October 15th, 2020: Today Liam Payne posted on Instagram in support of Spirit Day, an anti-bullying initiative for LGBT youth. The post had also a link to a page where you could sign a pledge against bullying.

Spirit Day, which is observed on the third Thursday of October, was started in 2010 by a Canadian teenager named Brittany McMillan. Brittany created this initiative which consists of wearing purple and speaking up against bullying targeting LGBTQ, in support of LGBTQ youth following a series of suicides sparked by bullying. These included the suicide of 18 years old Rutgers Student Tyler Clementi. Tyler jumped off the George Washington Bridge on September 22nd 2010 after being cyberbullied by his roommate, who had video recorded Tyler kissing another man.

At the time in which these suicides occurred, Brittany, who was a high school student, was working with GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Thus, GLAAD supported Brittany’s initiative and promoted it across different media and platforms. Several celebrities gave their support that year including for example Britney Spears. As the event gained more and more exposure, support by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Ashton Kutcher, and by other entities such as MTV and Facebook grew. In 2013, even the White House tweeted in support of Spirit Day and even posted a link to stopbullying.gov.

In talking about her intentions with this initiative, Brittany McMillan said “Ultimately, I want Spirit Day to make just one person feel a little bit better about his or herself, to feel safe enough in their own skin to be proud of who they are.” 

Today Spirit Day is an initiative that takes place across all social media platforms and that is observed by thousand of people. Indeed, 10 years after its inception, this day in public support of LGBTQ youth still holds a lot of significance and power. Numbers indeed tell us that LGBTQ youth is disproportionally targeted by bullying and harassment as compared to their peers. For example, an astonishing 70.1% of LGBTQ youth report being verbally harassed and 71% of LGBTQ students report hearing homophobic remarks from both students and teachers. These numbers are sobering and tell us that we need to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community against all forms of harassment and bullying that target them.

To show your support for Spirit Day and to stand united with the LGBTQ youth against bullying you can take the pledge, download resources, spread the word, go purple, and donate!