Taylor Swift and Janet Mock to Receive GLAAD Award for LGBTQ+ Activism

In April, Taylor Swift and Janet Mock will be honor at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards for their work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.

Swift will be bestowed with GLAAD's Vanguard Award which is presented to allies to the queer and trans communities that have made a significant difference in promoting acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. Over the past few years, Swift has done that in a variety of ways, but it came to a head in 2019. In addition to releasing her song "You Need to Calm Down," that came coupled with a music video featuring many LGBTQ+ faces, the pop star released a petition to support the Equality Act. That bill has been waiting to brought for a vote in the Senate, and Swift's petition hoped to push them to act. In addition, she helped to spike donations for GLAAD through her efforts.

The singer follows the likes of Beyonce and Jay - Z , Jennifer Lopez, Cher, Elizabeth Taylor, and Patricia Arquette in having received the honor.

On the same evening, Janet Mock is set to receive the Stephen F. Kolzak award. The honor has historically been bestowed upon an LGBTQ+ person in media who has made a significant difference in promoting acceptance as well, which is something Mock has done for years, since coming out back in 2011 in Marie Claire. This work has been done not only through her own visibility but through projects like Girls Like Us, her book Redefining Realness, the Never Before podcast, and her work on Pose.

With Pose, Mock became the first transgender woman of color to write and direct a broadcast television show, and in 2019 she also guest edited Out's very own first-ever womens' and femmes' issue written by, photographed by, styled by, and featuring, exclusively women and nonbinary femmes.

"Janet Mock is a trailblazing force for diverse and inclusive storytelling who has raised the bar for LGBTQ representation in Hollywood," GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis told PEOPLE in a statement. "She tells stories that need to be told, including those of transgender people and people of color, in revolutionary and eye-opening ways that inspire and enrich."