Hy Local Guides, 
On this LGBTQ+ History Month, “Celebrate with Me” wants to take a moment to spotlight another spectrum of LGBTQIA+ - International Lesbian Day (October 8th).
As we celebrate and recognise achievement and days for other identities like Transgender Day of Visibility 
or International Asexuality Day, we celebrate the history of LGBTQ+ and International Lesbian Day in October.
International lesbian day is celebrated as individuals who represent or identify as lesbian or allied come together and celebrate the diversity, culture and history of lesbian community. This day also raises awareness on gender and sexual identity as part of lesbian community.
What does the term “Lesbian” mean?
Lesbian stands for “L” in LGBTQIA+ spectrum. As lesbian is a sexual identity and that word refers to a person or individual who is inclusively or exclusively attracted towards women or woman-allied persons/individuals.
Woman allied persons/individuals can be cisgender (those who represent their gender identity that was assigned at their birth) or a transgender women.
History of the term Lesbian!
The word has a historical origin which was named after a Greek Island called Lesbos where it was mentioned by a Greek poet Sappho. In her poems, she wrote how celebrating women’s love for one another and it gave rise to the term we use today.
How can we celebrate this day as a Local Guide? 
International Lesbian Day and LGBTQ+ history month are fantastic opportunity to use our contribution towards LGBTQ+ friendliness and lesbian friendly spaces around us on Google Maps.
- Supporting LGBTQ+ Friendly Businesses
- You can discover and contribute towards LGBTQ+ Friendly Businesses on Google Maps. Whether it’s a coffee shop or a reading room, your contributions will help millions to discover LGBTQ+ friendly spaces on Google Maps. - Spotlighting LGBTQ+ Friendly features
- Whether it’s gender neutral bathrooms or having a poster, you can upload that features to Google Maps; as a photo, edit attributes and mentioning in your reviews. - Share your stories
- Have you visited any LGBTQ+ friendly coffee shops or museums in your local area? Share with us the story & why you think it’s LGBTQ+ friendly?
Let’s use our contributions to make Google Maps more inclusive and welcoming to those who use it to navigate and travel.
Tell in the comments how you celebrate this LGBTQ+ history month and lesbian day with the community.
