What is the It Gets Better Project?

 

About the It Gets Better Project

The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, leading them to feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens, who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can't imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted — even tortured — simply for being themselves.

Justin Aaberg. Billy Lucas. Cody Barker. Asher Brown. Seth Walsh. Raymond Chase. Tyler Clementi. They were tragic examples of youth who could not believe that it does actually get better.

While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, we can. The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

What is the It Gets Better Project?

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.

The It Gets Better Project™ has become a worldwide movement, inspiring more than 50,000 user-created videos viewed more than 50 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.

ItGetsBetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future.  It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members.  It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge and watch videos of love and support.

On March 22, 2011, six months following the launch of the project, the It Gets Better Project book was released. The book , It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living is on-sale wherever books are sold.  It includes essays and new material from more than 100 contributors, including celebrities, religious leaders, politicians, parents, educators, youth just out of high school, and many more. For more details and to purchase the book, visit http://itgetsbetter.org/book.

Timeline

 

APRIL 2012

  • April 7, 2012: Comedian Kate McKinnon debuts as a featured player on Saturday Night Live, making her the first openly gay female cast member in the show’s history.
  • April 9, 2012: NYU Athletics Department makes an It Gets Better Video.
  • April 10, 2012: The Miss Universe Organization rules to allow transgendered women to participate in future pageants.
  • April 11, 2012: A study by the Boston University School of Public Health finds that lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults experience less mental health and substance abuse problems if they received positive support from their parents after coming out.
  • April 13, 2012: The Los Angeles Police Department announces plans to create a separate section for transgender inmates, as biological men who identify as women are vulnerable to violence when held among the male population.
  • April 19, 2012: The White House hosts the fourth LGBT Conference on HIV/AIDS at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, engaging the public on the impact of HIV/AIDS on the LGBT community.
  • April 20, 2012: GLSEN Day of Silence encourages vows of silence to bring attention to the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT students.
  • April 20, 2012: President Obama endorses the Student Non-Discrimination and the Safe Schools Improvement Acts the same day the White House hosts a screening of the 2011 documentary Bully.

 

MARCH 2012

  • March 1, 2012: The Illinois Human Rights Commission approves House Bill 5290, which would require schools to implement guidelines to prevent bullying and cyberbullying, as well as track bullying incidents for use when updating their policies in the future.
  • March 1, 2012: Governor Martin O’Malley signs the marriage equality bill, making Maryland the eighth state to allow same-sex couples to wed.
  • March 6, 2012: A settlement with Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School Board over the harassment and bullying of students who are gay, or perceived to be gay, results in the strengthening of the district's efforts to prevent sex-based harassment and serves as a model for districts nationwide whose social climates warrant improvements to preexisting bullying prevention initiatives.
  • March 8, 2012: StartOut, a national non-profit organization dedicated to developing and supporting entrepreneurship within the LGBT community, hosts its First Annual LGBT Entrepreneurship Awards in San Francisco, honoring business leaders for their accomplishments and commitments to the entrepreneurial and LGBT communities.
  • March 9, 2012: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development establishes an equal access to housing rule barring those who own HUD-funded housing from asking an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • March 9, 2012: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the Democratic National Committee's chairwoman, films an It Gets Better video.
  • March 14, 2012: GLAAD commences its Commentator Accountability Project that aims to provide news sources with information and context about commonly quoted anti-LGBT activists regarding their views on LGBT issues.
  • March 19, 2012: The Federal Bureau of Investigation commences recruitment of employees to serve as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender representatives at each correctional facility to coordinate activities and programs designed to cultivate LGBT cultural awareness both within and outside the institutions.
  • March 20, 2012: LGBT youth, advocates, educators, and politicians join Obama administration officials for panel discussions and workshops geared toward the prevention and intervention of bullying, violence against LGBT students, and federal legal protection of LGBT students.
  • March 26-30, 2012: National LGBT Health Awareness Week encourages community members, advocates, service providers, and government officials to recognize health and wellness as an essential part of LGBT social justice.
  • March 27-29, 2012: GLSEN youth activists gather at Capitol Hill after days of education on the Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) and Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) as part of GLSEN’s Safe Schools Advocacy Summit, culminating in visits with 62 Senators’ and 41 Representatives’ offices to push for the passing of the bills.

 

FEBRUARY 2012

  • February 1, 2012: MTV announces Dan Savage’s TV special It Gets Better, a one-hour documentary about LGBT youth, will air February 21.
  • February 7, 2012: The federal appeals court rules Proposition 8, the clause which states only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in the state of California, unconstitutional.
  • February 11, 2012: White Collar’s Matt Bomer comes out during the Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards, for which he won the New Generation Arts and Activism Award for his work in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  • February 13, 2012: Governor Christine Gregoire signs legislation making Washington the seventh state to recognize gay marriage.
  • February 14, 2012: Oklahoma elects its first openly gay state senator, State Rep. Al McAffrey.
  • February 17, 2012: Gov. Martin O’Malley’s bill to legalize same-sex marriages wins approval in Maryland’s House of Delegates.
  • February 17, 2012: Ethos, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of the elderly, launches the Ethos Equality Fund, making it the first fund solely dedicated to supporting aging members of the LGBT community in the Boston area.
  • February 21, 2012: It Gets Better special airs on MTV and Logo.
  • February 29, 2012: Lady Gaga launches the Born This Way Foundation, a youth empowerment organization that aims to provide young people with opportunities to create a “braver, kinder world.”

 

JANUARY 2012

  • January 2, 2012: The Toronto Gay Hockey League makes an It Gets Better Project video.
  • January 3, 2012: A new law in Illinois, House Bill 3281, gives school boards the power to suspend or expel students who make explicit threats against peers or school employees online.
  • January 4, 2012: Arizona state senator, Kyrsten Sinema, pursues a U.S. House seat. If elected, she will be the first openly bisexual member of Congress.
  • January 5, 2012: GlaxoSmithKline makes an It Gets Better Project video.
  • January 18, 2012: GLSEN releases a report of student and teacher experiences with biased remarks and bullying in American grade schools, revealing a greater need for elementary schools to address issues of homophobia, gender expression, and family diversity.
  • January 19, 2012: Gay advocacy group, One Iowa, starts a new campaign to sway public opinion in favor of marriage equality.
  • January 19, 2012: Virginia Board of Juvenile Justice votes to include sexual orientation in discrimination protections.
  • January 20, 2012: Gov. Deval Patrick signs the Transgender Equal Rights Bill, making Massachusetts the 16th state to treat transgender people as a protected class.
  • January 21, 2012: Virginia Senator Adam Ebbin proposes a bill that will ban discrimination against same-sex adoption.
  • January 23-27, 2012: GSLEN’s No Name-Calling Week brings attention to name-calling in schools with educational activities and resource tools for teachers.
  • January 23, 2012: President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, appoints lesbian Carina Vance Marla to Cabinet as new Health Minister.
  • January 24, 2012: Lesbians Lorelai Kilker, a chemist who fought against workplace sex discrimination, and Col. Ginger Wallace, an Air Force intelligence officer who fought in Iraq, receive invitations to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama during the State of the Union address.
  • January 25, 2012: National Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) Day celebrates the youth leadership organization’s efforts to educate school communities about homophobia and other oppressions and to fight discrimination, harassment, and violence in schools.

 

DECEMBER 2011

 

NOVEMBER 2011

  • November 3, 2011: President Obama honors National Adoption Month by declaring his support for LGBT adoptive parents.
  • November 5, 2011: The It Gets Better Project attends the Vegas Valley Book Festival.
  • November 8, 2011: Hillary Clinton names Ellen DeGeneres as a special envoy for global AIDS awareness.
  • November 18, 2011: House and Senate lawmakers reintroduce the Domestic Partnership Benefits & Obligations Act, which would allow the U.S. government to provide domestic partner benefits to federal employees in same-sex relationships.
  • November 20, 2011: 13th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, honoring those those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.
  • November 21, 2011: O'Melveny & Myers makes an It Gets Better Project video.
  • November 22, 2011: Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association expand its non-discrimination employment policy to include protections based on sexual orientation.
  • November 28, 2011: The first openly gay US legisltator to be elected, Barney Frank, resigns after 32 years in office.

 

OCTOBER 2011

 

SEPTEMBER 2011

  • September 1, 2011: New Jersey passes “The Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights,” the nation’s toughest anti-bullying law to date.
  • September 7, 2011: The Department of Health & Human Services unveils a new policy to enhance hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples.
  • September 20, 2011: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is officially repealed.
  • September 20, 2011: A young soldier comes out to his father in an emotional It Gets Better Project video on the day DADT is repealed.

 

AUGUST 2011

 

JULY 2011

 

JUNE 2011

 

MAY 2011

  • May 2, 2011: Google Chrome releases the It Gets Better Project themed commercial.
  • May 8, 2011: Google Chrome It Gets Better Project video airs during NBA Playoffs.
  • May 12, 2011: Front Runners New York announces it will donate proceeds of the 30th Annual Pride Run to the It Gets Better Project.
  • May 17, 2011: Terry Miller returns to his high school, Shadle Park High School in Spokane, WA, to speak about the It Gets Better Project. 
  • May 25, 2011: Old Navy announces a new line of Pride shirts in support of the It Gets Better Project.
  • May 26, 2011: Texas Legislature passes anti-bullying law.
  • May 28, 2011: The Yale Divinity School makes an It Gets Better Project video.

 

APRIL 2011

  • April 3, 2011: Beehive Books in Central Ohio holds an event to celebrates the release of the It Gets Better Book. 
  • April 14, 2011: Colgate University makes an It Gets Better video.
  • April 13, 2011: Named for Seth Walsh, California Assembly Education Committee passes Seth's Law, a bill to address school bullying and create safe environments for students.
  • April 15, 2011: Apple employees make an It Gets Better video.
  • April 18, 2011: Dan Savage & Terry Miller announced as NYC Pride March Grand Marshals. 
  • April 27, 2011: California Senate passes bill requiring all state public schools to teach the history of the gay civil rights movement.

 

MARCH 2011

 

FEBRUARY 2011

 

JANUARY 2011

 

DECEMBER 2010

  • December 2, 2010: Rainbow Toastmasters of San Francisco holds fundraising event to benefit the It Gets Better Project, the Trevor Project and LYRIC. 
  • December 4, 2010: LGBT Community Center in New Orleans. LA held an It Gets Better Project make your own video event. All donations collected were given to the Trevor Project. 
  • December 13, 2010: GSA in Portland, ME held an It Gets Better Project make your own video event.

 

NOVEMBER 2010

  • November 3, 2010: Eleven in West Hollywood hosts an evening to support the It Gets Better Project and the Trevor Project. 
  • November 5, 2010: It Gets Better Project event at Soundbar in Lexington, KY raises over $10,000 for the Trevor Project.
  • November 15-23: Ohio State arranges for all students, faculty, staff and community members to make their own It Gets Better Project videos. 
  • November 18: Gender Rights Network and BGLAD at Boise State hold an It Gets Better Project anti-bullying rally, march and vigil.
  • November 19: Sponsored by Guava Lamp and Outsmart Magazine, Houston hold’s its first It Gets Better Project event to benefit the Trevor Project. 
  • November 22, 2010 :  Sponsored by Equality Spokane and Spotlight Lounge, anyone who wanted to could stop by and make their own It Gets Better Project video.
  • Thanksgiving Weekend 2010: It Gets Better Project Film Festival held in Houston, TX. The festival showcased LGBT themed films and concluded with a Gay Teen Awards Ceremony recognizing and honoring gay teens for their contribution to the community.

 

OCTOBER 2010

  • October 1, 2010: Cast of Wicked records a video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 3, 2010: Chicago, IL-Center on Halsted invited people to record their own videos for the It Gets Better Project.
  • October 4, 2010: Chris Colfer, Sarah Silverman, Kathy Griffin, Jenny McCarthy, Anne Hathaway, Rex Lee, Michael Chiklis, record videos for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 5, 2010: Ke$ha, Tim Gunn record videos for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 6, 2010: Zachary Quinto records a video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 8, 2010: Initial website launched with the help of BlueStateDigital, first official grassroots fundraiser in Washington, DC attracts 500 people.
  • October 9, 2010: Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet record a video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 10, 2010: Over 50 members of the Philadelphia community record messages of hope and support for LGBT youth, creating It Gets Better – Philly's Video.
  • October 11, 2010: Charlotte, NC – Local LGBT organizations and other community groups partner to present an It Gets Better candlelight vigil and concert in memory of LGBT young people who fell victim to anti-gay bullying.
  • October 12, 2010: Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns broadcasts his video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 16, 2010: At Cure in New Orleans, cameras and microphones were set up for people to record their own It Gets Better Project videos. 
  • October 18, 2010: Dan Savage holds conversation with 500 Rutgers University students, Adam Lambert records a video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 19, 2010: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Google employees record videos for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 20, 2010: It Gets Better Project achieves 10 million video views on YouTube, website 2.0 launch.
  • October 20, 2010: It Gets Better rally in Nova Scotia.
  • October 21, 2010: President Obama posts his video for It Gets Better Project. It Gets Better Project reaches 100,000 supporter mark.
  • October 24, 2010: Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles record a video for It Gets Better Project.
  • October 24, 2010: It Gets Better Benefit at Rocca in Boston. The private dining room was set up so anyone who's moved to do so can record their own reassuring messages to LGBT youth.
  • October 25, 2010: Cal State Fullerton became part of the It Gets Better Project by holding an event in support of the recent teenage suicides by students who have been bullied because of their sexual orientation. Dressed in purple, students gathered next to the Pollak Library and were given the option to make a video or write on the wall provided to share their stories and words of encouragement. 
  • October 25 - 27, 2010: The Abbey in West Hollywood transformed into a studio where people could contribute their own It Gets Better videos. Donations as well as a raffle raised money to benefit the Trevor Project.
  • October 26, 2010: Facebook employees post It Gets Better Project video.
  • Oct. 27, 2010: In response to recent queer youth suicides, Ryerson University held an It Gets Better Project/Because We Make it Better event. 
  • October 28, 2010: Seattle, WA: Hivster.com, in conjunction with the It Gets Better Project, sponsored a Trevor Project fundraiser at Rosebud Restaurant & Bar.  People were given the opportunity to record and upload their own It Gets Better Project videos.

 

SEPTEMBER 2010

 

JULY 2010

  • July 9, 2010: Justin Aaberg of Anoka, Minnesota dies by suicide.

 

 

 

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