Broadway Singers’ It Gets Better Is Like The Gay We Are The World
Some queer kids get bullied into hopelessness and suicide by tormenting classmates; gay sex columnist Dan Savage started the It Gets Better project to stop that. Create a touching, reassuring video about how queer lives eventually become more fabulous and you could save a life—it’s a worthwhile cause. So no wonder Broadway decided to create an uplifting cheesy pop song out of it.
Just about every actor in New York is gay, even the straight ones. And so a bunch of ’em got together to sing about life’s wonders in optimistic, feel-good, hand-clapping glee. The video moved Z, a regular Sticky contributor from the blog Z Reveals because it hit on his own difficult coming out story:
The song was like a sharp knife and tore apart my pink envelope where I hid my old my bad memories in. I was still amazed I passed those years and kept my sanity. Even my own twin brother didn’t want to hang out with me at school. He told me I was acting very girly—I survived!!! I learned to fight. I learned to find my way. And seriously it got better day by day!!
But the cute talented singers (who exude a “can’t we all just get along” multi-culti feel) also passionately belt out optimistically vague pop lyrics like:
“There are friends yet to meet
There are songs to be sung
Beautiful sunsets and battles unwon.
There’s more to be found if you just stick around.
“Don’t give up! Your life just has begun! It gets better better better,..”
Cheesy, yes. Are we dicks for critiquing it? Yes. But the song is damned catchy and all the iTunes proceeds go to The Trevor Project a 24-hour queer youth hotline for support. Plus, seeing cute guys sing it to one another always gives us a warm tingling feeling in our happy zone; so overall it’s a win.
Even porn star Buck Angel made an It Gets Better video. Buck had his pussy eaten and fucked by Wolf Hudson in Tattooed and Screwed. A transexual female-to-male porn star Buck might not seem an idea role model to reassure bullied school kids. In fact, some schools have started worrying the the videos might be too risque for their young students. IGB creator Dan Savage responds:
Savage said he is thrilled by the volume and diversity of the contributions. But…the writer has been contacted by school administrators, who are hesitant to use the site as a teaching tool because a few videos have a risque tone or contain sexual themes. Among other contributors, transsexual adult film star Buck Angel contributes a very touching (and arguably PG-rated) segment.
“I made it, and you can make it too,” Angel said, choking back tears. “There’s so much help out there today for you guys.”
He is also worried that too many participants are repeating his initial mistake, presenting a laundry list of suffering, ending with a quick “It gets better” and a goodbye.
Savage can’t control submitted videos and he shouldn’t want to in this case. Buck’s video expresses something essential to the project’s spirit. He’s not the only queer kid out there tormented by gender identity. Transsexuals exist—they regularly get laughed at, harassed, and ignored—and so it helps to have a someone speak about gender non-conformity. Buck Angel could be the start of the trans-wave in this video movement; an important step indeed!
