Wear it Purple Day
[9][10] Hudson graduated from Burwood Girls High School in 2011,[11] which was later a site of controversy due to the Wear it Purple Day events involving screening the film Gayby Baby.
[49][50] Other organisations and businesses have hosted purple-themed events including dress-up photo booths and rainbow zinc face-painting,[51] exhibitions with music, art and workshops,[52][53] and an Instagram Scavenger Hunt.
[60] Widespread use of hashtags #wearitpurple and #beproudofwhoyouare included selfies, personal stories and event documentation to demonstrate support and increase visibility.
[61] The Western Australia Equal Opportunity Commission (WAEOC) celebrated Wear it Purple Day in 2014 by releasing online guidelines: Supporting Sexual and Gender Diversity in Schools.
[82] In March 2017, Liberal Senator Eric Abetz complained that the Department of Finance was "reverse bullying", by pressuring staff into participating in Wear it Purple Day.
[86] Miranda Devine has written that Christian employees of organisations which have signed up to the marriage equality campaign, now feel frightened and intimidated at work.
Devine claimed that a Telstra employee was re-sent a "mandatory" Wear it Purple event invitation multiple times by executive staff.
[88] Angela Priestley's reply to the "rainbow hijacking" article noted that the posters were installed by students, and that the concerned parents should have approached the school's principal.
[89] During an August 2017 interview on 2GB radio with Ray Hadley, NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes noted that school principals had been notified to take care around diversity issues (including Wear it Purple Day) in the context of the marriage equality plebiscite.
The advertisement depicted a rainbow noose around a praying woman's neck with the tagline "Same sex marriage increases PC bullying in the workplace".
[100] David Phillips, then-National Director of FamilyVoice Australia, gave evidence to the Australian Parliament's Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, that students were vilified and bullied if they upheld the traditional definition of marriage and chose not to participate in Wear it Purple Day.
[105] In Josh Taylor's article response, he noted that while Parkinson's view was that "...children from religious households could be bullied for not supporting anti-bullying programs like ...
[107] Wear it Purple Day co-founder Katherine Hudson debated with Fred Nile on ABC’s special episode of Q&A (18 June 2015[108]) about homosexual law reform and the Safe Schools Program.
[110] Producer Charlotte Mars noted that the hybrid-cinema release and school screenings linked with their faith that Australian independent films can make a lasting impact.
[111] Newell presented an event about the film at her alumnus, Burwood Girls' High School (also attended by co-founder of Wear it Purple Day, Katherine Hudson).
[116] Greens Member for Newtown Jenny Leong said that the positive initiative of the film screening should not be blocked, and suggested the ban was in response to the headlines in the Daily Telegraph.
[119] The Prefects of Burwood Girls' High School issued a statement on their Facebook page reiterating their dismay at the media coverage, and their support for equality and acceptance for all people.
[120] At the original planned time of the film's screening, Burwood Girls' students continued with usual school subjects, but protested by wearing purple pom-poms in their hair.
[122][123] Actress Brenna Harding has said that "... the message of Wear It Purple — of support to young LGBTI people and kids with same-sex parents — was in danger of being drowned out..." by the banning of the film Gayby Baby and associated events at some Australian schools.
[127] Reverend Mark Powell alleged that the Wear it Purple Day organisation was operating against the Education Department guidelines and that the volume of complaints was not recorded accurately.
[130] Craig Laundy, whose electorate covers Burwood, stated that he had been inundated with calls from parents and community representatives, expressing concern about the planned film screening.
[131] In 2015, Dubbo coffee shop owner Karen Payne has faced negativity from a customer for her business signage celebrating Wear It Purple Day.
[133] After the Wear it Purple website was launched in December 2010, the Department of Education and Training filter blocked it from being viewed on Government school computers.
