Wednesday, September 22, 2010

It Gets Better Project



The recently launched 'It Gets Better' project is just one of the many reasons why i love Dan Savage. For those of you who are not familiar with his work, Savage is an American author, journalist and editor who is known for writing 'Savage Love', an internationally syndicated advice column. Not one to sugar coat his words, Savage deals out straight forward and often humorous advice regarding reader queries in matters of relationships and sex.

The 'It Gets Better' project consists of a newly created YouTube channel which allows gay, lesbian, bi or trans people the opportunity to tell their story in the hope of reaching out to kids or teenagers who may be experiencing hard times as a result of their orientation

In his own words:

"I've launched a channel on YouTube 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.

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 Billy's 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....

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."


To find out more about the project:

http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove

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