Articles tagged with: LGBT youth
Alaska Pride Conference & Youth Summit 2011: October 14-16 in Anchorage
Alaska Pride Conference 2011 and the first-ever Alaska statewide GLBT Youth Summit (Alaska youth 14-18) focusing on youth issues in Alaska will be held October 14-16 in Anchorage.
University students take the lead
University students around the state are kicking into gear — with classes, but also with activities, organizing, and leadership development.
It got better: A gay youth’s gratitude
Earlier today, Box Turtle Bulletin posted a video today from a gay teenager named Dylan thanking a gay couple for their “It Gets Better” YouTube video.
Zack Ford at Think Progress tells us more:
Dylan found an “It Gets Better” video from YouTube user “depfox,” gay couple Jay and Bryan Leffew with their kids Daniel and Selena. Through the Leffew family, Dylan saw that he didn’t have to pray away the gay or repress his identity. He could, in fact, grow up to have the loving family that he has dreamed of.
Watch (and be sure to read the comments on Dylan’s YouTube page):
Zack Ford continues,
Since posting his thank-you to the Leffews last month, he has since made a follow-up video telling his own coming out story in which he also talks about how important Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns’ video was for him as he was figuring out his identity. Dylan’s journey is far from over, because though he came out to the world at large on YouTube, he still hasn’t talked to his family about his identity. Still, by coming out, he is already on a better path.
Is it fair to suggest that IGB saved Dylan’s life? Yes. Nobody will ever know what his story might have been, but if some Internet videos helped him avoid a life of denial, depression, and psychologically harmful ex-gay therapy, that is surely a victory. It’s pretty hard to call something “useless” that has saved a life, and it would be foolish to assume Dylan is alone. “It Gets Better” is making it better one video at a time just by being there for young eyes to see. Keep them coming.
Dan Savage has described “It Gets Better” as a “message in a bottle” to LGBT and questioning youth. Sometimes that message makes all the difference.
It Gets Better for Native American Youth
“This is for all the LGBTQ Native youth throughout the country. From the villages in Alaska, to the Islands in Hawaii, to every corner of Indian Reservations across America… It Gets Better… we are living proof!!”
If you or someone you know is feeling alone, call the Trevor Project, they can help: 1-866-4U-TREVOR.
Watch the new It Gets Better video from the National Native American AIDS Prevention Center:
This Friday: Loud and PROUD all-ages dance at Out North
Out North and ADK kick of Pride Month with an all-ages dance featuring performances by Powertrain Control Module, DJ DaMmBro, and special guests. A night of exceptional music, with a crowd of extraordinary people!
San Francisco Giants make “It Gets Better” video in support of LGBT youth
Today, the San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports organization to take a stand against bullying in the It Gets Better campaign. Will the Boston Red Sox follow suit?
Bent News, 5/31/11: Pride fundraisers, & solidarity against hate
Last weekend’s Pride fundraisers, a presidential proclamation, Old Navy Pride t-shirts, and Moscow repression; solidarity against hate in Portland; marriage equality updates from California and Minnesota; a memorial to gay Holocaust victims in Munich; and more in this edition of Bent News.
Gay/lesbian youth are doing better than you think, says Ritch Savin-Williams
LGBT youth are a lot stronger and more resilient than we usually give them credit for. That’s what Dr. Ritch C. Savin-Williams of Cornell University said this past Monday as a guest on Line One: Your Health Connection on KSKA, Anchorage’s public radio station. The program can now be downloaded or listened to online.
Wasilla High School & LGBT youth: A more complex picture
Last week we wrote about the “Bohemian Rhapsody” controversy at Wasilla High School and the wider picture for LGBT youth in Mat-Su schools. Since then, we’ve learned that things might be better for LGBT students at Wasilla High School than our story portrayed.
Bohemian Rhapsody “too gay” for Wasilla? — Beyond the snark, bad situation for gay kids in Mat-Su schools
Beyond the headline-catching absurdity of the short-lived Wasilla High School ban on “Bohemian Rhapsody,” there’s a more serious reality for LGBT students in the Mat-Su — one which hasn’t gained so much media attention.
