a mutual support group in Israel for parents of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. The organizations activities include operating support groups, telephone help lines, and a website, as well as publishing and distributing supportive information.The organization is based...
(IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
) - Families and Friends of Lesbians and GaysFamilies and Friends of Lesbians and GaysFamilies and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is a voluntary organisation and registered charity in the United Kingdom which offers support to parents and their lesbian/gay children...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - PFLAG CanadaPFLAG CanadaPFLAG Canada is a national non-profit organization which brings together family and friends of LGBT people in Canada. It was begun separately and without knowledge of the American PFLAG which performs the same functions in the United States.-History:...
(Separately originated, similarly named) - Children Of Lesbians And Gays EverywhereChildren Of Lesbians And Gays EverywhereCOLAGE is an organization, created in 1989 by the children of several lesbian and gay male couples who felt a need for support. Though its membership is not necessarily lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning -identified, COLAGE's focus on the issues of LGBT parents' families makes...
(United States) - Family Equality CouncilFamily Equality CouncilFamily Equality Council is national American advocacy organization committed to securing family equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning parents, guardians and allies.- History :...
(North America) - Tels Quels (Belgium)
- Families for Sexual Diversity (Latin America)
- CONTACT (France)
- BEFAH (Germany)
- Association of Fathers and Mothers of Gays and Lesbians (Spain)
- FELS (Switzerland)
- PFLAG Vietnam (Vietnam)
External links
- Official PFLAG website
- International PFLAG Groups
- USA PFLAG Groups
- PFLAG Brisbane (recipient of prize-money) website
- Stay Close campaign website
PFLAG around the world :
- PFLAG CANADA (Canada)
- PFLAG UK (United Kingdom)
- FFLAG (United Kingdom)
- CONTACT (France)
- TelsQuels Parents (Belgium)
- BEFAH (Germany)
- TEHILA (Hebrew: תהל"ה) (Israel)
- AGEDO (Italia)
- FELS (Switzerland)
- AMPGIL (Spain)
- PFLAG VIETNAM (Vietnamese)
Other links:
- Families Joined by Love - Books and resources for LGBT Families.