What is the It Gets Better Project?

About the It Gets Better Project

The It Gets Better Project’s mission is to communicate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth around the world that it gets better, and to create and inspire the changes needed to make it better for them.

Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, leading them to feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens, who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can’t imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted — even tortured — simply for being themselves.

While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, we can. The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

What is the It Gets Better Project?

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry Miller to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.

The It Gets Better Project™ has become a worldwide movement, inspiring more than 50,000 user-created videos viewed more than 50 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of “Glee”, Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.

ItGetsBetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge and watch videos of love and support.

On March 22, 2011, six months following the launch of the project, the It Gets Better Project book was released. The book , It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living is on-sale wherever books are sold. It includes essays and new material from more than 100 contributors, including celebrities, religious leaders, politicians, parents, educators, youth just out of high school, and many more. For more details and to purchase the book, visit http://itgetsbetter.org/book.

View Timeline on How It’s Gotten Better

See how it’s gotten better thanks to the efforts of supporters, LGBT organizations, activists and allies worldwide since 2010.

International Affiliate Program

The It Gets Better Project brings messages of hope to LGBT youth around the world and works globally to effect change in local communities.

The It Gets Better Project has been international in scope since the first it gets better videos appeared online in September, 2010. Beginning in those early days, countless it gets better videos have been offered from supporters across the globe. The videos are diverse in language, culture and political viewpoint, and feature a range of different issues, but they always demonstrate the unifying theme that it gets better.

Building on the momentum of the international videos, the Project has deployed programs to benefit LGBT youth on six continents. These programs range from conferences coordinated through domestic and foreign government agencies and efforts with the foreign press, to international film and pride festivals and targeted social media outreach.

The Project has also built a diverse and growing network of international affiliates to bring the it gets better message to youth around the world. Through coordinated efforts with its affiliates, the Project is developing resources and effecting change in ways that are tailored to local language, culture and need.

Visit our It Gets Better Project International Page to find out more about our current affiliates.