Troye Sivan & Lauren Jauregui Have Messages For LGBTQ Youth On Spirit Day

Spirit Day 2018 is upon us. As part of National Bullying Prevention Month, it's the one day of the year where we all go purple to take a stance against LGBTQ+ harassment. Always the third Thursday in October, the annual holiday has come into its ninth year and the tradition seems to be getting bigger and bigger. In honor of Spirit Day, iHeartRadio sat down with two of the communities' pop stars, Lauren Jauregui of Fifth Harmony and Troye Sivan, to discuss their own history and advice they have for queer youth experiencing bullying over their sexual identity. 

"Honestly, I didn't even acknowledge the fact that I liked girls until I was a lot older and in this phase in my life because I grew up around people who would have torn me apart," Jauregui told us. "At the end of the day, I understand why a lot of people feel the fear or feel the anxiety of being themselves, being something negative because we're taught that. I went to a private Catholic school, so I was indoctrinated with this stuff about what it means to be gay, quote on quote, or whatever it was. Like expressing homosexuality towards another person, that was super taboo. Kids are ruthless when things are taboo. They really are. They're really mean."

Jauregui went on to explain that those children are usually a reflection of what they see at home and what they hear at home. "Being secure in who you are and loving yourself is the most important advice I could give to anybody. I wish I could have told myself that when I was younger, 'Just f**k it. Love you. Be you,'" she continued. "Stop worrying about whether this person is going to like you or that person's going to like you because I was very much a people pleaser and I know a lot of us are."

Asked her advice on dealing with harassment, the budding solo artist said that "you're just a step ahead of everyone else in being yourself and that is a huge advantage in the game of life." "People spend a lot of their time trying to figure out who they are and a lot of people don't ever really get there. If you can have a grip on that from a young age, that is a blessing, not a curse and you should just rock that sh*t until you get to a place where you're surrounded by other people who feel the same way because I promise you, you will find your tribe," she continued. "You'll find your people. You always will. As long as you're you, you'll gravitate towards someone, they'll come to you."

Meanwhile, Sivan shared his own experience with queer harassment, admitting that he got teased "quite a lot" when he was younger. "I didn't really have anyone to turn to until I started coming out because I couldn't talk about it to anyone. I didn't know any gay people growing up or anything like that," he confessed, before admitting that his area of solace was the internet. "Being able to find community, and people who thought like me and felt like me, that was life-changing."

"When it's happening, especially when you're younger, it feels like the entire world is against you, or feels that way, and it's really easy to get caught up and lost in that," he said. "I think the really important thing to know is that that's 100 percent not the case. There are places that you can go, and people that you can meet, and you will find those places and those people who are going to accept you and love you for exactly who you are. You've just got to wait it out and just try and find strength from within and just know within yourself that you're good."

If you want to learn more about Spirit Day 2018, head over to GLAAD's official website.

Photo: Getty Images


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