It Gets Better at Pride House 2012

At the suggestion of the FGG, Colin Fallesin of Pink Sixty News has produced these great "It Gets Better" videos of visitors to Pride House 2012, including one from Claire Harvey, captain of Team GB's Paralympic sitting volleyball team!

The Oakland As say "It Gets Better"

From the San Francisco Chronicle (h/t Outsports):

The [Oakland Athletics] became the latest sports team to post an "It Gets Better" video, two weeks after starter Brandon McCarthy decried homophobia at baseball stadiums via Twitter.

McCarthy, left-hander Dallas Braden and second baseman Jemile Weeks appear on the video, along with stadium in-game host Kara Tsuboi.

The It Gets Better Project supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens who are dealing with bullying, harassment and feelings of isolation, with many celebrities and athletes providing messages that there is a brighter future ahead.

"I'm glad the A's were on board in helping get this out there, because we definitely wanted to get this off the ground," McCarthy said.

In the video, Braden says, "We are speaking for the entire Oakland Athletics organization when we say there is no place in society for hatred and bullying against anyone."

On Friday, Weeks said he was happy to participate in the video because he thinks it's important to use any platform as a public figure to try to help those in need, including teens who feel like outsiders. "Everyone should feel comfortable being themselves," Weeks said. "So I wanted to tell kids to be confident and to know they have support."

McCarthy said he heard from many gay and lesbian A's fans after his antihomophobia tweet and his subsequent remarks to Gwen Knapp in The Chronicle, and he said, "It's good for teams to do things that are important to their communities."


View the video below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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More on Brandon McCarthy's slam on "kiss cam" homophobia

From the San Francisco Chronicle, more on Brandon McCarthy's response to the "kiss cam" at Major League Baseball games. The "kiss cam" is a camera shot of a (heterosexual) couple among the spectators that is shown on the stadium's big video screens, with messages urging the couple to kiss on camera. For "comedy", the "kiss cam" may also be used with two presumably straight men. It is never used for same-sex couples, even at team's LGBT games. McCarthy of the Oakland Athletics team tweeted his disgust with the practice while viewing a recent game.

For a lot of athletes, Twitter has been a forum for hazardous indiscretion. Last week, the A's Brandon McCarthy made the best of the social network's 140-character allotment. After a game in Anaheim, the pitcher tweeted: "They put two guys on the 'Kiss Cam' tonight. What hilarity!! (by hilarity I mean offensive homophobia). Enough with this stupid trend."

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The wisdom of this 28-year-old's tweet shouldn't elude MLB and other leagues that indulge in "Kiss Cam" cheesiness. A couple of years ago, a group of gay fans in St. Louis publicly expressed their discomfort about an NFL game in which the camera homed in on two apparently straight men, and the two made disgusted faces over the suggestion that they kiss.

McCarthy pointed out the joke is usually telegraphed by placing the two guys at the end of the routine. There is no way it's an attempt to include gay and lesbian couples in the frivolity of "Kiss Cam."  "There's that stupid, little comedic value of it if you don't really think about what it implies," he said Tuesday. "It kind of got old on that level. Then I actually started thinking about why we were supposed to be laughing, and it bugged me."

McCarthy considers it incongruous for MLB teams to sponsor "It Gets Better" antihate campaigns and not banish this brand of humor. "The whole thing bugs me on a non-homophobic level, because it's awkward," he said. "... I just hate it."

[...]

Read in full HERE.

University of North Carolina athletes and staff say "It Gets Better"

Outsports tells the story of the making of this new It Gets Better video from members of University of North Carolina athletics:

Athletes from the University of North Carolina, including those from football and baseball, have join forces to make a video for the It Gets Better Project. The video was started by our good friend Dave Lohse, Associate Athletic Communications Director, himself openly gay. It was not a hard sell, Lohse told Outsports.

The genesis of the video is that I approached Cricket Lane, one of our assistant athletic directors, last fall about doing an It Gets Better video. She had me talk to a group called the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. I also talked to all the freshman athletes about diversity issues as part of a session in the Carolina Leadership Academy program.

From there a Facebook group was started. We wanted to keep the video to 2 minutes or less. There were so many student-athletes who volunteered to be in the video that we basically said yes to whoever contacted us. We felt it really didn’t make any difference what sport they represented. With 28 sports we knew we couldn’t include everyone.

Lohse said he does not know if any of the athletes in the video are gay or lesbian, but their message of support is terrific. It’s cool to see an entire athletic department get behind the effort, and it also show the power of having an out advocate like Lohse.

Read more about the making of the video HERE.

View the video below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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New York University athletes, coaches and administrators say "It Gets Better"

Outsports tells the story of the making of this new It Gets Better video from members of New York University athletics:

Jay Hayes, captain of the men’s volleyball team at New York University, is openly gay and he wanted to share his story. He thought about doing a personal video for the It Gets Better Project. He then had a better idea — involve all of NYU athletics to make a video, showing support from athletes, coaches and administrators.

Read more about the making of the video HERE.
 
View the video below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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Keph Senett on campaigns against homophobia in sport

In Xtra.ca, Keph Senett asks if campaigns are having an impact on homophobia in sport in Canada and beyond:

While more professional athletes have come out of the closet in the past year than in the past decade, an expert on homophobia in professional sports says it is still the last great bastion of institutionalized homophobia.

In 2011, dozens of athletes publicly came out across a spectrum of disciplines, ranging from swimming to cycling to soccer. Momentum gathered as several high-profile organizational figures — such as Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts and ESPN radio host Jared Max — followed suit, and straight allies like wrestler Hudson Taylor, of the Athlete Ally foundation, and rugby player Ben Cohen, who founded the StandUp Foundation, helped put the anti-homophobia message on the international agenda.

The same year, Major League Baseball got involved at the franchise level when the San Francisco Giants participated in Dan Savage’s It Gets Better project, and by the end of the season a total of eight MLB teams had produced videos for the campaign.

Former basketballer Charles Barkley was vocal in his ondemnation of homophobia in sports, and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network ran its Think B4 You Speak campaign on television during a National Basketball Association game in May.

Gains were made even in the world of soccer, which has been heavily criticized for its lack of organizational support for an anti-homophobia strategy. In 2011, the United Kingdom’s The Justin Campaign, which advocates against homophobia in the sport, secured official endorsements from both The Football Association and the Union of European Football Associations.

Indeed, if a spectator dropped in for the 2011 sports season only, it seems likely that he or she might conclude that homophobia in sport is an antiquated issue, a throwback to a different, less enlightened time.

But according to Caroline Fusco, an associate professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto, professional sport remains a stronghold of homophobic attitudes.

“Sport as a space has been one that has really been there for the production of a certain kind of hyper-masculinity. Particularly when you think of pro sports, the big ones: hockey, football, baseball. These all tie in to the rugged notion of masculinity, and these attitudes remain — that gay men aren’t masculine,” she says.

Strategies like Brian and Patrick Burke’s You Can Play campaign, which is aimed at the National Hockey League, are trying to change that. Advocates go after the highest-profile names they can secure to create messaging that challenges that notion.

It’s an effective method. The events of 2011 seem to suggest a sea change in the sporting culture. But is the endorsement or coming out of a collection of high-profile sports figures a reasonable measure of the state of homophobia in sport? Is it the best way to tackle homophobia?

Marc Naimark, vice-president of external affairs for the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), seems to think not. “The Federation of Gay Games [has] continued to offer opportunities for LGBT athletes to be active in sport in a safe environment while engaging straight athletes in clubs or at sports competitions,” he says. “When we consider sheer numbers, that is far more significant than the elusive out pro athlete.”

Keep reading HERE.

17 June 2012 / Seattle Frontrunners Run and Walk with Pride

Run and Walk With Pride is an annual community event open to all, presented by Seattle Frontrunners. Join us on Sunday, June 17th in Seward Park for a fun 4K run, 10K run, or 4K walk. All abilities are welcome, so come and join the fun! Chip timing is provided and we have awards for top finishers. All finishers will be eligible for our fabulous raffle prizes!

Each year we select a local non-profit GLBT organization as our beneficiary. The selection process is designed to ensure the proceeds make a meaningful difference to them as our beneficiary.

For 2012 we selected It Gets Better Project, with proceeds going to GLSEN WA!

You made the videos, now is your chance to really help Make It Get Better! Register today and Donate/Fundraise for this great cause!

Info HERE.

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus performs "It Gets Better" song

Via Towleroad:

Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz and Dan Savage recently joined forces to turn segments of the Savage-created "It Gets Better" project into a sweeping emotional song encapsulating all the emotions that go with coming out and staying out in an at-times confrontational world.

In writing TESTIMONY, Stephen Schwartz collaborated with Dan Savage, creator of the groundbreaking "It Gets Better Project." Schwartz has set the heartfelt words from the "It Gets Better" videos to music, weaving them into a breathtaking, emotional new masterpiece that speaks to anyone who has ever felt out of place.

TESTIMONY was recorded and engineered by Leslie Ann Jones, the legendary multi Grammy award-winning Director of Music Recording at Skywalker Sound. Performed by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus under the direction of Dr. Timothy Seelig.

The song is performed by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, a member of FGG member organization Gala Choruses.

View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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Olympic diving hopeful says "It Got Better" for his dads

Jordan Windle is a young diver who made this "It Gets Better" message.

Jordan is a junior national platform diving champion and hopes to be part of Team USA at the 2012 Olympics.

Jordan's story as an adoptee is told in the book An Orphan No More, with a foreword by Gay Games Ambassador Greg Louganis.

View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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Kile Ozier has said "It Gets Better" to over 1000 viewers!

Kile Ozier's It Gets Better video was the first one we posted over a year ago, near the start of the campaign.

This video has just reached 1000 views. Thanks to Kile for reaching out to so many people! How about you?

Visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

Outsports shares coming out story of college athlete

We shared the "It Gets Better" video made by athletes and athletics department staff from St Michaels College in Vermont. Here's an extract from the coming out story of one of the athletes involved in the production of this video, as shared by Outsports:

This past year I was lucky enough to be involved in a project at Saint Mike’s as a part of the “It Gets Better” campaign that involved a lot of students, athletes, and administrators rallying around the cause. Though I’m sure there are other gay athletes at SMC, I don’t happen to know any of them personally. I don’t know any other gay athletes around the NE-10 Conference either, but I’ve never experienced any negativity around the subject and I don’t ever expect to. I hope the video, at the very least, spoke to an athlete at or elsewhere who’s struggling with their sexual identity or with fitting in.

It was one of the most rewarding activities I’ve ever been a part of, and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it, and we had an overwhelmingly positive response.  It makes me really proud to have been a part of the production and a character in the video that reached more people than we ever though it would.

Read in full HERE.

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Toronto Gay Hockey League commissioner says "It Gets Better"

Stephen Reid, commissioner of the Toronto Gay Hockey League, part of FGG member organization Outsport Toronto, has made this "It Gets Better" message.


View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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Boston swimmers say "It Gets Better"

Liquid Assets New England Swimming in Boston have made a video for the "It Gets Better" project.



View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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Toronto Marlies and the Toronto Gay Hockey Association say "It Gets Better"

The Toronto Gay Hockey Association, a member of FGG member organization OutSport Toronto, has made this "It Gets Better" message with the Toronto Marlies, the minor league franchise of the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team.

View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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From Jeff Kagan: Not everybody's saying "It Gets Better"

From Out in the Locker Room, Jeff Kagan's blog archive of his LGBT sport journalism, a look at the It Gets Better program, those that have contributed, and those who are conspicuous by their absence:

One year ago, sex columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry Miller in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old high school student who faced seemingly unending ridicule and torment by fellow students for being gay. Savage felt there needed to be a way to communicate directly to troubled LGBT teens who were dealing with bullying, in most cases related to their actual or perceived sexual orientation. He and his partner Terry Miller created a 9-minute video and placed it on YouTube. In the video the two openly spoke about homophobic issues they faced in their youth, but more importantly, how much better their lives became after high school.

Within the first two months of Savage’s video being posted, nearly 10,000 people recorded their own videos giving thousands of LGBT teens a reason to carry on with their lives and look forward to the future rather than dwell on the not-so-good-present. “It gets better.”

Celebrities, politicians, activists and people of all walks of life soon added their own stories via personal videos, sharing experiences and giving testimony to how their lives had improved since high school. The stories came from within the gay community, but also from many straight allies who offered words of support and encouragement. Even President Obama recorded a video telling LGBT teens,“It will get better.” He continued, “More than that, in time you’ll see that your differences are a source of pride and a source of strength. You’ll look back on the struggles you’ve faced with compassion and wisdom.”

Visibility by the gay community in entertainment, fashion, politics and many other fields has become quite the standard in the past few years, however, the one area which has yet to breach the “pink barrier” is the wide world of professional sports. Sports are generally considered to be the final frontier on dealing with homophobia and acceptance of the gay community. Of the four major sports leagues in the United States (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), there has yet to be a single athlete to come out of the closet while still actively playing the game. The few who have come out did so after retiring, many citing fear that their sexual orientation would create problems with their career and their lives as professional athletes.

Keep reading HERE.

Seattle FrontRunners say "It Gets Better"

FGG member organization Seattle FrontRunners has made this "It Gets Better" message.


View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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No Tebow for It Gets Better

From the Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON -- The Denver Broncos have responded to an online campaign urging the team to make a video for the It Gets Better project, indicating that they won't be jumping on the anti-bullying project anytime soon.

Nearly 8,000 individuals have signed onto a Change.org petition for the Broncos and their high-profile quarterback Tim Tebow to become the first NFL team to create a video for It Gets Better, which was started by sex columnist Dan Savage and his husband in September 2010 in response to the disturbing number of suicides by teenagers who said they were being bullied for being gay or perceived to be gay.

In 2010, Tebow controversially starred in an ad for the right-wing group Focus on the Family, which opposes LGBT rights. In fact, the organization has argued that there "is no evidence that homosexuals, as a class, are discriminated against in the present society."

Petition organizer and Broncos fan Andy Szekeres said an It Gets Better video would help Tebow and the Broncos say, "We may have differences on abortion and gay marriage, but stopping kids from killing themselves is an issue we can all get behind."

But in a statement to The Huffington Post, Broncos spokesman Patrick Smyth gave no indication that the team would be participating anytime soon.

"The Denver Broncos are committed to tolerance, acceptance and respect for all in the community," said Smyth. "The National Football League is currently working with USA Network on its 'Characters Unite' campaign combating prejudice and intolerance, and our organization is in full support of that movement to help raise awareness for this very important cause."

Keep reading HERE.

Outsports looks at the "alternative" proposed by the NFL HERE, while we ask: why can't they do both? Oh, that's why...

St Michael's College athletes and staff say "It Gets Better"

Athletes and staff from St Michael's College in Vermont have made a video for the "It Gets Better" project.

View it below, and visit our "It Gets Better" page HERE.

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FSGL participants make "It Gets Better" videos

During recent events organized by the FSGL and its members, participants were offered the possibility of recording a message for the "It Gets Better" project. "It Gets Better", created by columnist Dan Savage, aims to reach out to young LGBT people at risk for suicide by means of video messages from adults to say that however difficult things may be, if you can get through these difficult months or years, life gets better.

The FGG supports this campaign (see our It Gets Better page), and is glad to see the participation of member organization FSGL in the creation of these videos, which are in English or in French with English subtitles.

During the Face à Face film festival in November 2010, whose theme was sport, several participants took advantage of the presence of Catherine Thiollière and Yves Bourgeay, filmmakers there to present their Gay Games VIII documentary, to record a messsage.

The following spring, during the TIP Paris International Tournament, more messages were filmed, thanks to the work of Yves Selier.

We thank those sharing their stories, the videographers, and the organizers of the events for contributing to this initiative.

If you have made a video we haven't noted, or would like to learn more, write itgetsbetter@gaygames.org.

Coordination and translation Marc Naimark.

View the videos made at the TIP and the  Face à Face film festival on GayGamesTV in the players below:

TIP:

Face à Face:

En français / "It Gets Better" de membres de la FSGL

Lors de manifestations récentes, la Fédération sportive gaie et lesbienne (FSGL), membre de la Fédération des Gay Games, a proposé aux participants d'enregistrer leur témoignage dans le cadre du projet "It Gets Better". Ce projet, conçu par le journaliste Dan Savage, vise à toucher les jeunes LGBT à risque de suicide à travers des témoignages d'adultes pour leur transmettre un message d'espoir, qu'aussi difficile que soit l'adolescence, la vie vaut le coup d'être vécue si l'on tient bon.

La FGG soutient cette campagne (voir notre page It Gets Better), et elle est heureuse de la participation de la FSGL à la création de ces vidéos.

Lors du festival du film Face à Face de 2010, dont le thème était le sport, quelques participants ont profité de la présence de Catherine Thiollière et Yves Bourgeay, des cinéastes ayant présenté leur film, pour enregistrer leurs messages. Et au printemps suivant, lors du Tournoi international de Paris, d'autres les ont rejoint, grâce au travail d'Yves Selier.

Nous remercions les témoins, les vidéastes, et les organisateurs d'avoir contribué si généreusement à cette initiative.

Coordination et traduction Marc Naimark.

Visionner toutes les vidéos du TIP et du festival Face à Face sur la chaîne GayGamesTV dans le lecteur ci-dessous :

TIP :

Face à Face :