Thank God so many celebrities are stepping out to talk about bullying in schools after the suicides two gay teens have been making headlines. This is a subject that’s been deserving of our attention for so long because it’s always been a problem. Hell, I am not even gay and I still got called a dyke like, every single day of middle and high school.
But Lance Bass’ confession that he was a closet gay teen who bullied other gay teens mildly upsets me. Sure, that’s one possible reason that students are gay-bashing in the hallways, but general homophobia and ignorance seems like it effects much more of the population. Getting kids to stop bullying other kids because they might come off as closeted doesn’t really seem like the best way to convince people that it’s wrong.
And since we’re probably not going to cure a lot of the population’s ignorance before they die off, I’d also like to bring your attention to this video that sex columnist Dan Savage and his husband posted on their YouTube page. The It Gets Better Project is designed so that gay teens living in rural areas or feeling unaccepted in their environment have something to watch to let them know that there isn’t anything more difficult than being an unaccepted gay teen, but if you stick it through the rough years, you can have a wonderful, open and fulfilled life.
Dan Savage and his husbo are my favorite people, BTW.