On International Transgender Day of Visibility, Ariana Grande is using her star power to rally her millions of fans to support trans youth.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, the pop star announced the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund, which she founded with the fundraising platform Pledge.
“Right now there are hundreds of disgraceful bills pending in state legislature that target trans youth and aim to curb their rights,” Grande wrote in the post to her 302 million followers, saying the project would provide “critical funds” to organizations “providing direct services and advocating for the rights of trans youth”.
The singer said she would match donations up to $1.5m. The money will be evenly divided among 18 groups including the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, Equality Florida, and Jasmyn.
“Today we are going to raise $3m for trans-led work,” wrote the ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio on Twitter. “Ariana Grande is matching up to $1.5m. We are going to make #TDOV about action, investment and power.”
Here is what is going to happen. Today we are going to raise $3million for trans-led work. Ariana Grande is matching up to $1.5million. We are going to make #TDOV about action, investment and power. Go here, donate, share. https://t.co/kTn01fk61o
— Chase Strangio (@chasestrangio) March 31, 2022
The fund had raised more than $300,000 as of Thursday evening.
Grande’s announcement comes as states across the US advance legislation targeting trans rights.
On Wednesday, Arizona’s governor, Doug Ducey, signed two bills affecting trans youth – one restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare, and the other banning trans girls at some schools from playing on sports teams that match their gender. Oklahoma’s governor signed a similar sports bill on the same day.
The two states joined a dozen others that have imposed parallel measures on trans participation in sports. Twenty states have introduced legislation opposing gender-affirming healthcare for youth in 2022, according to Equality Federation.
This year has seen almost 240 state bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights, NBC News reported. A Texas judge this month temporarily halted a state measure that would label parents’ provision of gender-affirming healthcare to their children as “child abuse”. And in Florida this week, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a “don’t say gay” bill banning teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to children in kindergarten through third grade.
Amid the torrent of discrimination, Joe Biden issued a proclamation on Thursday highlighting new policy moves to support trans people in the US. The measures include efforts to support trans youth mental health and bolster access to government services.
“To transgender Americans of all ages, I want you to know that you are so brave,” Biden wrote. “You belong. I have your back.”
