I Give a Damn! Cyndi Lauper’s Campaign Against Injustice Toward the Gay Community

Bambi Weavil June 17, 2010 2 Comments

by Je-Shawna Wholley

Cyndi Lauper (Twitter, Facebook) wears many hats. Not only is she the infamous actress, songwriter and singer that brought us the epic 1980s pop hit “She So Unusual” (you know…. the song that told the world that “girls just want to have fun”), but she is also a philanthropist and humanitarian in her own right. A self-identified lover of all people and ally for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community; Lauper launched her web-based non-profit, We Give a Damn (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) campaign. The concept is simple. The goal is to get people to Give a Damn about injustice based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

On the We Give a Damn campaign website, you will find factual information about different forms of discrimination across the country, personal stories from people that have been affected by such injustice and more. For instance, did you know that there is one act of violence committed every hour in the United States, and that of those crimes one out of six are on the basis of sexual orientation? Staggering information right? This is just a small sample of the type of insight that one can gain from this campaign.

The “Damn Issues” are just one way Lauper captures your attention. The “Damn Videos”, serving as public service announcements, features celebrities such as: Kim Kardashian, Jason Marz, and Sex and the City’s Cynthia Nixon – to name a few. The concept is simple – encourage people to GIVE A DAMN! You have the option to share the videos with your Facebook or Twitter friends, and post your own personal stories to the site.

If you would like to join the 27,000+ people that Give a Damn about the fight for equality check out the interactive website, www.wegiveadamn.org.

“The only way we can truly achieve equality for all is if we all get informed and get involved.”

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About Je-Shawna Wholley:

Currently a rising senior of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia as a Comparative Women’s Studies major. Through her studies she has been exposed to the mechanisms and language of activism and social change. She currently serves as the president of Afrekete, Spelman’s only organization for the LGBTQIQ community, and has always believed in the concept of making one’s personal convictions fuel for her political endeavors. It is for this reason that as a Black Lesbian woman Je-Shawna has decided to dedicate her life towards the eradication of sexual and gender injustices.

Words that friends have used to describe JeShawna: meticulous, diligent, philanthropic, light-hearted, genuine, family-oriented, adventures, innovative, resourceful, chipper, radiant, warm, bubbly, outgoing, strong-willed, determined, consistent, fearless.

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Bambi Weavil

Bambi Weavil is Out Impact, Inc.’s Founder and President since June 2007. Bambi is a graduate from the class of 2004 from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in Professional Writing. She is a freelance writer and published poet in her free time currently residing out of Brooklyn, New York. Bambi is proud of being an activist and humanitarian, leader in the GLBT community, artist, music enthusiast and animal‐lover.