Dolly Day: Working 9 to 5 — and a Lifetime of Loving Everybody

If there were ever a perfect date to celebrate Dolly Parton, it would have to be 9/25.

Get it? 9 to 5. Come on, that’s pretty good. I first heard the idea from Garth Brooks, who pointed out that 9/25 was the perfect day to celebrate Dolly—and really, how can you argue with that?

This year, Nashville is officially celebrating September 25 as Dolly Day, honoring not only Dolly’s incredible music and unmistakable style, but also the generosity, kindness, and love for people that became such a huge part of her legacy.

For the LGBTQIA+ community, that legacy goes well beyond rhinestones, big hair, and country music.

For decades, Dolly made her feelings about the queer community remarkably simple: love people, let them be themselves, and don’t judge them.

In a 2014 interview, Dolly spoke about her LGBTQ+ fans and why she believed they connected with her:

“I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love.”

She also had a very Dolly response for people who chose to judge others:

“Lord, I’ve got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else.”

And when discussing people who used religion as a reason to judge the LGBTQ+ community, she summed up her own philosophy in five words:

“I try to love everybody.”

An Ally Who Kept Showing Up

Dolly’s support wasn’t limited to one interview.

Over the years, she openly supported her LGBTQ+ fans, spoke in support of same-sex marriage, collaborated with LGBTQ+ artists, and consistently pushed back against the idea that someone should be treated differently because of who they are or whom they love.

In 2023, when she was asked about legislation affecting transgender people in her home state of Tennessee, Dolly again brought the conversation back to people rather than politics:

“I just want everybody to be treated good.”

She explained that LGBTQ+ people weren’t some distant group to her. They were members of her family, people she worked with, people she knew, and people she loved.

That may be one reason Dolly became such an enduring icon within the LGBTQIA+ community. She didn’t make acceptance sound complicated.

People are people. Treat them well.

Why That Matters to Engayge

That idea hits pretty close to home for us at Engayge.

We’re working to create a community where LGBTQIA+ people and their allies can find connection, resources, and spaces where they feel safe and welcome—both online and in real life.

At the heart of that work is something remarkably similar to what Dolly talked about for decades: people deserve the freedom to be themselves and to know where they’re going to be welcomed.

Whether that’s finding an affirming business through Flynn’s List, connecting with someone new, finding a community resource, or simply discovering a place where you don’t have to wonder whether you’ll be accepted before you walk through the door—that matters.

Dolly built an extraordinary career by being unapologetically herself while leaving plenty of room for everyone else to do the same.

We think that’s worth celebrating.

So this September 25, throw on a little pink, turn up “9 to 5,” do something kind for somebody, and remember one of Dolly’s simplest messages:

“I try to love everybody.”

Sounds like a pretty good way to Find Your Flock to us.