Over the past year, Ale, Andrew, Angelo, Bekah, Jay, Marshall, Nashan, and Renc have grown as leaders and formed a powerful bond as allies, colleagues, and friends. Through It Gets Better’s Youth Voices program, they have learned to turn their stories and lived experiences into action, using their voices to help create a future whereContinue reading “Congratulations to our Youth Voices, Class of 2026! “
Earlier this year, we had our Youth Voices create, coordinate, and execute major projects on what they are most passionate about. Our Youth Voice ambassador, Marshall, put out an ask for trans and nonbinary youth to submit images of objects that hold special sentiment to their gender journey. Marshall says: “Initially, I created this itemContinue reading “Mementos That Matter: An Archive of Trans-Affirming Objects”
Save & share this queer school survival guide! We asked our It Gets Better family for back-to-school advice for LGBTQ+ youth, and boy, did you all deliver. Here are some of our favorite tips that you can bookmark, keep with you, write down on post its, add to your phone, or send along to aContinue reading “Back to School Advice LGBTQ+ Youth”
By Ariella Assouline, Senior Manager of Programs & Operations For me, what makes coming to work each day a privilege is the ability to make the world just a little bit better than it was before. That drive, to help shape brave, self-assured, and well-resourced young people, is the connective thread throughout the It GetsContinue reading “A Rising Tide: Global Update”
In 2021, a 13-year-old queer girl from New Jersey, with a heart of gold and a story to tell, came to It Gets Better with a dream of being a role model for LGBTQ+ POC kids like her. In her application, she wrote: “‘Uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe’ to me meansContinue reading “Our Youngest Member of Youth Voices Is Going To Harvard!”
Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge and click here to learn more about this year’s featured books. What if finding your soulmate wasn’t romantic at all? What if it was mandatory? That’s the question at the center of Jessica Mary Best’s You Pierce My Soul, a queer dystopian thriller set in a city whereContinue reading “Meet Jessica Mary Best, Author of “You Pierce My Soul””
Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge and click here to learn more about this year’s featured books. We started with six queer books by six queer authors. Since then, our list has multiplied to more than 30 books you can add to your reading list. It Gets Better’s Summer Reading Challenge helps power theContinue reading “Our Summer It Gets Better 2026 Queer Reading List”
Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge and click here to learn more about this year’s featured books. The Great Gatsby, but make it queer. Ryan Douglass does exactly that in The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay, reimagining the American classic through a Black queer lens and drawing out the longing, reinvention, ambition, andContinue reading “Meet Ryan Douglass, Author of “The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay””
Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge and click here to learn more about this year’s featured books. A legal name change is supposed to be the start of a new chapter. For Jaden, it blows his entire life apart. In Mia Siegert’s The Names We Buried, a routine trip to the courthouse ends withContinue reading “Meet Mia Siegert, Author of “The Names We Buried””
Learn more about the Summer Reading Challenge and click here to learn more about this year’s featured books. What happens when fans of a 19-year-old pop star are obsessed with discovering who inspired her hit love songs, but they’re about her favorite love stories, not her own. In L.V. Peñalba’s Shapes of Love, Sasha isContinue reading “Meet L.V. Peñalba, Author of “Shapes of Love””