How a 12yo from Broken Hill accidentally started a global LGBTQI movement

When a 12-year-old from Broken Hill started threading beads onto her shoelaces she never anticipated she would accidentally trigger global pride movement.

Abbie Jane started The Rainbow Shoelace project in her bedroom in Broken Hill.

Six rainbow beads. An outback country town. And a broken-heartened 12-year-old girl with a dream. Put them together, and you may just accidentally start a global pride movement; at least that’s been the experience of Abbie Jane.

The now 13-year-old from Broken Hill is making waves in the LGBQTI community after handing out rainbow beads to thread onto shoelaces as a way to show support for other queer kids like her.

“I was feeling really alone and isolated, especially being in a small town, I felt there was no one else like me. I came up with the idea of putting beads on my shoelaces so others can identify you as an ally or part of the community.

13-year-old Abbie Jane started The Rainbow Shoelace project in her bedroom in Broken Hill. Today, the LGBTQI+ support idea has become a global movement.

“I started putting posters up around town with little bags of the beads stapled to them. And then it got to the point where we were giving away over 100 a week.”

These days that number is closer to 130,000 — and that’s just in Australia.

It’s simple, subtle and highly effective. The movement, called The Rainbow Shoelace Project has since grown from six beads on a schoolgirl’s shoe to Abbie sending thousands of beads all across the country.

Ms Jane’s mum Sophie Angell said they are starting to see people take the project overseas.

What started as a small idea, has led to a global movement.

The project is self-funded but takes donations.

The Rainbow Shoelace project has become a global LGBTQI+ support movement.

“We encourage everyone to start up the project in their own town. We have actually seen someone do it in the Czech Republic, which is incredible.”

However, it hasn’t always been a smooth journey. Despite all she has achieved, Ms Jane said she still experiences prejudice and bullying in her town and school.

“For International Day Against Homophobia, I put up posters around my school and within seconds of being up kids crowded around it and started hurling slurs and telling me to take it down,” she said.

As heartbreaking as the bullying is, according to Ms Jane, it pushes her to keep going.

“You normally see rainbows when you‘re looking up in the sky … When you’re experiencing homophobia and bullying like what I’m experiencing at school, you tend to look down and hide yourself in the world.

“By looking down and seeing someone with rainbows on their feet, it can make you feel so much less alone and help you see that you are loved and you do belong,” she said.

Abbie and her mum Sophie Angell give out the beads for free but ask that people pay for postage.

The project, which is entirely self-funded, takes donations from supporters and requests for beads on their website rainbowshoelaceproject.com.au.
Got a news tip? Email [e-mail]