breast-deep PHOTO CREDIT: GLAAD
There are a lot of great things in life that are purple – Harold’s crayon, the one-eyed people eater, jelly beans and eggplant! Wait – eggplant is aubergine. Which came first the eggplant or the color aubergine? I don’t know but I’m not here to talk about that timeless question. I’m here to talk about purple in an entirely different context: GLAAD’s Spirit Day!
Spirit Day began in 2010 to encourage individuals, organizations and businesses to take a stand against bullying. This year, Spirit Day will be on October 17th, one week from today. On that day, people across the country will wear purple to show their support for GLBT youth.
As our very own C.J. Prince wrote just a few weeks ago as we entered National Bullying Prevention Month,
Even with all the progress we’ve made over the past two decades, LGBT youth are still far more likely to be targets of bullying than the general population. They are still twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted at school, according to a 2012 HRC report. Four in 10 LGBT youth report being harassed or bullied online, three times more than non-LGBT youth, according to a 2013 GLSEN report. They are far more likely to drop out of school to escape harassment and while only 10% of the general youth population is LGBT, they account for 20% of all homeless youth.
It is for these very reasons that we must continue to tell our stories, to remain visible, and to stand against bullying in all forms.
VillageQ invites you to stand with us against bullying by participating in Spirit Day. Several of our contributors will be at SalonLGBTQ in Atlanta that day and the Welcome Reception will be dedicated to Spirit Day.
What can you do?
- Take the pledge!
- Find other ways to get involved!
- Wear purple and go purple online – Tweet your pics using #spiritday
- Find ways to take a stand against bullying every day – come out, speak out, advocate, and volunteer
You have a week to plan your outfits.
If any of you dresses as an aubergine for the day, I want to see that picture!
Tag your pics #villageq to be included in the family album at 
Hooray for purple! It’s my favorite color. Do you think it would be too much to wear my purple pants with my purple sweater and my purple patagonia jacket while carrying my purple messenger bag?
I must confess…I don’t like purple and don’t own anything purple. Let’s keep this between the two of us, shall we? 😉
No purple and no rainbows?!? Vikki! Also, will you get something for Salon LGBTQ?
I LOVE purple. It was actually quite problematic during Albania’s last election as I worried my wardrobe could be interpreted as a political statement.
Double confession: no purple here, and I thought Spirit Day was yesterday, so I wore a periwinkle tank top and called it purple. I vow to do better next week.