For Them launches social initiative honoring Nex Benedict, supporting LGBTQ+ community
The social campaign offers the trans community $5 off binders, while donating another $5 to the Trevor Project, all in the late student’s name.
Autostraddle & For Them tell Nex Benedict's story while supporting the LGBTQ+ community through product sales / Credit: Autostraddle, For Them
The LGBTQ+ community in America is grappling with the tragic loss of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Owasso High School, Oklahoma. While Benedict’s official cause of death remains undetermined, some suspect it may be linked to trauma from an altercation in a high school bathroom.
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The incident has sparked widespread criticism of Oklahoma state policies that allegedly target the LGBTQ+ community. Chaya Raichik, who runs controversial social media page Libs of TikTok, was appointed Oklahoma State Superintendent to supposedly “make schools safer” in the state, according to an editorial in queer publication Autostraddle.
On Monday, Owasso High School’s own students staged a walkout against anti-LGBTQ+ bullying. “Our children are scared to death and go to school every day, and something has to stop,” one Owasso parent, Susie Eubank, told Tulsa ABC affiliate KTUL. “My child has had direct threats. Direct derogatory names.”
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In response to this tragedy, For Them, a trans-owned company specializing in binders and gender-affirming products, has devised a social initiative in collaboration with high-performing creators and affiliates, to provide their followers with crucial context as well as $5 discount codes for binders.
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For each binder sale using these codes, $5 will go to the creator, and an extra $5 will be donated to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention in the LGBTQ+ community. The initiative is set to run through March 1.
“The devastating loss our community experienced after Nex Benedict’s tragic and avoidable death has made one thing profoundly clear: LGBTQIA2S+ youth in our country need protection,” Kylo Freeman, founder and chief executive of For Them, told The Drum. “As a trans-owned company, we want to put our money where real change can happen and where folks are directly responding to the targeting of queer and trans kids, which is why we are donating to The Trevor Project for each purchase. Through this collaborative campaign with creators in our community, we're not only spreading Queer Joy, but we're also lending Nex’s name and memory to something as resilient and courageous as he was.”
The brand tapped several TikTok creators, including @lilujulia6 and @chaotic.good.bard, to join the cause and actively use their platforms to amplify the message and promotion.
@liljulia6 #JUSTICEFORNEX | use code “LILTREVOR5” for $5 off your purchase and have a portion of your proceeds go to the trevor project! nex and other lgbtq+ youth deserve to be who they are, and should get to live to see it. #greenscreen ♬ original sound - julia
@chaotic.good.bard Use code: LEVITREVOR5 for a $5 discount and to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Trevor Project. @forthem #forthem #binderreview #trevorproject #ethicalbrand ♬ original sound - Levi Ace Day
As the For Them campaign continues, the hope is to not only remember Nex Benedict but to also foster support and awareness for the broader LGBTQ+ community.
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