For my contribution to this series, Gabriel Arana had a great piece critiquing the "It Gets Better" campaign as it moved away from addressing the unique challenges of gay teens and became a generic anti-bullying campaign. Here is a sample:
When kids bandy about the term "gay" as a slur -- or its more derogatory counterparts, "fag" and "queer" -- it bears the force of society's homophobia. It's not just the schoolyard jerk who picks on you. It's the pastor who rails against the "gay agenda" on Sunday, the parent who stands up at a city council meeting and says he moved to your city because it's "the kind of place that would never accept the GLBT community with open arms," and politicians like New York's would-be governor Carl Paladino, who on the campaign trail said things like "there is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual." Even once you get past high school, you still can't get married or serve in the military, and in most states, your employer can fire you just for being gay. This is the kind of "bullying" gay kids face, and it's the kind no one's standing up to.
Gabe's piece really brings home the terrible force of anti-gay bullying, and if anything, will make you rethink the utility of broadening something like the "It Gets Better" campaign. I really recommend that you read the whole thing.
-- Jamelle Bouie
