Communication Across Cultures: The It Gets Better Project

COMMUNICATION ACROSS CULTURES

Communication Across Cultures

The It Gets Better Project

Columnist Dan Savage was stewing. He’d just heard about the suicide of an Indiana teenager, Billy Lucas, who had hanged himself in his grandmother’s barn at the age of fifteen. Lucas, who may or may not have been gay, was perceived as gay by his classmates and bullied harshly because of it. Savage felt heartbroken and angry. Nine out of ten gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment, and like most other gay men and women, Savage had endured bullying during his teenage years. But in spite of it, he was now a happy adult with a fulfilling life that included a great career and a loving family. He was frustrated that Billy Lucas would miss out on those things. “I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes,” Savage wrote in his column. “I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better” (Savage, 2010).

It was too late to say those things to Billy Lucas. But Savage knew there were thousands more young people like Billy Lucas, teenagers who were gay or lesbian or simply unsure about their sexuality and who were being targeted and tormented. He knew that those teens are four times more likely to attempt suicide than others—and he believed that it wasn’t too late to talk to them. So Savage and his partner sat down in front of their webcam and made a video. They talked about their own experiences at the mercy of bullies and about being isolated from their own parents when they first came out. But they also talked about what comes later: about gaining acceptance, finding places where they weren’t alone, and building families and careers. They posted the video to YouTube and encouraged others to do the same. The It Gets Better Project was born.

By November 2013, more than fifty thousand videos had been posted—from straight and gay people, celebrities, and ordinary people from all over the world—and the site had logged more than fifty million views (“It Gets Better,” 2013). Suddenly, isolated teens had a place to go to be assured that they were not alone, that they could survive the bullying, and that life would, indeed, get better.

Think About This

  1. Consider how the It Gets Better Project offers LGBTQ teens who are feeling isolated the opportunity to envision their lives as part of a co-culture. Can the Project help them find peers and role models?

    Question

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    Consider how the It Gets Better Project offers LGBTQ teens who are feeling isolated the opportunity to envision their lives as part of a co-culture. Can the Project help them find peers and role models?
  2. Thank about how technology allows individuals to connect with others who share narrowly defined interests (e.g., graphic novels) or face similar but uncommon challenges (e.g., a specific physical disability). How can connecting with others who share these interests and challenges via the internet enrich their lives?

    Question

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    Thank about how technology allows individuals to connect with others who share narrowly defined interests (e.g., graphic novels) or face similar but uncommon challenges (e.g., a specific physical disability). How can connecting with others who share these interests and challenges via the internet enrich their lives?
  3. The Project is aimed at a very specific co-culture—and yet, the videos posted come from people from all walks of life. Is it important for LGBTQ teens to hear messages of encouragement from outside the co-culture? Do the messages posted have value for straight teens as well?

    Question

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    The Project is aimed at a very specific co-culture—and yet, the videos posted come from people from all walks of life. Is it important for LGBTQ teens to hear messages of encouragement from outside the co-culture? Do the messages posted have value for straight teens as well?