The “It Gets Better” Project is an Internet-based non-profit organization founded in 2010 by sex-advice columnist Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller which aims to prevent suicide by LGBT youth by having gay adults tell them their lives will improve. In this video made by computer animation film studio Pixar, LGBT studio employees talk about their struggles an young people and tell gay teens not to give up by committing suicide. They discuss being in the closet, fear of rejection, not fitting in, suffering physical and verbal abuse, feeling confused, sad, and alone, and even having suicidal thoughts. However, they say that they are glad that they did not commit suicide because they would have missed out on so much including coming out, making friends, and having romantic relationships. They offer words of encouragement and advice for hard times and reassure LGBT youth that “it gets better.”

discussion

Who is this video addressed to, and what is its main message?

What advice do the adults in this video give LGBT youth?

Why might it be important for LGBT youth to hear this kind of message from gay adults?

Does suicide by gay teenagers relate to bullying? How? Why?