Musicians Tegan and Sara have announced that they have officially launched the Tegan and Sara foundation. With the foundation's primary goal to support women in the LGBTQ community, the sisters expressed the pride and passion for their foundation and they people they hope to help in an official letter.

@teganandsara via Instagram

“Our mission is to fight for economic justice, health, and representation for LGBTQ girls and women,” they wrote. “Since the beginning of our career, our LGBTQ  fans have supported us in innumerable ways. Our journey navigating sexism and homophobia in the music industry has always been interwoven with the stories you share with us. Your personal histories of injustice and discrimination at home, school, work, and church have inspired us to use our public status to speak out about the struggles of the LGBTQ community”.

On the foundation's website, they list several of the struggles that they will be hoping to highlight. “LGBTQ women have higher rates of obesity, gynecological cancer, depression, suicide and tobacco/alcohol abuse,” they wrote. “Discriminatory laws, provider bias, insurance exclusions and inadequate reproductive health coverage leave 29% of LGBTQ women struggling to pay for health insurance.”

The sisters also shared that during their North American “Love You to Death” tour, they connected with fans and met with legislators and non profits to educate themselves and prepare for the foundation. “We learned that the lack of federal funding for LGBTQ services, limited training for doctors about the needs of their LGBTQ patients, and severe workplace discrimination are disproportionately affecting women,” they wrote. “Most importantly, we learned that LGBTQ women and girls are feeling overwhelmingly rejected and left behind.”

We encourage you to read the entire letter, and connect with Tegan & Sara if you think of any other ways the foundation can benefit LBGTQ women and girls.

by Kelsey Duchesne