️⚧️ Hasn’t had surgery or HRT (or never wants to)
️⚧️ Doesn’t feel like their true self yet
We see you, it gets better, it’s YOUR day too. ✨
Check out our resource list specifically for trans and gender non-confirming youth here, and join us to celebrate live with some trans joy on Twitch and TikTok!
Twitch: Join us at 7:30pm EST/4:30 PST on March 31 for a chat with our Ambassadors, Youth Voices, and streamers about what visibility means to them, recent anti-trans legislation, and of course, self care and and queer joy. Streaming from our Twitch channel: twitch.tv/itgetsbetter.
TikTok: Watch our It Gets Better TikTok Creator Somaya perform original music live and share a little bit of their LGBTQ+ journey! Happening March 31 at 9:15pm EST/6:15 PST! Follow using the link in our bio or on TikTok @ itgetsbetter.
Beloved — We’re so sorry for all those times you’ve been kicked out, pushed aside, and made to feel unwanted.
The next time you face the sting of rejection, the Beloved Arise community is here to remind you that…
️YOU ARE GOD’S CHOSEN!!! ️
God chose you before the foundation of the world!! (see Ephesians 1:4-6)
So no matter who passes you over, know that God choses you today, tomorrow, and every day you have breath. ❤️
“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, embody compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…and above all, love!” (See Colossians 3:12-15)
Save this for when you need a reminder that you are chosen! ️
ID: A billboard in New York City says “Dear Queer One - Though others may reject you, I never will. You are my chosen. ❤️ God”
We talk a lot about “mental health,” but what can we actually DO about it?
Luckily, it’s #MentalHealthAction Day, so we’ve got some ideas:
Remind yourself that you and your identity are valid, no matter what anyone else may think. Understand that coming out, choosing a label, or transitioning is a journey that you don’t have to figure out all at once! Reach out to a friend, guidance counselor, or trusted teacher when you feel like you can’t handle everything yourself (online friends count)! Put the phone down and do something you love when the news gets too overwhelming - to be good activists, we have to fill our cup first! Take a walk, pat a pet, put on your favorite outfit, listen to your favorite song, say no to something you can’t take on right now - “self care” shouldn’t have to cost money. Save and share the Get Help page on our website and in our bio - a database of over 1,000 orgs that support LGBTQ+ youth around the country that you can filter by issue and location. Watch hundreds of It Gets Better stories on our Youtubeand TikTokto remind yourself that there are plenty of people who have been where you are right now, and it gets better.
And tune in live tonight on our TikTok at 8pm EST/5pm PST for an interview with queer artist X. ARI as we chat about how music can impact your mental health! ️
️⚧️ What happens if your state won’t allow you to access gender-affirming care, like HRT?
Some states are stepping up where others are stepping back. Connecticut is the first state to pass a “safe state” law that will protect people who are seeking gender-affirming care or abortion care if it becomes illegal in their home state. Connecticut’s law also means criminalizing states can’t use out-of-state warrants to arrest parents or guardians for helping their child get care there, and would restrict other states from subpoenaing the medical records of families who sought gender-affirming care outside of their home states.
Some other states are on track to pass laws like this, too. While not everyone has the resources to be able to pack up and move, states passing “sanctuary” laws like this want to make it clear that we are welcome. ️⚧️
Did you know violet flowers used to be a lesbian symbol?
Often featured in Greek poet Sappho’s writings, violets also made a comeback in the 1927 Broadway play, “The Captive,“ about two lesbians, where one woman sends a bouquet of violets to her lover. There was so much public uproar about the play that protestors and police shut down the final performance in France. But the violet became known as the "lesbian flower,” and supporters of the play would wear them in their lapels, or as a subtle symbol to other women that they were gay.
What little LGBTQ+ “symbols” do you wear today - rainbow shoelaces, lesbian flag-colored phone background? Also…can we make violets A Thing again?
Since@inafried started #Letters4TransKids in defiance of this recent wave of anti-trans and LGBTQ+ legislation, we knew we HAD to write one, too! Read the letter from our ED, Brian Wenke, and join in to write your own letter using the hashtag #Letters4TransKids:
“Dear Rockstar,
Adults seem to have an easy time forgetting what it’s like to be young. I am dumbfounded daily by the vitriol adults are purposely casting at LGBTQ+ youth, particularly our beloved trans community.
Despite what may appear to be a rising tide of negative sentiment directed at you and your peers, I can’t help but see it as the dying breath of an outdated form of conditioning. We’ve been here before. It won’t last, but it won’t go down without a fight.
If any of the individuals trying to limit your freedoms met you, they would understand how important you are. You elevate the world’s understanding of what it means to be human - a beautiful sentient being with an experience so complex modern language cannot describe it. Your value transcends the hateful rhetoric of a loud minority. I promise you, there are more people in this world who will fight for your existence than those who seek to diminish it.
I will fight for you. The It Gets Better Project will fight for you. Countless millions will fight for you without question. Open yourself up to the love coming your way. Be you, unapologetically, and show by example of your life the joy that can come from it. You are loved, and you are a f***ing rockstar!
“I thought about what ‘It Gets Better’ would mean to me and how I’d represent it visually. I realize that for me it’s about growth, about blooming into the best version of yourself.” – Artist Alex Tagali
And that’s on growth
The SPRING MERCH DROP is here, featuring the cutest representations of growth, change, and blossoming into your true self. Snag a sticker, tote, or mini enamel pin designed by Alex Tagali at itgetsbetter.org/shop.
️⚧️ Hasn’t had surgery or HRT (or never wants to)
️⚧️ Doesn’t feel like their true self yet
We see you, it gets better, it’s YOUR day too. ✨
Check out our resource list specifically for trans and gender non-confirming youth here, and join us to celebrate live with some trans joy on Twitch and TikTok!
Twitch: Join us at 7:30pm EST/4:30 PST on March 31 for a chat with our Ambassadors, Youth Voices, and streamers about what visibility means to them, recent anti-trans legislation, and of course, self care and and queer joy. Streaming from our Twitch channel: twitch.tv/itgetsbetter.
TikTok: Watch our It Gets Better TikTok Creator Somaya perform original music live and share a little bit of their LGBTQ+ journey! Happening March 31 at 9:15pm EST/6:15 PST! Follow using the link in our bio or on TikTok @ itgetsbetter.
A'lyia shares his story of how things got better - from struggling with her identity, to finding the one thing that mattered most: queer community to lean on and learn from. ️
Mac Allen shares his story of how things got better - from comparing himself to others, to getting a life-changing haircut, to knowing just how much love he and all other trans people DESERVE. ️⚧️
The recent legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ youth have felt…overwhelming.
From Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill to families of trans kids being under fire in Texas, to multiple other states attempting to bar trans kids from playing sports.
OurYouth Voices shared their initial reactions to these attacks on teens like them, but also how they’re taking action!
“When I first came out at my high school, I was asked to use a single-stall bathroom reserved for those with chronic illness and complications that needed to be taken care of in private. And I am here to tell Alabama legislators this — I am not a disease. My transgender identity is not an illness, it is not debilitating, and the rhetoric you are spewing to paint myself and other trans youth as predators is disgusting. That is the disease — your dangerous, close-minded, and unruly ability to paint transgender youth as monsters” –
The action:
“I am getting involved by contacting my local representatives! To be frank, the most I can do right now to take care of myself is just to exist. To be trans, to be hurt, and to process it. To be me.”
-Hailey (she/her), age 17, Alabama
Read what all the Youth Voices have to say on the blog!
️ We wrote you a little letter to remind you that SO many people have your back:
On Tuesday, March 8, Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill passed the state Senate. If signed, which looks likely, “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity” in kindergarten through third grade would be banned.
This is disappointing and dangerous. It sends a message to LGBTQ+ youth that they aren’t important, and that their stories and experiences don’t belong in the classroom. Every time one of these bills passes, we get angry. In fact, in the time it took us to write and edit this post and send it out to our email list, Idaho’s House approved legislation “that makes it a felony for a doctor to provide age-appropriate, gender-affirming care for transgender children,” according to the HRC.
The hits seem to keep coming, and they aren’t showing signs of slowing down.
But as angry and as frustrated as we are and will continue to be, we are equally inspired and encouraged by the hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and allies who are taking to the streets, walking out of schools, and standing up for the right to exist.
To the young LGBTQ+ people who are reading this, we hear you, we see you, and you are VERY important. We will continue to share your stories and amplify your voices.
There are so many ways the It Gets Better Project is working to create a world where all LGBTQ+ youth are free to live equally and recognize their own worth and power. Because you’re worth fighting for. Because your stories and your experiences matter.
Why stream for us? Let our current It Gets Better Ambassadors explain why you should totally join us.
We’re looking for our next round of paid LGBTQ+ Ambassadors who stream from our It Gets Better Twitch channel, plus charity-streaming Partner and Affiliate positions to help us raise money and awareness! Membership levels include:
️Ambassador Membership
Want to stream with us from our channel? Our It Gets Better Ambassadors are paid streamers who are passionate about creating LGBTQ+ positive content! As an Ambassador, you’ll commit to representing the It Gets Better Project on our Twitch channel through gameplay, coming out stories, discussing LGBTQ+ representation in gaming and the media, fireside chats and interviews, makeup tutorials, drag, musical performances, art demos, and more.
️It Gets Better Partner Membership
Are you already part of a stream team that loves to fundraise? Our It Gets Better Partner membership is designated for established Twitch stream teams who will work together, as a team, to support us through charity streaming on members’ Twitch channels.
️It Gets Better Affiliate Membership
Love charity streaming to raise funds and awareness for organizations you care about? As an It Gets Better Affiliate member, you’ll commit to supporting our work through a predetermined number of charity streams on your personal Twitch channel.
Help us keep growing our Twitch as a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth and join an amazing community of other queer streamers - apply now here and share with your fave LGBTQ+ streamers!
