Determined to reach out to queer youth who feel alone in the face of bullying and harassment, columnist Dan Savage started a YouTube campaign with a message: "It Gets Better." 

 

Savage explains why he started the project: 

"Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates — classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.... I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better."

Savage is encouraging queer adults to upload videos to YouTube and share their stories about how it gets better. Watch them all at the It Gets Better YouTube page. Here's Savage and his partner:

If you'd like to take part: record a video, upload it to your YouTube profile and email the YouTube URL to mail (at) savagelove.net.

Since the project's launch on Sept 23, the YouTube page now links to more than 300 videos.  

Staff at Xtra's parent company, Pink Triangle Press, have created a video for the campaign. Watch below:

Today brings good news for Constance McMillen, the 18-year-old Mississippi lesbian whose high school cancelled prom after she asked to bring her girlfriend. 

The school has agreed to implement a policy banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and it will pay $35,000 in damages to McMillen, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

"I'm so glad this is all over. I won't ever get my prom back, but it's worth it if it changes things at my school," said McMillen, who was harassed so badly by students blaming her for the prom cancellation that she had to transfer to another high school to finish her senior year. "I hope this means that in the future students at my school will be treated fairly. I know there are students and teachers who want to start a gay-straight alliance club, and they should be able to do that without being treated like I was by the school." 

...

In addition to today's legal judgment against the school, an earlier ruling in the case set an important precedent that will help prevent other students from suffering the kind of discrimination McMillen experienced. In March, the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi issued a ruling in McMillen's case that school officials violated McMillen's First Amendment rights when it cancelled the high school prom rather than let McMillen attend with her girlfriend and wear a tuxedo.

Read more:

• Calgary queers reclaim their high school prom experience
• Flashback: Gay Ontario teen Marc Hall's prom fight
• ACLU sues US school that cancelled prom over lesbian date
  

Lady Gaga has come to the defence of a US teen who was sent home from school because he wore a shirt that read "I Heart Lady Gay Gay."

The pop star tweeted last night: "I love you cole, you just be yourself. You're perfect the way God made you. #colethegreat @fiercefaggot." Earlier in the day, Gaga tweeted, "Thank u for wearing your tee-shirt proud at school, you make me so proud, at the monsterball, you are an inspiration to us all. I love you.X"

The Nashville high school sent 15-year-old Cole Goforth home and asked him to change out of the shirt, reports WSMV:

"We've had a few disruptions the last few days, and we thought the slogan on that shirt would continue to escalate those incidents that had occurred," said Danny Weeks, assistant director of the school board.

Cole sees it differently.

"I just think my sexuality isn't widely accepted around here, so of course they are going to single me out," he said.

His mother said if other students are allowed to express themselves by wearing religious and rebel flag shirts, her son should be able to wear shirts that reflect his views on sexual orientation. (read more and watch a video report at WSMV)

Thank goodness for civil liberties groups! The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing a Mississippi high school that cancelled its prom rather than let a lesbian student attend with her girlfriend.

From the ACLU:  

In papers filed with the US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, the ACLU asks the court to reinstate the prom for all students at the school and charges Itawamba County School District officials with violating Constance McMillen's First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

"All I wanted was the same chance to enjoy my prom night like any other student. But my school would rather hurt all the students than treat everyone fairly," said McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Mississippi. "This isn’t just about me and my rights anymore – now I'm fighting for the right of all the students at my school to have our prom." (read more at aclu.org)

A Facebook Fan Page has been set up: Let Constance Take Her Girlfriend to Prom!

Related:

• How the Canadian education system is failing queer youth
• New Brunswick teachers working to combat homophobia in schools
• Abbotsford school board to allow Social Justice 12
  
• Alberta passes law that threatens school lessons on sexuality, sex
  

Good news all around today -- for me, I capped off Celebrate Bisexuality Day by going to a preview here in Toronto of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's sexy and scandalous new show Neon Nightz -- a wildly entertaining ode to the Montreal strip club scene in the '90s starring Sasha Van Bon Bon and Kitty Neptune:

And thanks to the wonders of the internet, I didn't have to miss out on last night's episode of Glee, featuring this utterly ridiculous and wonderful scene:

The show was hilarious and poignant and proof that the gays have taken over the airwaves.  Sure, I didn't think anything could top the news that Heather Locklear is returning to Melrose Place but there's also been the adorable coupling of frathouse roommates Calvin and Grant on the ABC Family college-life series Greek:

What amazes me is the lack of controversy over this show -- there's an interracial gay couple in a show on the aimed-at-teens ABC Family network yet not a peep from the wingnuts?  Ah, progress!

This is why this pop culture stuff matters, of course -- it's what's helping kids to now come out as early as eleven.  Now we get to see if all that "family values" talk really holds up as these brave kids demand support.

And finally, the best potential news of all:  successful trials of a possible vaccine against HIV!  As always, it's too early to celebrate but even other researchers appear dazzled by the news today.

Only trouble is, all this good news leaves me nothing to snark about, which is....what's that?  Stephen Harper skipped out on the United Nations for a visit to Tim Hortons?  When Canadians asked just how useless he could be, he said, "Double double?"  He thought Ban Ki-Moon meant order a cruller instead?  Did he tell the other world leaders he'd be there in a Timbit?

Oh that Stephen -- like Tim Horton's, he's always there for me!