IDAHOBIT Day 2025: Why This Global Movement Still Matters More Than Ever

IDAHOBIT Day is one of the lesser-known celebratory days of the year, though it’s no less important. The acronym stands for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia. The idea is simple, by standing together against these forms of hatred, the queer community can rally more power than individual groups might alone.

This day is just as important in 2025 as it has always been: the queer community still faces more than its fair share of struggles. IDAHOBIT Day is celebrated on the 17th of May because that’s the date the World Health Organization took homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases. That’s just one of many historical struggles that the day aims to shed light on, not to mention the complex nuance of modern queer issues.

How This Day Impacts You (Yes, You!)

The truth of IDAHOBIT Day is that while the day is focused on combating phobias, the bigots who hold them are quite unlikely to get actively involved. So, with that in mind, what’s the point of the day?

Well, the point of the day is to make the struggles created by phobias much more public and well-understood. It’s very easy to live in our own bubble and be ignorant of the struggles taking place outside of it. Through conversation, we can experience unexpected benefits.

IDAHOBIT Day is a great time to consider any internalised beliefs you might have. Consider how you interact with gay, bi, and trans people you know, and speak with them about parts of their lives you might not see. After all, one’s sexuality and gender expression are far more than “what they do in the bedroom” — they’re a cornerstone of someone’s life and self-image, and they inform the social context of every interaction they make.

What These “Phobias” Actually Look Like

We all share an image of what these different “phobias” must look like in the world. For most of us, the image that immediately comes to mind is one of violence and anger — homophobic protesters chanting and holding offensive signs.

The reality is that these types of hatred are rarely so obvious. Instead, they can be quite a lot more subtle, passive, and cultural. Pop culture has ingrained stereotypes in all of our heads, from the camp, clubbing gay man to a philandering bisexual. However, every single person in the world, regardless of their gender or orientation, is entirely unique. This uniqueness should be celebrated, but too often, we overlook it with the convenience of a stereotype.

The best way to expand on this is to replace this passive homophobia with something more objective and understandable. So, for the sake of explanation, let’s say you’ve got a friend with a peanut allergy. That might mean you don’t make them a PB&J sandwich when you’re making yourself one, or that you’re unlikely to invite them to a tour of the peanut M&Ms factory.

To help your friend, though, you might also make other decisions around them. If you bought some baklava, you might not offer them a slice, even though it contains pistachios instead. If you heard that they regularly enjoyed an Almond Joy candy bar, you might be surprised, even though it makes perfect sense.

We can often make decisions equivalent to these with the thought that we’re helping our queer friends. The reality is that no one knows someone’s life, desires, and struggles as well as they do their own. By not offering your gay male friend tickets to a football game because of the stereotype that gay men avoid sports, you’re depriving them of agency over their time. Speak frankly with your queer friends this IDAHOBIT Day, they might surprise you.

It’s important, too, to remember that queer folk aren’t immune to this kind of accidental “phobic” behaviour. Stereotypes cause harm by causing queer people to question how they live their lives. There’s no right or wrong way to live, only the way that makes you happiest and healthiest. Biphobia is a key example of this, with bi folk often asking themselves if they fit properly into any queer space, given that they may not be perceived as “gay enough” or “straight enough”.

This form of judgment from both straight people and gay people can be incredibly infuriating to bi and pan people. The world is a complex, delicate place, and it only becomes more beautiful the more we all embrace our unique nature. This IDAHOBIT Day, embrace your uniqueness as well as that of those around you — by learning about our friends, they become family.

Beyond IDAHOBIT Day: When and How Should You Call It Out?

IDAHOBIT Day is designed to break down hatred and help people learn about those around them. Unfortunately, the hatred we combat can continue year-round. When is it a good time to confront these hateful people, and how should you do it?

Of course, the best thing to bear in mind is your safety. It’s never wise to argue with a bigot of any kind if they might cause you harm or otherwise react aggressively. Without putting too fine a point on it, there’s no sense in yelling at your homophobic uncle over the dinner table on Thanksgiving. In that situation, your hypothetical uncle is getting a rise out of you and will likely only become more entrenched in his beliefs.

Avoiding a shouting match on IDAHOBIT Day is a wise move. These are some pointers that might help you when speaking with phobic people — it can be tough, but with love and education, we can help people.

• Confrontation is upsetting: Confrontation is especially upsetting and frustrating if you’re the person being confronted. Your opinions are something you carry with you in every decision you make, even unrelated ones. In the case of the homophobic uncle, he doesn’t interpret the conversation as you calmly discussing one of his opinions; you’re dissecting his way of life.
• Try to understand: Generally speaking, it’s rare that people hate just for the sake of it, even though it may feel otherwise. If someone has an aggressive or unpleasant outlook on a certain group, this may be because they have an incorrect belief about said group. In their mind, they’re being logical and kind by being hateful — try to understand what’s at the root of their beliefs, and you’ll often find an odd untruth that they’ve internalised.
• Drill down to first principles: It can be easy to get lost in the weeds of complex issues, but the reality is that most people’s moral beliefs come down to the simple things they learned as children: be kind, be honest. If you can get someone to see their own kindness, then you may be able to point out the contradiction between that desire to be kind and their own behaviour.

We all have a lot to learn, and the best way to do that is to speak with those in the know. This IDAHOBIT Day, speak with your queer loved ones, and learn where the struggles may be in their lives.