In the wake of It Gets Better
The campaign prompted by recent gay youth suicides promotes a narrow version of gay identity that risks further marginalisation
o Jasbir Puar
o
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 16 November 2010 14.30 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/nov/16/wake-it-gets-better-campaignNow that the "It Gets Better" (IGB) DIY viral videos production has quelled a bit, perhaps this is the time to take stock of the recent spate of "queer youth suicides" and the consequences of the media coverage. Initially prompted by gay journalist Dan Savage's response to Tyler Clementi's and other suicides of young gay men, IGB became a veritable campaign. But in the weeks since the suicides were aggregated as a problem, specifically one of "bullying gay youth", many have been asking what is being forgotten in the push to imagine "gay youth" as exceptionally susceptible to bullying and suicide.
