We are heartbroken by the recent string of youth suicides in the LGBT community. Organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project have stepped up their efforts on projects such as “National Coming Out Day” and the “it does get better” public service announcement project, such as the one Chris Colfer taped for The Trevor Project shown below, to reach out to LGBT youth in need of support during this critical time.
Chris Colfer for The Trevor Project – It Gets Better from The Trevor Project on Vimeo.
Bullying in this country has taken the lives of too many children and teenagers. We recognize that LGBT youth are not the only youth impacted by bullying and we will be focusing on the issue of bullying in general in future articles. The fact is though that LGBT youth are significantly impacted by bullying. According to a 2010 Study done by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, 9 out of 10 LGBT students experience some form of harassment in school.
In our article last week about Glee’s “Grilled Cheesus” episode we discussed how Chris Colfer in his role as Kurt, “shows the viewers of Glee how to survive in a world that is harsh, relentless and unnecessarily cruel without compromising oneself” and how “Chris Colfer’s performance as Kurt is just as important as his Trevor Project PSA.” We noted that “it is important for teens to have people to relate to, role models, and Kurt is that role model.”
This week we want to continue to shine a spotlight on LGBT youth who have redefined television in the past or currently. It is important for LGBT youth to see people on television they can relate to who are facing the same issues they are facing but who manage to make it through week after week. It is also important for non-LGBT youth to see these characters and recognize the impact bullying has on their lives and their self-esteem. By continuing to put LGBT youth on television we are teaching LGBT youth to be comfortable in their own skin while exposing their issues to non-LGBT youth in the hopes that they will be more empathetic, more aware and less likely to harass their peers about their sexual orientation.
The LGBT youth we will feature in our future post are, in our opinion, some of most multidimensional and memorable characters on television. These characters deserve to be recognized for their extraordinary performances. These characters are inspiring, authentic and real. They are resilient, strong and courageous.They are not just role models for LGBT Youth but for everyone watching.
This week we are going to start to countdown of the top 10 LGBT youth on television. We reveal the first LGBT youth on our top 10 list in our next post (see our first post here). Check back throughout the week as we countdown to number one.
