In honor of “Spirit Day” IT GETS BETTER is encouraging their hundreds of thousands of supporters online—like you—to join the millions wearing purple in support of LGBT youth. (source)
Stand with LGBT youth by wearing purple for Spirit Day on Thursday, October 20, 2011 then spread the word by emailing your friends, tweeting about #SpiritDay and posting to facebook.
What is Spirit Day?(via GLAAD)
Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy -- participants are asked to simply "go purple" on October 20.
I met talented 'Mover,' Tracey Katof shortly after she had the opportunity to dance and choreograph for comedian, Rebecca Drysdale, on a music video called "It Gets Better." In a short interview with her, this is what she had to say:
Q. Why do you dance?
A. Language barriers exist between communities worldwide. I choose dance as my form of communication and self expression because I feel speaking through movement is the natural global language. Even the most simple movements, such as a smile or a frown, can be understood regardless of where someone comes from or what language they speak. I dance to promote efforts of human welfare and social reform. If I can spark an emotion or idea in an audience member that leads to a positive change, then I have accomplished my goal.
Q. How does this influence your dancing?
A. My dancing is driven by my devotion to a cause and a desire to express truth. In addition, I hope that my body and movement can serve as a vessel for social change and awareness. In a sense, I dance to be larger than myself.
Q. Tell me about your experiences with "It Gets Better."
A. Working with Comedian Rebecca Drysdale was a fulfilling experience. She put forth an immeasurable amount of time and effort into creating her vision. I thought it was an innovative idea to produce a music video and use humor to get the message across and to reach a large audience. Through the Internet and social media, the video has already been viewed 100,000 times in just 2 weeks!
Q. How has dancing for this social issue enriched your life as an artist?
A. From choreographing for humanitarian causes, I have learned that no matter how foreign the topic is to me, I can always relate. That is what I want for the audience as well. I am not a part of the LGBT community, yet I have related to the pain caused by feeling different and being teased. The "It Gets Better" campaign is about accepting each other for who we are. I support this project because I want to spread the message that even in the most disheartening situations, there is always hope.
Tracey was the first to tell me about "It Gets Better." After I watched it for the first time I thought, I wish this was around when I was 14 so I didn't have to watch "Undressed" on MTV to feel normal! I recall being afraid to simply think thoughts of homosexuality, for fear that I would be, "condemned to hell." Add any level of physical, mental or emotional abuse to that kind of existence and it would be very difficult to know what I know now, which is, IT'S SOOO MUCH BETTER! This campaign has become a worldwide movement and is helping troubled teens look to a brighter side. For this I thank Tracey for lending her talents in Rebecca Drysdale's video.
Tracey is committed to many social issues. I'd love to share them all with you now but I look forward to seeing how she plans to illustrate them herself! Keep up with Tracey Katof's moves here:
