It's a lucrative and far-reaching campaign that's attracted a wealth of momentum and celebrity attention over the last couple of months, but it hasn't escaped the usual army of dunderheads looking to piss all over the parade.
The 'It Gets Better' campaign, backed by Lady Gaga, Gareth Thomas, Ke$ha, Stephen Fry and the cast of cult TV hit Glee (to name but a few!), has been set up to show disillusioned gay youngsters that they aren't alone and that any pain they're feeling now - at home or at school - will soon dissolve. The message is clear, heartfelt and simple: 'It won't always be like this'.
This comes after the disturbing spike in gay teen suicides across the US and the UK over recent months, including the tragic death of student Tyler Clementi, who jumped to his death from George Washington Bridge last year after his flatmates filmed him and another male student involved in a gay sex act.
'Many LGBT youngsters can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults', says the founder of the 'It Gets Better' project. 'They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like. Let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.'
Yet despite the positive message of encouragement and the contextual importance, activist naysayers have hijacked the bandwagon. Radical gay and trans-rights activists believe the campaign to be misleading and false. They say that it doesn't get better, and that most LGBT people will live out a miserable life of prejudice, fear and hate.
I don't know what's more deplorable - the unbridled pessimism or the implication that we should all jump off bridges before it's too late. For the majority of us identifying as the L, the G, the B or the T, life
does get better. We make like-minded friends and discover new gay-friendly environments. We learn to love ourselves despite our differences, and go on to lead happy, fulfilled lives.
Don't listen to those who would ruin the project for everyone else. It has doubtless saved thousands of lives, and has touched the hearts of millions, whether gay, straight or bisexual. I was brought up in the most conservative back-water town imaginable. There was one gay bar, but it was never ever open because it had been firebombed so many times. But at the age of 18 I took off, and never looked back. And take it from me, it does get better.
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