Here’s why everyone is wearing purple today

If you’re seeing people in your office, on the street or at the station wearing purple today, it’s not a coincidence. Today is Wear it Purple Day, an annual day dedicated to LGBTQI+ youth.

The mission of Wear it Purple Day is to “foster supportive, safe and accepting environments for rainbow young people”. This is more than tokenism, it’s about explicitly showing young people who might be feeling scared or isolated that they’ve got people who love and support them.

So today, we wanted to give a shout out to the amazing people who started Wear it Purple Day.

Wear it Purple Day was first held in 2010, when Katherine Hudson, then a high school student, and first-year university student Scott Williams saw the high rates LGBTQI+ people at risk.

In the wake of bullying, harassment and suicides, Katherine and Scott wanted to create a day to give people hope, support and solidarity. To show that there are people who care, and stand with them. That they are loved. So they encouraged their schools, friends and family to wear some purple and make a stand. Today, it’s an international movement.

Years later, the group is now a fully-fledged organisation who educate, support, advocate, challenge, empower and celebrate their diversity. But today remains a special day of solidarity, where anyone can don a piece of purple clothing and stand in solidarity with LGBTQI+ people the world over.

Wear it Purple Day “encourages all people to explore diversity, promote respect for one another and a sense of belonging”.