When Tiago came out as pansexual, his mom Ana was not surprised. It was only a few years later, when her son revealed that he’s also trans, that she started looking for more info about the LGBTQ community.
Together, they tell us everything they went through in the year that followed his coming out and how Ana began calling him by his real name.
Today they are closer than ever, but there’s still a battle they need to face: it’s not yet possible to change Tiago’s name on his ID.
Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project has collected over 60,000 video stories from LGBTQ people and their allies from around the world. Here are some of our favorites from June 2017.
1. #PorUnFinalFeliz – “For A Happy Ending” Campaign
Through July, our affiliate in Chile, Todo Mejora, continues the campaign Por Un Final Feliz with the help of several media partners. A number of new videos have been uploaded to their YouTube page featuring uplifting stories from Chilean young people, as well as messages of hope from actors and other popular figures.
2. El Summit 2017 de Pride Connection Summit – It Gets Better México
It Gets Better México participated in the 2017 Pride Connection Summit and has a large number of It Gets Better videos uploaded to their YouTube page from other participants they came across there. Featured below is Carlos Maza, a manager over at Moovz, a global LGBT social network that’s particularly popular in Latin America. Pride Connection aims to foster inclusive company cultures for LGBTQ employees at professional work places across the world.
In July, we heard from some of the kids featured in the documentary Check It, which chronicles the journey of a group of young black LGBTQ men and women in Washington D.C., breaking out of poverty by launching clothing labels, walking runways, and putting on fashion shows. Emerging from violence and harassment, they made a family where they didn’t have one.
“Life for the Check It can be brutal, but it’s also full of hope and an indomitable resilience.”
In this series of videos, various members of the Check It share their stories & their messages for others in the LGBTQ community.
EL PAÍS is a daily newspaper based in Madrid, Spain with a circulation of over 15 million unique readers. In this video, a number of their staff have words of encouragement for LGBTQ jóvenes – young people.
5. Petra Bayr, a Member of Austrian Parliament, Says “It Gets Better”!
Petra Bayr knows that there is bullying and even violence against LGBTQ young people in her country. But as part of the government, she she hopes she can encourage young people to come out and stresses that things will be better.
Craving more?! Go to www.itgetsbetter.org, or keep scrolling to learn more about the cool things It Gets Better and its affiliates are doing around the world.
Colombia: It Gets Better Colombia marched for Pride in Bogotá alongside 150,000 other passionate fighters for the LGBTQ community.
España: Our affiliate in Spain also marched at World Pride 2017 alongside our Portuguese and Austrian affiliates! Supported by Lush Spain, we were proud to spread hope for LGBTQ youth around the world.
Paraguay: Meanwhile, It Gets Better Paraguay was busy participating in the first module of a workshop for a leadership school in Oviedo where they educated and empowered young people on topics of human rights.
Greece: Finally, It Gets Better Greece marched at both Pride events in Athens and Thessaloniki. “Ήταν ένα εξαίσιο (It was exquisite!)” they said.
Since 2010, the It Gets Better Project has collected over 60,000 video stories from LGBTQ people and their allies from around the world. Here are some of our favorites from June 2017.
1. Advice From Your Favorite Drag Queens - DragCon 2017
At this year’s DragCon, we met up with some of RuPaul Drag Race’s most wise & hilarious drag queens to ask them for the advice they’d give young people in today’s LGBTQ community.
We partnered with SAGE Table to start conversations with LGBTQ community members of varying generations and backgrounds. Among them were social media creator Shannon Beveridge, Matthieu Dahdah, our own intern McKenna Palmer, and more. The crux: how can we change our future without knowing our past?
3. President Michelle Bachelet - President of Chile
President Michelle Bachelet advocates for the LGBTQI youths of Chile – for their talents and abilities through which a more democratic, inclusive, and tolerant Chile will be built.
“There is a world of possibilities waiting for you,” she promises. [Though she says: “hay un mundo lleno de posibilidades esperándolos”]
Google employees assure others from the LGBTQ community that the future is for them – that it’s for everyone, and that they don’t need to worry about being “normal.”
“Normality” is a beautifully diverse world, they assert.
Craving more?! Go to www.itgetsbetter.org, or keep scrolling to learn more about the cool things It Gets Better and its affiliates are doing around the world.
COLOMBIA: It Gets Better Colombia participated in Pride Month by Marching through Bucaramanga. They invited participants to share their photos using the hashtag #unamarchalgbt
MÉXICO: Our team in México also marched for Pride! Check out their photos across Mexico City on their Facebook here, along with other organized Pride marches alongside the U.S. Embassy, AT&T, Nielson, and more.
CHILÉ: Our affiliate in Chile has launched a new campaign #PorUnFinalFeliz which hopes to provide welfare and assistance to LGBTQ adolescents targeted by bullying or who otherwise have suicidal thoughts. For information on how to contribute, access more information here.
Our own Dan Savage – who founded It Gets Better btw – was featured in this list of exemplary Queer Podcasts for his project Savage Lovecast, essentially a podcast version of his weekly sex & relationship advice column.
Also featured in the list are The Read, Homoground (featuring LGBTQ music artists), Pod Save the People, and more.
Our executive director Brian Wenke spoke with Youth Today about It Gets Better, sharing both his personal story and elaborating on the message of our project.
Life really does get better for most LGBT teens as they get older, say researchers at Northwestern University.
They followed 231 LGBT 16- to 20-year-olds, contacting each of them six times during a 3½- year period. Researchers published their results in the Journal of Adolescent Health in March 2015, showing, in general, victimization and psychological distress decreased as the youth grew older.
Wenke says one reason the change happens is because “as we age, we learn to recognize the bullies and also to find people who share our value system and can support us.”
Innovative tech company AMD has released their It Gets Better video in order to foster an inclusive, supportive corporate environment for LGBTQ people. In the video, employees all across the LGBTQ spectrum (and some parents) share their stories of coming out & finding acceptance
“If you have the option to find the village that’s more supportive than the one you have, find it. Don’t be afraid to be by yourself for a little bit before you find the other group of weirdos who are just like you, and who are exactly who you need. Sometimes you have to try some people on before you find those people.”
AMD designs and integrates technology to ignite the next generation of computing graphics solutions. And the brightest minds are open.
Our intern McKenna marched alongside thousands of fellow LGBTQ Angelinos at LA Pride (or this year, LA Resist March) – and had some questions for the participants.
Check out her interviews in the video above.
“I’m actually coming out on Facebook today,” one marcher told It Gets Better. “So I’m really excited.”
With the new season of Once Upon a Time acting essentially as a reboot owing to the departure of several of the show’s established leads, the show’s creators have taken advantage of the fresh start by adding an LGBTQ character who will have a prominent role in the reimagined series. The character’s identity, however, is being kept secret.
“One of the show’s franchises is love,” [show creator Edward] Kitsis tells EW. “This iteration is reflecting the world today. It will not be anything more than just one of other love stories that are happening. I don’t think it’s an arc, it’ll be a character who is gay and that’s who they are and they exist in the world. They don’t have a sign that says ‘special episode.‘”
Join us as we launch the first of our live Google+ Hangouts: It Gets Better Plus!
The video chat hangouts will feature It Gets Better Project Co-Founder Dan Savage; StandUp Foundation’s Chairman Ben Cohen, MBE; and writer/activist Janet Mock as well as other It Gets Better supporters answering your questions about LGBT issues and coming out!
Time to d-d-d-drop some knowledge about LGBTQ+ terms!
Today’s term is non-binary: A person whose gender identity does not conform to the gender binary, which is the erroneous idea that only two distinct and opposite genders exist (man and woman). In reality, many genders exist, and have existed throughout history! Some nonbinary people identify with more than one gender, while others don’t identify with any.
The important thing: there are many ways to be nonbinary, and everyone’s experience with gender is different.
Want more? Writing Our Own Dictionary premieres on our Youtube October 6th! Subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode. In the meantime, check out our terms glossary at itgetsbetter.org/glossary.
yknow, I'm really glad that somewhere, someone out there took the time to make a whole blog, just to support people and kids like us, it really really does mean a lot to us. We thancc thee
My dear lgbt+ kid,
I kept this message in my drafts for a long time because it’s so kind - and also because it reminds me that I am doing my best to support people.
I tend to feel guilty for not doing more, for just writing silly little letters on tumblr. Your message really provides a different perspective: I took time to make a whole blog just to share love and comfort! Yay, me!
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