Monash Arts celebrates Wear It Purple Day
Today, Monash Arts is celebrating Wear it Purple Day, and its 2026 theme, Colours of Courage. Wear It Purple Day celebrates LGBTQIA+SB young people by promoting visibility, inclusion, acceptance and belonging. It also raises awareness of the challenges they may face, including bullying and discrimination. Wearing purple is a visible representation of solidarity and a commitment to ensuring LGBTQIA+ young people feel safe, valued and respected.
This year’s theme recognises the many forms of courage shown by LGBTQIA+SB young people, allies and communities every day. Courage can mean speaking up and creating change, but it can also be found in quieter acts such as living authentically, asking for support, standing beside someone or simply showing up.
To mark the day, we asked members of the Monash Arts community what Wear It Purple Day means to them and how their research and education are contributing to greater inclusion, recognition and belonging.
Prof Winning is the Chair of the Faculty of Arts Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Head of the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics. Her research is on literature and identity, theories of gender and sexuality, lesbian subjectivities and cultural production, and psychoanalysis.
“Living, loving and flourishing as LGBTQIA+SB people relies upon key principles of equity, visibility and the strong support of our allies. Our histories tell us what happens when these principles are eroded or contested, and we find ourselves at an historical moment now in which fundamental rights and safety are under threat. In this context, the work we do in the Faculty of Arts matters more than ever.
"The education and research we undertake in the Faculty - whether undertaken by queer scholars and educators, or by our allies - provides an engine for the embrace of diversity and the building of belonging. We wholeheartedly celebrate Wear It Purple Day, but we’re also working towards a future in which inclusion and safety are givens, and LGBTQIA+SB lives are seen as utterly unique and also utterly ordinary.”
Dr Grahame is a Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences. She is a sociologist of gender and sexualities, with expertise in sexual violence, consent, gender and sexuality diverse populations, sexual health inequities and feminist studies.
“Wear It Purple Day signifies progress and awareness-raising efforts towards improving the visibility, inclusion and safety of LGBTQA+ young people. As a grassroots movement, it was founded by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams in response to the discrimination and bullying experienced by young LGBTQA+ Australians and has since grown into an initiative that raises awareness internationally.”
“The LGBTQA+ health data research project investigates health systems and digital health technologies, with the objective of generating much-needed knowledge about the participation of sexuality and gender diverse people in health data systems, particularly in relation to trust, disclosure, stigma and prejudice. The intended impact is to provide insight into how health data systems can be enhanced to better support sexuality and gender diverse people, ultimately improving health outcomes and lived experiences.
"As the Wear It Purple Foundation highlights, many LGBTQA+ people can feel invisible and excluded within their communities, homes, schools and workplaces. This research acknowledges the complexities of accessing health care systems and resources, recognising that a lack of visibility, recognition and affirmation within these spaces remains a crucial issue for LGBTQA+ Australians. Inclusive health care is therefore essential to ensuring that LGBTQA+ people are not only visible within health systems, but are recognised, respected and able to access safe, equitable and appropriate care.”
Yuejiao Xu
Iris Yuejiao Xu (she/her) is a PhD candidate at the Malaysian School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University. Her research interests lie in LGBTQIA+ and feminist movements, digital media, and transnational mobility. She also founded 'Queeris', a peer education community focused on gender equality and youth empowerment. As a feminist and queer advocate, she is dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable society through research, education, and multifaceted activism.
“Wear It Purple Day is about creating safe, inclusive, and supportive environments where LGBTQIA+ people feel seen, valued, and celebrated for who they are. For me, wearing purple is a visible sign of allyship—showing that we are building and supported by a community that actively advocates for LGBTQIA+ safety and rights.
“My research is grounded in the lived experiences of LGBT advocates in Malaysia and Australia fighting anti-LGBTQIA+ beliefs. In my work, I query the definition of 'LGBT advocate', showing that subtle, everyday acts of support are essential forms of advocacy. Wear It Purple Day is a clear example—simply being present and showing solidarity is advocacy in action.”
Associate Professor Kirsten Mclean
Kirsten McLean is an Associate Professor in Sociology in the School of Social Sciences. Kirsten's research has explored bisexual identities and communities, same-sex relationships, and LGBTIQ+ issues. More recently, Kirsten's research has focused on inclusive teaching practices - not only in relation to LGBTIQ+ inclusion but more broadly.
“Wear It Purple Day is a really important event for me to signal my support for our queer and gender-diverse community at Monash. Mentioning it to the classes I might teach on the day is also important to me as not only do I want students to know that I support them - regardless of their sexuality or gender - but that we still have work to do to make things safer for queer and gender-diverse young people.
“My own work over the last decade in building inclusive curricula, resources, and classroom spaces has specifically focused on supporting queer and gender diverse students and the positive impacts of inclusion on learning in higher education. But I also want to empower all of my students to be curious, to ask questions about LGBTIQA+ lives, and challenge some of the assumptions that limit the full participation of queer and gender-diverse people in everyday life.”
Jae Sy Lim, PhD Candidate
Jae Sy Lim (she/her) is a PhD candidate in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia. Her research explores how asexual people in Singapore navigate and express their identities across online platforms, by drawing on queer theory, feminist scholarship, and digital media studies.
“Wear It Purple Day to me is a reminder that visibility matters. For identities that face erasure both within and outside LGBTQIA+ spaces, it's a reminder that our presence deserves recognition too.
“My research explores how asexual people based in Singapore navigate and express their identities across online platforms. It aims to enrich the field of asexuality studies with understudied regional perspectives and potentially inform theory around and advocacy for minoritarian identities online. It is the first study of its kind conceived of and led by an asexual researcher from Southeast Asia/Singapore.”
Associate Professor Joseph N. Goh
Dr Goh is an Associate Professor of Gender studies at Monash Malaysia. He aims to provide education, research and engagement for personal and communal empowerment, social transformation and the fostering of thriving communities.
“The values of support, safety, empowerment and inclusion for LGBTIQA+ people, especially young people, resonate strongly for me. I try to promote these values every single day, so perhaps every day is WIP Day!
“My research endeavours have been impactful in the sense of genuine recognition of my scholarship, e.g. international publication awards, invitations to present on my research at community and academic levels, and the supervision of doctoral students who work variously on LGBTIQA+ issues. I don't do research for research's sake. I do research to continue the mission of social transformation, especially for LGBTIQA+ people. My current research interests involve trans people and health. I'm concerned that queer and trans people are not looking after themselves because the world tells them that they're not worth living, and that's just not true!”
Associate Professor Brady Robards
Brady is the Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Arts and an Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences. His research examines how LGBTQIA+ people use digital media, including their experiences of safety, learning, and connection.
“I am proud to be part of a Faculty and a University where queer and gender diverse people thrive and are celebrated. Our work in our classrooms and in our research is advancing knowledge and striving to make the world better for LGBTQIA+ people, in partnership with the communities we serve. Research I have undertaken with colleagues and students highlights how important social media are for LGBTQIA+ people as sites of learning and connection, but also how they can be sites of exclusion, violence, and harassment.
"Platforms and governments can and should do better to improve these spaces, but queer people also have complex strategies for managing these spaces and we have a lot to learn from them. Wear it Purple Day for me is a reminder that despite great advances for some, the struggle for respect, visibility, and inclusion is ongoing for many queer people, especially our trans and racially marginalised kin.”