The cast of ABC Family's The Fosters recorded messages of support for LGBT youth, asking fans to wear purple on Spirit Day, this Thursday, October 16. AfterEllen premiered the videos this morning.
The Fosters centers on interracial lesbian couple Stef and Lena Foster and their family of biological, adopted and foster children. The Fosters navigate school, work and the foster care system while introducing the country to a new kind of family. In addition to featuring a lesbian couple, the show also includes a recurring transgender teenager, the only regular or recurring trans character currently on TV. The show will be returning on December 8 for a holidays episode.
The casts of Baby Daddy, Chasing Life, and Melissa & Joey already went purple, and more casts from ABC Family's original series will join them in coming days! Additionally, the network's series will go purple on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for Spirit Day.
Millions wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for LGBT youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. With GLAAD’s help, Spirit Day has since garnered widespread support from celebrities, TV news and entertainment programs, corporations, organizations, schools, local communities, and even national landmarks. Spirit Day coincides with GLSEN’s Ally Week, as well as National Bullying Prevention Month.
According to GLSEN's 2011 National School Climate Survey, 63.5% of LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, 43.9% because of their gender expression. GLSEN also reported that 81.9% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation, and 63.9% because of their gender expression.
GLAAD, GLSEN and Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center are partnering with the Disney ABC Television Group for the Choose Kindness campaign. For National Bullying Prevention month Disney's Be Inspired website will include resources for children, teens, and parents about how to prevent bullying.
Spirit Day, which will take place on October 16, inspires millions to wear purple or ‘go purple’ online in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for LGBT youth.
For more information and ways to participate, visit the Spirit Day page.