Female indie pop duo Tegan and Sara have recently started a new foundation for LGBTQ women and girls, known as the Tegan and Sara Foundation.
As most of you may know, Tegan and Sara are twin sisters, and have both been openly lesbian since the start of their musical career. The Tegan and Sara Foundation’s mission is to fight for the “economic justice, health, and representation [of] LGBTQ women and girls.”
Statistics cited on the Foundation’s website show that LGBTQ women are at a higher risk than straight women for a host of disadvantages, including living in poverty, homelessness, higher rates of mental and physical health issues, and discrimination in the workplace and healthcare industry.
LGBTQ women are also rarely represented in the media, and if they are, their sexuality is typically played out in a joking, tragic, or hypersexualized and male-gaze-oriented way. Because of all these issues, and the amount of press the newly launched Tegan and Sara Foundation has garnered, here are four more organizations oriented towards LGBTQ women.
Get Out and Live—Women Out and About
Get Out and Live (GOAL) began in 2010 as a way of bringing together LGBTQ people through “events, activities, and social interaction.” Based out of the Midwest, GOAL has since collaborated with three major LGBTQ organizations — Gay Business Networking, Affirmations, and Artistic Women’s Entertainment. The organization hosts several events each week targeted towards the LGBTQ community — you can take a look at their jam-packed event calendar here. It can be difficult finding spaces catered specifically towards LGBTQ people, and LGBTQ women in particular, but this organization does a great job of doing so.
Los Angeles Women’s Network
The Los Angeles Women’s Network (LAWN) is a branch under the Los Angeles LGBT Center. LAWN focuses primarily on women’s health, with programs such as the Audre Lorde Lesbian Health Program, which “cover[s] the cost of medication for 12 women with an STD,” and the Homeless Youth Programs, which provide meals to young homeless women. LAWN also provides personal hygiene products to women who cannot afford them, as well as legal services for domestic violence survivors. For a low monthly donation, you can help support these programs, as well as attend LAWN events.
Queer Women of Color Media Wire
Queer Women of Color Media Wire (QWOC Media Wire) is “a media publishing and advocacy organization” that promotes and shares the creative works of LGBTQ women and non-binary people. The initiative brings the films, music, written works, and all other forms of art made by queer women and non-binary people of color into the spotlight, and gives their work the attention it deserves. Queer art is rarely depicted in the media, let alone art made by queer people of color, which is what makes this website such a rare and valuable platform.
As 2016 comes to a close, consider how you can give back to these LGBT women’s organizations, or other LGBT organizations in your area. Like all nonprofits, these organizations thrive on your support, and need donations (in the form of volunteer hours or money) to continue serving their target populations. Are there any other women’s LGBT organizations you feel deserve a spot on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
Cover image courtesy of Getty Images.
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