2023-2024 Academic Year

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Weekly Small Groups

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Queer Women’s Craft Club: Tuesdays 7pm-8pm.
DESIRE Path: Thursdays at 6pm-7pm.
Trans & Non-Binary Support Group: Wednesdays at 7pm-8pm.
NeuroQueer: Mondays at 6pm-7pm.

September

big gay picnic & Open House 

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Click for Big Gay Picnic flyer! (Memorial Union)
Click for Big Gay Bay Picnic flyer! (Bay Campus event)

September 6th, 2023 (First day of classes!) Block Party Extravaganza Open House: 10am-1pm, Big Gay Picnic: 4pm-6pm.
Our welcome event for all URI students, faculty, and staff. Come to meet other people, re-connect with family, and to see what’s in store for the Gender and Sexuality Center for the coming year. Ever year, we provide a picnic dinner, prizes, and glimpses into the year ahead. This year we will also be hosting a Big Gay Bay Picnic on the Bay Campus from Noon-2pm!

Safe Zone Blitz

September 25th, 2023 – September 29th, 2023.
Safe Zones are 2-hour workshops on topics affecting the LGBTQA+ community. During the week of Safe Zone Blitz, workshops will multiple times per day with a variation of virtual and in-person sessions. The Safe Zone workshop is a prerequisite for all other workshops. Sign up for Safe Zone Blitz sessions on our Safe Zone page.

October

LGBTQ+ Liberation Month

October 2023.
A month-long celebration of LGBTQ+ liberation and LGBTQ+ experiences at URI and in the larger community. We always have a keynote speaker and celebrate October 11 as National Coming Out Day. We also provide a door on the Quad to show support for coming out of the closet as an ally or member of the LGBTQ+ community. During this month, we also feature Sex Fest!

Sex Fest

October 2023.
A week of events during LGBTQ+ Liberation Month designed to advocate and invite the topic of sexuality without stigma. Events during SexFest include keynote addresses with sexual health and advocacy professionals, academic explorations of anti-sex work legislation, and healthy, pleasure-focused discussions on inclusive sex toys, kink, and porn.

November

Trans Awareness Week

November 15th, 2023.
A celebration of trans and gender related issues relevant to students, faculty, and staff. We have a highlighted speaker or event and recognize the National Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), which is at the end of November every year.

December

January

February

Safe Zone Blitz

February 12th, 2024 – February 16th, 2024.
Safe Zones are 2-hour workshops on topics affecting the LGBTQA+ community. During the week of Safe Zone Blitz, workshops will multiple times per day with a variation of virtual and in-person sessions. The Safe Zone workshop is a prerequisite for all other workshops. Sign up for Safe Zone Blitz sessions on our Safe Zone page.

QTPOC Black History Month Gala

February 29th, 2024, 6-8pm.
The QTPOC Gala is an event celebrating the intersections of being queer and a person of color. Throughout our queer history, many of our most ardent warriors for justice were QTPOC. This event gives us the opportunity to reflect on that history while simultaneously looking forward to the possibilities in deconstructing colonial thinking and actions.

March

The Gender & Sexuality Symposium

March 18th – 22nd, 2024.
A series of gender and sexuality themed and affiliated events aimed at raising awareness of issues within the LGBTQ+ Community that are not often discussed (mental health, stigma, LGBTQ+ history), highlight allies and resources for LGBTQ+ people, and celebrate what the LGBTQ+ community has done for society. 

April

Sex Fest Spring

April 10th – 12nd, 2024.
Due to high turnout during the fall, Sex Fest Spring is an encore half-week of additional Sex Fest events. Sex Fest events are designed to advocate and invite the topic of sexuality without stigma. Events during SexFest include keynote addresses with sexual health and advocacy professionals, academic explorations of anti-sex work legislation, and healthy, pleasure-focused discussions on inclusive sex toys, kink, and porn.

Lavender Graduation

April 18th, 2024, 6pm-8pm.
A look back on the previous academic year, celebrating how far we have come as a community and what we have accomplished. We also recognize those who have contributed to the welfare of LGBTQ+ individuals and those who have given their support to the Gender and Sexuality Center over the past year by giving awards. Lavender Graduation is held in the Gender and Sexuality Center Multipurpose Room. If you would like to be honored as a graduate, register here. If you would like to nominate someone for an award, download the form here.