Tegan and Sara Started An Anti-Trump LGBTQ Foundation
Tegan and Sara, the Canadian twin-sister music duo, have started an LGBTQ foundation for women and young girls. The foundation is specifically in reaction to the state of politics in America and promises to “fight against the repressive legislation of the incoming Trump administration.”
Both sisters have been openly gay since the beginning of their careers and many of their fans are LGBTQ.
They said in a letter on the foundation’s website:
“Our LGBTQ fans have supported us in innumerable ways. Our journey navigating sexism and homophobia in the music industry has always been interwoven with the stories you share with us. Your personal histories of injustice and discrimination at home, school, work, and church have inspired us to use our public status to speak out about the struggles of the LGBTQ community.”
The Tegan and Sara Foundation is committed to feminism and racial, social, and gender justice. The duo mentions that LGBTQ women face a disproportionate amount of poverty as well as higher rates of obesity, depression, suicide, and substance abuse.
“Discriminatory laws, provider bias, insurance exclusions and inadequate reproductive health coverage leave 29% of LGBTQ women struggling to pay for health insurance,” the website cites.
In addition, LGBTQ women and girls are underrepresented in mainstream media. Through the efforts of this foundation, Tegan and Sara hope to provide proactive support for the LGBTQ community. They stand in solidarity with other LGBTQ organizations and hope to use their platform to bring awareness to their initiatives.
“Given the state of politics in the United States, we must continue to unite and fight for our rights and against all forms of oppression,” the twins go on to say in their letter. “We started the Foundation to dismantle the systems of inequity that prevent LGBTQ girls and women from reaching their full potential.”
