The two-week project will feature pictures and stories of people from across the country and those who support them.
Leo Sheng, a 19-year-old student from Michigan who is transitioning from female to male, was featured in the first post.
A photo posted by 7к нαρρу нιρριєѕ 🌻 (@twerkmileyrc) on Jun 15, 2015 at 11:07am PDT
“I hope that my portrait can inspire those who have the ability to share their own stories to find their voices,” Sheng said on Instagram.
The Happy Hippie Foundation, a nonprofit the musician/actress founded in 2014, is hosting the portrait series to help people “learn more about the power of acceptance, self-expression and freedom, no matter what our gender identity,” according to the organization’s website.
#InstaPride continues Cyrus’ recent activism for LGBT and homeless youth. It was inspired by the death of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender teen who committed suicide after facing intolerance. The foundation advocates for programs aimed at helping these populations.
“At 22, she’s perhaps her generation’s most unlikely social activist, and also one of its most powerful,” Amanda Petrusich wrote of Cyrus in Paper magazine. “Now she’s harnessing that influence to counter what she sees as an unacceptable reality: young people being persecuted and cast out for their sexuality.”