#SpiritDay 2021 will take place on October 21st so start turning your socials purple and get your purple shirt ready to go!
Why is #SpiritDay important in 2021?
Bullying does not just happen on the playground. It happens in our classrooms, families, workforces, communities, in proposed legislation and laws. Media representation of LGBTQ people including film, tv, online and video games has the ability to help counter the dangerous effects of bullying and has become an even more critical means of connection during this unprecedented time for the LGBTQ youth experiencing this epidemic.
A 2021 national survey by The Trevor Project shows “the majority of LGBT youth (52%) who were enrolled in middle or high school report being bullied either in person or electronically in the past year.”
For over a decade, #SpiritDay has been a day when LGBTQ youth can go on social media and find an overwhelming number of messages of acceptance from celebrities, networks, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, and other notables.
For almost two years now, many LGBTQ youth have not been in school, unable to attend in-person meetings of Gay-Straight Alliances, Gender-Sexuality Alliances or on-campus colleges LGBTQ organizations. During this time, LGBTQ youth have also become increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of cyberbullying, specifically with heightened levels of anti-LGBTQ hate and harassment on social media. Some LGBTQ youth may be confined to a home environment that may be unsupportive or abusive. Calls to The Trevor Project’s hotline for LGBTQ youth have at times more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
#SpiritDay is an opportunity for everyone to take a stand against bullying and show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
