Goafer Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 It Gets Better Project Not sure if it's been posted on here or not, but I figured I'd post it just in case. Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids. "My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better." I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better. But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models. Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids. Here's what you can do: Make a video. Tell them it gets better. I've launched a channel on YouTube—www .youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then. "You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said. Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them. The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "Fuck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them. They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope. I can't really create a video for it, what with me not being gay or famous and all, but I can still spread the word. I think it's a great project. I love the approach of helping the victims of bullying and upping their self esteem. By doing that, they wont be as upset by the bullies. By not getting upset, they're removing the power the bullies have over them. With time, the bullies will either stop or become the outcasts themselves. At least that's my theory on it. Either way, the It Gets Better Project is still fantastic. I also think that it's a project that can be applied to all cases of bullying. I think Casey Haynes (the kid that owned the bully in Australia) said something similar about bullying and how school only lasts so long. After that, it gets better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chairdriver Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Great campaign. Kinda wish it had been about 10 years ago for my sake! We filmed one of these videos last year at uni, but I don't think it ever emerged from production stages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dyson Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Great idea for a project. A few years ago I would never have imagined that being gay is as commonplace and accepted as it actually is in society, because there is a social stigma attached to it through school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The fish Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 (edited) I'm a big fan of the project, the one from the City Councilman from Fort Worth, Texas is one of the most moving things I've seen in a long, long time. It's long, but I really much recommend you watch it. On the same topic, I really love this speech by Harvey Milk: Edited September 12, 2011 by The fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EEVILMURRAY Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Sounds good, I thought you were taking the piss after reading the title and the first line of that quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddieColeslaw Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I've watched the Tim Gunn one, he teared up in it ;___; I watched the Jay Manuel one too. I think it's a great project, and hopefully in the near future, projects like this won't be needed - as in, things will have gotten better, forever *naïveté* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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