By: Samantha Lee

At first glance, it may seem like just another night at your average sports bar. TVs blaring the latest game, beers clinking, and patrons cheering on their favorite teams. But look a little closer, and you'll see something unique happening in the back room. It's the lesbian dart league, and it's a thriving community of women who have found a home away from home in this unlikely setting.

The league, which meets every Thursday night, was started over a decade ago by a group of friends who wanted to create a space where they could socialize, compete, and be themselves. "We wanted a place where we could let our hair down, so to speak," said Diane, one of the league's founding members. "We love darts, and we love women."

As we all know, coming out can be a scary and daunting experience, and it's not uncommon for LGBTQ+ folks to worry about how their loved ones will react. But for one gay man in Seattle, his worries have extended beyond his human friends and family members to his beloved houseplants.

In a bold move to assert their non-binary identity, a local resident has changed their name to a Unicode character that no one seems to be able to pronounce.

The character in question is ⋕ (U+22D5;), a relatively obscure symbol in the Unicode library; ⋕ (U+22D5;) is a mathematical operator meaning equal and parallel to. According to ⋕, the character represents their gender identity in a way that traditional names simply can't.

After years of debate and consideration, the LGBTQ+ community has finally settled on a new acronym that they believe better represents the diverse array of identities within their community. The new acronym, which is the longest yet, includes a whopping 42 characters.

The new acronym is:

LGBTQIAPNCFFMAGP2SWFGSBJJABCDKLMNOQRSTUVW&

It’s no secret that homophobia is still prevalent in today’s society. Despite great strides in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, many people still harbor negative attitudes toward same-sex attraction. But why is this the case? Some might argue that homophobia is simply a matter of personal beliefs, but I believe there’s something more to it. In my opinion, homophobic people are probably just in the closet themselves.