Spirit Day Against LGBTQ Youth Bullying

For over 10 years OUTTAKE MEDIA has supported Spirit Day celebrated this year on Thursday October 21st. Spirit Day began in 2010 when a high school student Brittany McMillan created a tumblr post asking students to wear purple following the suicide deaths of several LGBTQ young people. Since then thanks to GLAAD hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges & universities have become the most visible anti LGBTQ bullying campaign & united show of support for our LGBTQ youth. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. That said according to GLSEN's most recent National School Climate Survey 70.1% of LGBTQ students report being verbally harassed. Additionally 59.5% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 44.6% because of their gender expression. GLSEN also reported that 87.3% of LGBTQ students experienced harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, actual or perceived race & ethnicity & actual or perceived disability. The Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 1 in 3 LGBTQ youth reported that they had been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their LGBTQ identity. A 2021 national survey by The Trevor Project also 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. Though the majority of citizens in America stand against LGBTQ youth bullying 10 states including Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, Tennessee, South Dakota & West Virginia are passing anti- transgender youth legislation. For More Info…