In the fall of 2010 Dan Savage and his partner Terry posted a video on YouTube to inspire gay teens and young men facing harassment that it gets better. What started as an attempt to address several tragic deaths of young gay men bullied for their sexual orientation has evolved into a international movement of support for all young people facing bullying and harassment. Soon, supporters from every walk of life were sharing videos to help LGBT youth believe that IT GETS BETTER.
Eventually, a dedicated website was launched with resources to support the IT GETS BETTER PROJECT making it easier for young people to find videos and supporters to upload videos or make donations. Today, more than 25,000 user created videos have over 40 million views and the movement is growing.
Since August I’ve made 40 different attempts to record a video that I can live with. People who know me well, know that I have a terrible fear of public speaking and even sitting home alone with the camera causes me to break a sweat and stutter.
Today is National Coming Out Day and I decided that if people young and old can overcome the fear of exposing their sexuality then I could make a five minute video. My first take was ruined by a car honking outside, and my second take had one miscue, but I accepted that and after some edits for titles and audio, uploaded it to YouTube and then submitted to IT GETS BETTER PROJECT for approval. I’m hoping they approve it sooner or later.
Here is my video on YouTube and I hope you enjoy it and share it with all your friends.
This is number forty-six now just 4 more!
UPDATE 10/18/11 IT GETS BETTER accepted my video, here is the link to my video on their website.