Beginning in 2010, Spirit Day has annually been celebrated on the third Thursday of October to show support for LGBT+ youth around the world. The day of awareness was originally conceptualized by a Canadian high school student, Brittany McMillan, and has since become an international phenomenon. Celebrities, organizations, and websites have joined the cause and displayed the color purple via social media to express their support of LGBT+ students and kids who face criticism and bullies because of their identities.
Spirit Day fell on October 20th this year, and backers all across the world took to social media to flash their purple and celebrate.
Britney Spears got an early start on the celebration and dedicated her return to the stage to her LGBT+ fans.
The White House staff pledged their allegiance to the LGBT+ youth community with a purple group photo.
Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton posted a purple version of her campaign logo (and may have low key took a dig at her opponent's bullying ways).
Orange Is The New Black alum Laverne Cox rocked a purple v-neck alongside her co-stars from the set of their new CBS series Doubt.
America's newest Drag Race Hall of Fame inductee, Alaska, showed off her scepter while donning a low-cut purple gown and the caption "On #SpiritDay we wear purple!"
Even Eggo showed off their support with a heart-shaped glob of syrup in one of their signature toaster waffles. Eleven from Stranger Things would be proud.
Speaking of breakfast, Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger replaced his red bandana with a purple one and encouraged kids to let their grrrrreat out.
Major league sports teams MLB and NBA both showed their support for the cause, making a very important statement against bullying amongst teammates.
Model Carmen Carrera tweeted out four purple hearts and encouraged her followers to wear purple. Carrera herself is a transgender woman.
Transgender teen, YouTube personality, and LGBT+ rights activist Jazz Jennings tweeted a purple photo of herself generated by the Glaad foundation and took a stand against bullying.
GLAAD, the organization primarily behind the #SpiritDay movement, tweeted a photo of their LA staff all wearing purple and flashing uplifting smiles to remind LGBT+ youth that their is always someone in their corner.
Visit https://twitter.com/glaad to check out their stream of retweets of other personalities, companies, and brands that all stepped out on October 20th to stand up against bullying and show their support for LGBT+ youth all around the world.
Spirit Day will next be observed on October 19th, 2017. You have until then to plan your best purple outfit!
