The “It Gets Better Project,” started by a gay man, Dan Savage, is a group of videos, posted by celebrities and average gay people alike, spreading hope to the youth that is afraid to come out or is bullied. The overall theme of these videos is that life gets better, and that anyone suffering from bullying due to their sexuality, and who may be contemplating suicide should seek help, and remember that life does get better. The people who post videos give their stories, explain how they suffered, and remind watchers that depriving one’s self of a beautiful life is not the appropriate way to deal with bullying. This project is a way to give kids hope who feel as though they have no support or love.
Here is a video of Dan Savage and his husband, Terry, speaking about their experiences.
Here is a video of a gay cop and a gay marine speaking about their experiences.
Here is the link to Dan Savage’s blog.
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About Me
- Elaine
- From the foundation of our nation, Americans have identified our nation as one in which “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yet, throughout the past and currently, there have been societal attitudes, actions, and laws that oppose this fundamental ideal completely. I created this blog to speak of this American hypocrisy, specifically dealing with rights of homosexuals. Both our current and past society have alienated homosexuals, depriving them of their “unalienable Rights” based on their sexual orientation. More often than not, people are judged and treated unequally due to their sexuality and are not viewed by their content of character. Unfortunately, this is the reality of the America we live in, yet through activism, discussion, and education, hopefully the future of our society will truly allow parity among all people.
3 comments:
I really enjoyed those videos. I have heard so many horror stories about gay children that are bullied in school and it's uplifting to hear that it actually does get better for them. I feel like the negative stories are preached louder than the success stories and I’m glad that Dan Savage decided to make that program to give hope to the young gays in the United States. If the US can't agree on what rights gay adults should have, we should at least be in strong agreement that no matter the sexual orientation, bullying of children should not be allowed. In the first video, Terry's school administrators did nothing to stop the bullying. I think the government should work to make that illegal in every state. There are country wide organizations trying to promote the acceptance of gays around the world and end the persecution of them and those groups should be present in every single school in America.
It is amazing to see how much ridicule and harassment the gay couple described while in high school. I was especially disturbed by how the administrator at one of the man’s school practically condemned him for being gay and did not help stop the bullying. Although I’m not advocate for gay rights, I do admire these guys from speaking about their experiences concerning issues growing up being gay and how they dealt with it. It’s great that these men support and care for other children and teens by providing the advice given and past experiences described in this video.
I think this message speaks in volumes not just for gay people, but in society in general. There is no justification in bullying others when everyone is their own person and has their own like and dislikes. Society tries to create such broad, yet narrow, norms of how people should think and act when in reality there is nothing wrong with pursuing varying interests. I do agree that gay people, especially young boys, are harshly made fun of and scorned because our society upholds heterosexuality as the norm, therefore making any other choice wrong and looked down upon.
I think getting the message out that “It gets better” gives reassurance and hope to those being mercilessly put down by others for being gay. Everyone has a right to their own choices and interests and should be allowed to express and practice them, even if it’s not the norm.
As both of you mentioned (Lacey and Go Green) that lack of administrative help Terry received as a young boy is appalling. Undoubtedly, regardless of the beliefs of administrative faculty, bullying should not be tolerated, especially as it has led to suicides that are frequently talked about in the news. I really like the insightful thoughts Go Green mentioned, that this speaks for the downfalls of our society in general. Though our society preaches freedom in all realms of life, there is an underlying and unconscious bigotry that is, in some ways, ingrained into the fabric of our culture. Even though you (Go Green) are not an advocate of gay rights, you still understand that this narrow-mindedness is hindering our society. Norms, in certain ways, really harm the ideals of acceptance and diversity this culture has held for decades. This idea is not only prevalent in the world of LGBT people, but immigrants and others. As a country, society, and culture, we cannot discount others based on conflicting beliefs; not only does is break down cohesiveness and harmony, yet it spawns all the discord in our lives.
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