It Gets Better in Latin America?

When sex advice columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller launched the "It Gets Better" project in 2010 I doubt they would have envisioned the tremendous impact the project would have.

Their goal was to reach bullied gay teens through YouTube and let them know others had gone through the same experiences and been able to survive.

The message, which has been criticized as simplistic by some, reverberated across the web and resulted in video contributions from hundreds of thousands of people including U.S. President Barack Obama.

As the initiative grew larger, Savage and Miller handed the reigns of the project to others leading to the launch of an official and trademarked website for the It Gets Better Project.

Trademark be damned, you might expect a project others throughout the world to emulate a project like this one and so they have.

Wikipedia currently lists similar copy-cat initiatives in Australia and Canada while the It Gets Better Project website lists official affiliates in Australia, Denmark and Sweden.

When it comes to Latin America, I am personally aware of Peru's Proyecto Todo Mejora which has engaged some of the leading Peruvian political and showbiz leaders on the subject of LGBT bullying including former Vice Presidential nominee Carlos Bruce and current Lima mayor Susana Villarán.

The Peruvian site mentions It Gets Better as an inspiration but there is no sign of collaboration or permission to use the trademark. It does have links to a local donation page and a merchandise shop.

So I was surprised today to see a new Todo Mejora initiative from Chile emerging as the official It Gets Better affiliate in Latin America (TodoMejora.org).

In a Spanish-language statement posted on the new Chilean site, U.S. project manager Seth Levy says he is grateful for Chile taking the lead on the project even as he admits knowing little about LGBT issues in Latin America.

A translation of his statement:

We are grateful to the Chilean team who has made TODO MEJORA a reality. We recognize the importance of working on the local scale in order to carry the message of our project. Reaching Chile and Latin America was a challenge because we are not experts on regional cultures, idioms, politics or other important items needed to coordinate a successful regional campaign.  We are confident that TODO MEJORA will change the life of LGBT youth in Chile and throughout Latin America.

The Project enjoys the sponsorship of the Chilean Fundación =Iguales (Equality Foundation) and is being launched in multiple platforms including a website, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Personally I am among those who believe that the It Gets Better Project's positive impact trumps most of the criticism lobbed its way. I am also hopeful that the new Chilean initiative will engage bullied Spanish-speaking LGBT youth who might otherwise not receive encouraging messages about how they feel and who they are.

I do wish that the Chilean initiative wouldn't be categorized as the Latin American response to It Gets Better since Chilean culture is indeed regional. After all, the official It Gets Better site doesn't bunch up Denmark and Sweden as representing all of Europe and, similarly, Latin America is much more diverse than this effort is trying to represent.

On the eve of its launch, though, the project has been received enthusiastically (check the Twitter hashtag for #TodoMejora) and we do wish it much success.

Previously:

• It Gets Better for Queer Latinos (Oct. 20, 2010)

US Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis joins LGBT DOL members: "¡Se Poné Mejor!"

Pardon me if I get snarky but anyone jumping onto the "It Gets Better" bandwagon at this point in time seems hopelessly behind the times, as much as they might mean well.

That goes for government agencies who have gotten all giddy about YouTube videos posted by US President Barack Obama, US Vice President Joseph Biden and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But what if the government agency video was in Spanish?



Kudos to US Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and LGBT members of the DOL for stepping up and vouching for the lives of LGBT teens (the message is also available in English).  I just wish that Hilda's speech in Spanish wasn't so scripted and that her anglicized accent wasn't so strong.  It truly takes away from the video's impact.

My friend Karen Ocamb has a decidedly different take here.

In the meantime, you might as well better check out my friend's Emmanuel Garcia's effort to compile videos posted online by LGBT Latino folk related to the "It Gets Better" theme.  Check them out here.

They include this great video produced by a new LGBT Latino magazine called xQsí. Enjoy...

President Barack Obama: It Gets Better

It's amazing it took the White House and President Barack Obama so long to release a statement or video addressing this issue but here you have it. President Barack Obama says "It Gets Better".

A transcript provided by the White House:

Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened by the deaths of several young people who were bullied and taunted for being gay, and who ultimately took their own lives. As a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart. It’s something that just shouldn’t happen in this country.

We’ve got to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage – that it’s some inevitable part of growing up. It’s not. We have an obligation to ensure that our schools are safe forall of our kids. And to every young person out there you need to know that if you’re in trouble, there are caring adults who can help.

I don’t know what it’s like to be picked on for being gay. But I do know what it’s like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don’t belong. It’s tough. And for a lot of kids, the sense of being alone or apart – I know can just wear on you. And when you’re teased or bullied, it can seem like somehow you brought it on yourself – for being different, or for not fitting in with everybody else.

But what I want to say is this. You are not alone. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you, filled with possibilities. There are people out there who love you and care about you just the way you are. And so, if you ever feel like because of bullying, because of what people are saying, that you’re getting down on yourself, you’ve got to make sure to reach out to people you trust. Whether it’s your parents, teachers, folks that you know care about you just the way you are. You’ve got to reach out to them, don’t feel like you’re in this by yourself.

The other thing you need to know is, things will get better. And more than that, with time you’re going to see that your differences are a source of pride and a source of strength. You’ll look back on the struggles you’ve faced with compassion and wisdom. And that’s not just going to serve you, but it will help you get involved and make this country a better place.

It will mean that you’ll be more likely to help fight discrimination – not just against LGBT Americans, but discrimination in all its forms. It means you’ll be more likely to understand personally and deeply why it’s so important that as adults we set an example in our own lives and that we treat everybody with respect. That we are able to see the world through other people’s eyes and stand in their shoes – that we never lose sight of what binds us together.

As a nation we’re founded on the belief that all of us are equal and each of us deserves the freedom to pursue our own version of happiness; to make the most of our talents; to speak our minds; to not fit in; most of all, to be true to ourselves. That’s the freedom that enriches all of us. That’s what America is all about. And every day, it gets better.

It gets better for queer Latinos - sometimes

In the wake of a recent increase in reported suicides by young queer folk in the United States, gay journalist Dan Savage had a little idea back in September: What if people could upload short videos on YouTube and speak from personal experience telling younger folk who might be going through rough waters or be considering suicide that their lives mattered and to stick it through the hard times?

Using his nationally syndicated sex-advice column and highly visited blog, Savage launched a YouTube channel he called The "It Gets Better" Project and invited people to post their videos there.

The response has been overwhelming. In just one month, the site has posted more than 2,000 videos which have garnered more than 10 million views.  Just yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted her own take.  Accordingly, there has been the need to create a stand alone site called, not surprisingly, "It Gets Better" which allows you to submit videos and also provides links to The Trevor Project for kids who might be feeling bullied and overwhelmed and might be thinking of taking their lives.



That's the background.  What I wanted to highlight is that a friend of mine, Emmanuel Garcia, has been taking a look at the videos and been compiling a list of those submitted by Latino folk ("Latin@s: It Gets Better / Se Pone Mejor").

I have posted a couple of the videos featured by Emmanuel. If you have leads on any other "It Gets Better" videos submitted for the project not listed on Emmanuel's blog, please go to the link above and leave a reply message on his post indicating which videos he might have missed.