Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall shares her top tips for being an LGBT ally while being stuck in coronavirus lockdown
Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix. (Neil Mockford/GC Images)
Little Mix’s Jade Thirlwall has shared her top tips for being an LGBT+ ally while self-isolating.
Thirlwall told Glamour magazine that it’s important to still be an LGBT+ ally during the coronavirus lockdown – especially when some LGBT+ people will be stuck in homes with people who might not be supportive of who they are.
“We’re all in self isolation and some LGBT+ people might be in a home or a family environment where they’re not very supportive of being who they are,” she said.
“So, if you know anybody who is in that circumstance, reach out to them, message them, show them how much you support and love them – there’s many ways you can be doing that whilst being indoors.”
Jade Thirlwall says she’s ‘still learning’.
Thirlwall also shared that she’s “still learning” how to be an ally to trans people, how to use people’s pronouns and how to “practice what you preach”.
“I’m still learning what the right pronouns are or how to speak to someone and make sure you don’t offend someone or be an ally in the right way and making sure it doesn’t look like you are using to your advantage or for your benefit.
“If you’re going to say you’re an ally, you need to practice what you preach, you need to walk the walk as well as talking the talk. So yeah, still learning every day.”
Here, #JadeThirlwall from @LittleMix talks about how she is managing her wellbeing during isolation, what she has learnt about the power of her sisterhood during this time and what being an ally to the LGBTQ+ community means to her: https://t.co/teCrVA0dSk pic.twitter.com/F5bjG9kAzR
— British GLAMOUR (@GlamourMagUK) April 2, 2020
Little Mix singer is a vocal trans ally.
Jade Thirlwall marched at Pride in London last summer with Little Mix bandmate Leigh-Anne Pinnock for trans kids charity Mermaids.
She also spoke out on Trans Day of Visibility, explaining that raising while awareness of trans issues is an important way to help, it’s important not to speak for the trans community if you’re not part of it.
“I think there’s many ways that you can support people in general,” she said.
“I think today obviously with it being trans visibility day, reposting on your stories, the social media, raising awareness is a way to help.
“It’s also important to not speaking for trans people, letting them speak for themselves and just supporting them in doing that.”
The singer has form when it comes to LGBT+ allyship that is actions as well as words.
In 2019, she and her Little Mix bandmates performed a gay anthem under a giant rainbow banner in Dubai, where homosexuality is a crime.
