Fifty years ago in Sydney, the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) was founded. One of the first gay rights activist groups in Australia, CAMP’s initial goal was simply to respond to media misinformation. But the broadly inclusive group quickly became a national organisation with branches in all state capitals and on many university campuses.
In the early days, gay Australians used the term 'camp' to identify themselves.
Today's launch of the new .gay domain extension is a meaningful moment in time that increases representation for LGBTIQA+ people around the world. Furthermore, the domain breaks the mold with industry-first policies that:
- Fund LGBTIQA+ causes
- Promote online safety
- Establish anti-hate measures
A .gay domain in your URL, email address or social bio acts as a digital pride flag. It expands the notion of pride from a one-day or one-month event to a year-round effort, and it’s already being used by LGBTIQA+ individuals, organisations, activists, community groups and entrepreneurs, as well as allied businesses showing their support for LGBTIQA+ clientele and employees.
Editor's note: Head to GoDaddy.gay to find and register your own .gay domain.
The .gay difference
Your domain name is the introduction to your story. Thirty years ago, your domain might have simply signaled to your customers: “You can find my business online.”
An online presence is now essential for any business, and with the advent of newer domain options, you can clearly convey who you are and what you do through your domain name. There are now literally hundreds of ways to use a domain extension to help tell your story, but until now there hasn’t been an option quite as meaningful as .gay.
In order to truly serve the diverse and historically marginalised spectrum of LGBTIQA+ communities, .gay has to disrupt the status quo.
To extend the digital benefits of .gay into the physical world, the .gay registry donates 20% of revenue (not just profit) from every new .gay domain name to LGBTIQA+ organizations. The inaugural beneficiaries of these funds are CenterLink and GLAAD.
GLAAD has become a household name as it works tirelessly to advance and defend the representation of LGBTIQA+ people in the media and beyond.
CenterLink is an umbrella organisation that connects over 250 local LGBTIQA+ community centers around the world to provide vital resources.
Each new digital pride flag raised by a .gay domain represents another donation to those working every day to strengthen LGBTIQA+ communities.
LGBTIQA+ people know firsthand that hate and harassment is as much a problem online as it is in the physical world. While trolling and bullying online is a persistent problem that spares no one, like many social issues it disproportionately impacts marginalised groups, including those in LGBTQ communities.
To help create an LGBTIQA+-friendly internet space, .gay has established a Rights Protections policy. This policy discourages homophobic, anti-LGBTIQA+ usage, and provides specific remedies for domains that intentionally use .gay to malign or harm LGBTIQA+ individuals or groups.
The .gay registry will accept and investigate complaints in accordance with this policy.
Altogether, this means that any online troll or bully that attempts to infiltrate the .gay internet will first pay a donation to LGBTIQA+ charities before they are removed.
Related: 10 tips for choosing the perfect domain name
GoDaddy cares
The availability of .gay domains has become a community initiative at GoDaddy.
We have partnered not only in launching .gay and telling the stories of early .gay users, but also in leveraging the philanthropic spirit within our company.
At GoDaddy, we match employees’ charitable donations, including those to GLAAD, CenterLink and many other organisations. Learn more about GoDaddy’s commitment to corporate responsibility through employee resource groups, philanthropic partnerships and more.
Allyship and inclusivity are important to who we are as a company and for all the communities where we work.
Through employee resource groups like GoDaddy United, everyone here is able to be themselves and feel included. We are proud to have been honored by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) for multiple years with perfect scores on its Equality Index.
Show your pride every day with .gay
In its launch phases, .gay has already begun to display the breadth and depth of the LGBTIQA+ communities it serves. It has been adopted by famous pioneers like George Takei and Billie Jean King, businesses like GoDaddy as well as Atari and misterb&b, plus community centers, nonprofits such as Adam Lambert’s Feel Something Foundation, individuals and small businesses.
If you’ve been looking for a web address that you’ll love, check out .gay.
Photo: Sara Rampazzo on Unsplash
