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Converse x Minus18 are dropping pride patches for Wear it Purple Day

WORDS BY ISABELLE SACKS

It’s all about visibility.

On the last Friday of August, Australians all over the country will wear purple to their workplaces, schools and Zoom calls in celebration of the visibility and empowerment of LGBTQIA+ young people. Wear it Purple Day (WIPD) started a decade ago as a community-wide response to the alarming number of LGBTQIA+ young people experiencing bullying and harassment because of their identity.

In celebration of this year’s WIPD, Converse is producing a limited run of exclusive patches in collaboration with the team at Minus18. The patches can be applied to Converse Chucks or any other wearable item as a visual representation of support and allyship.

It’s all about visibility, “whether that be as an ally, or a young queer person who wants to show their pride on their shoes, or a proud mum who wants to show their kids that they love them,” notes Minus18 Partnerships Manager, Adrian Murdoch.

Importantly, this year’s rainbow patches also include Black and Brown stripes – two colours often missing from the pride flag – to represent the importance of intersectionality in the movement. “It’s to ensure that everyone in the community can see themselves as a part,” notes Adrian.

On the long relationship between Converse and Minus18, Adrian notes the brand’s work extends well beyond performative allyship into something really meaningful. “To work collaboratively with Converse over and over has been something that we’ve really cherished,” he says.

For those unfamiliar, Minus18 is Australia’s largest youth-driven charity championing LGBTQIA+ young people. The entirety of proceeds from the collaboration will go towards Minus18’s work creating life-affirming events, school workshops and peer support for young people and their families.

WIPD will look a little bit different this August 28, with a lot of events taking place virtually. But as Adrian notes, having milestones like this to celebrate is especially important during this time. As Australians move in and out of lockdown restrictions, a lot of LGBTQIA+ youth may be experiencing home environments that might not be supportive, or may be feeling isolated from their usual networks. “They might not have that connection to community that they leaned into before the pandemic,” he explains.

And besides, “coming together to celebrate is something that we don’t have a lot of opportunities to do at the moment.”

The Converse x Minus18 pride patches can be snapped up as a two-pack for $20.00. They’re available online and in Converse stores (excluding Victoria, for obvious reasons) from today.

converse.com.au

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