Spirit Day
Spirit Day
The annual spirit day was held last month on October 15th. It occurs every October on the third Thursday of the month to support LGBTQ+ youth and take a stand against bullying. It was started back in 2010 by Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan. They created this initiative in response to bullying-related suicides of gay students, including Tyler Clementi. Bullying is an issue that has serious, lasting problems and disproportionately impacts LGBTQ+ youth (Stop Bullying.gov, 2020). Spirit day is now an annual day promoted by GLAAD. Supporters are encouraged to participate by wearing purple as a visible sign of support for LGBTQ youth and to honor the victims of suicide (Stonewall Columbus, 2020). This is the largest, most visible LGBTQ+ anti-bullying campaign in the world with support from celebrities, lawmakers, and athletes (NBC News, 2020).
In order to prevent bullying of LGBTQ+ youth, we must understand what is happening. GLAAD encourages us to learn the facts (GLAAD, 2020).
70.1% of LGBTQ students report being verbally harassed
71% of LGBTQ students report hearing homophobic remarks from teachers and/or school staff because of their gender expression
53.3% of LGBTQ students did not report experiences of bullying because they doubted an intervention
48.7% of LGBTQ students have experienced cyberbullying
29% of LGBTQ youth have experienced homelessness, been kicked out, or run away
86% of LGBTQ youth said that recent politics have negatively impacted their well-being.
1 in 3 LGBTQ youth reported that they had been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their LGBTQ identity.
More than half of transgender and non-binary youth have seriously considered suicide.
The proportion of LGBTQ youth reporting a suicide attempt in recent years was higher among youth of color than White non-Hispanic youth.
Although spirit day has passed, there is still much work to be done. Here is how you can get involved:
Take the pledge. Sign along with millions of others who are standing up against bullying: https://www.glaad.org/spiritday?thanks=pledge#pledge
Download resources. GLAAD has multiple resource kits for students, parents, and educators, that are offered in English and Spanish. On GLAAD’s website you can find all of them and here is the guide for parents and educators: https://www.glaad.org/sites/default/files/Anti-Bullying%20Resource%20Kit%20-%20Parents%26Educators%20-%202020.pdf
Spread the word. Post on social media that you support LGBTQ youth and are taking a stand against bullying. You can also engage your school, media, and public officials through GLAAD’s letter writing campaign. Sample letters can be found at the bottom of this page. https://www.glaad.org/spiritday
Go purple. Wear purple and change your profile photos to include the purple frame from GLAAD. This is a subtle, but visible sign to show you support LGBTQ+ youth.
Donate. Become a member of GLAAD and donate to the awesome work they are doing to stand against discrimination. You can also show support of our work at Sean's Legacy by visiting our website to donate as well.
Sources:
GLAAD. (2020). Join GLAAD this Spirit Day and Take the Pledge Against Bullying. Retrieved from https://www.glaad.org/spiritday?thanks=pledge
NBC News. (2020). Spirit day 2020: Celebs, lawmakers, athletes send messages to LGBTQ youth. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/spirit-day-2020-celebs-lawmakers-athletes-send-messages-lgbtq-youth-n1243577
Stonewall Columbus. (2020). Spirit day 2020. Retrieved from https://stonewallcolumbus.org/event/spirit-day-2020/
StopBullying.gov. (2020). What is bullying? Retrieved from https://www.stopbullying.gov/bullying/what-is-bullying