Tegan and Sara Foundation to help LGBTQ women
The twin-sister music act Tegan and Sara have put money where their mouth is. In this case, they’ve set up the Tegan and Sara Foundation to help fight for the rights of LGBTQ women.
The Canadian-born Quin sisters managed to make inroads in the music industry with over a million albums sold, a number of prizes and nomination, and performances at some of the world’s biggest stages.
The sisters have also been open about being queer from the start of their career in 1998, and they’ve been advocates for LGBTQ equality and gender justice since then.
Setting up the Tegan and Sara Foundation
Given the duo’s stance, this new foundation is an extension of their advocacy. According to the foundation’s website, this organization will work for “economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women.”
“Over the years, our LGBTQ fans have supported us in innumerable ways,” Tegan and Sara wrote on their website.
“Your personal histories of injustice and discrimination at home, school, work, and church have always inspired us to use our public status to speak out about the struggles impacting the LGBTQ community,” the two said.
During their North American tour for their new record Love You to Death last year, the duo not only played shows but also listened and learned from their local fans– as well as LGBTQ youth activists, researchers, legislators, and nonprofits.
“We learned that the lack of federal funding for LGBTQ services, limited training for doctors about the needs of their LGBTQ patients, and severe workplace discrimination are disproportionately affecting women,” they said.
Tegan and Sara Foundation: Fighting for the LGBTQ
The two pointed out that LGBTQ girls and women in the US are disproportionately affected by poverty with 23 percent of lesbian women in poverty.
Likewise, they noted LGBTQ women of color– especially transgender women– experience issues of poverty, health, and inequality more due to racism and transphobia.
“Most importantly, we learned that LGBTQ women and girls are feeling overwhelmingly rejected and left behind”, Tegan and Sara said.
“We started the foundation to dismantle the systems of inequity that prevent LGBTQ girls and women from reaching their full potential”, they said.
Especially with the promised repressive legislation of the incoming Trump administration, the foundation will fight against “regressive homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic legislation,” the siblings said.
“Through the Tegan and Sara Foundation, we can be proactive with our support rather than wait to react to discrimination as it occurs,” they added.