science

It Gets Better Project

It Gets Better Project is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand It Gets Better Project rather than just read about it. In short: It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, media pundit, and journalist Dan Savage on September 1, 2010, in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected th…

Key takeaways

It Gets Better Project belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect It Gets Better Project to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of It Gets Better Project from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

It Gets Better is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. It was founded in the United States by gay activist, author, media pundit, and journalist Dan Savage on September 1, 2010, in response to the suicides of teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or because their peers suspected that they were gay. Its goal is to prevent suicide by having gay adults convey the message that these teens' lives will improve. The project includes more than 50,000 entries from people of all sexual orientations, including many celebrities; the videos have received over 50 million views. A book of essays from the project was released in March 2011. The project was given the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Governor's Award at the 64th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for "strategically, creatively and powerfully utilizing the media to educate and inspire," according to the academy's chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum.

Project history

The It Gets Better Project was founded by Savage in response to the suicide of Billy Lucas and other teenagers who were bullied because they were gay or perceived to be, such as with Raymond Chase, Tyler Clementi, Ryan Halligan, Asher Brown, and Seth Walsh. Reflecting on Lucas' suicide in his Savage Love column, Savage wrote, "I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better." Former U.S. President Barack Obama lent his voice to the project and its anti-bullying message during its infancy. On October 21, 2010, Obama contributed his own video saying in part, "We've got to dispel this myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage; that it's just some inevitable part of growing up. It's not. We have an obligation to ensure that our schools are safe for all of our kids. And for every young person out there you need to know that if you're in trouble, there are caring adults who can help." President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama would later host an anti-bullying conference in March 2011. Google Chrome backed the project as well, promoting its YouTube channel and airing a video ad for the project on television; that ad's first appearance came during a May 3, 2011 episode of Glee. Today, It Gets Better is the world's largest storytelling effort to empower LGBTQ+ youth. Since 2022, It Gets Better distributed about $1.5 million to middle and high schools throughout the United States and Canada to fund projects that uplift and empower LGBTQ+ students. In 2023, It Gets Better was the first of several LGBTQ+ nonprofits to leave Twitter/X, citing a surge of hate speech and misinformation targeting queer and trans youth. In 2024, the organization dropped the Project from its name to reflect its "growth from a viral movement to a more comprehensive support system for queer youth." It is now known as It Gets Better.

Book and television

In March 2011, E. P. Dutton published It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living, a book of essays edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller that reflect the same theme as the web video project. The book contains more than 100 essays, either transcribed or expanded from the videos or original writings. Contributors include Jennifer Finney Boylan, Gregory Maguire, Meshell Ndegeocello, Michael Cunningham, Suze Orman, and David Sedaris. The book made the New York Times Best Seller list. Two 1-hour It Gets Better TV specials, which focused on the project's mission and conveyed messages of support, aired in 2012. Broadcast on MTV and simulcast on LGBT-oriented sister network Logo, the specials had premiere airings on February 21 and October 9, 2012.

Global affiliates It Gets Better has affiliate organizations in Paraguay, Peru, Chile, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and India. The Peru, Chile, and Mexico organizations offer a service called Hora Segura (Safe Hour in English). These time slots have professionals volunteering to offer free psychological support. In Chile, this is provided through the Hora Segura app, while Mexico uses Meta's Messenger app. Peru uses both Messenger and WhatsApp. Alongside six other LGBTQ organizations, the Chilean affiliate Todo Mejora (It Gets Better) formed the Front for Sexual Diversity in 2013. On the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the movement released their first public statement containing "proposals for the development of a fair, equal, plural and democratic society." In 2025, Todo Mejora was awarded the Human Rights Tulip by the Dutch government. In 2018, It Gets Better Canada launched a petition to ban conversion therapy nationwide. The petition received over 58,000 signatures. In 2025, It Gets Better Canada and LG2 developed an app called GLO. The app provides a virtual pet and educational modules on topics like identifying stress and fighting cyberbullying. The app was created with funding from Canada's Department of Women and Gender Equality.

See also It Gets Better Mexico List of suicides which have been attributed to bullying

References

Further reading Stelter, Brian (October 18, 2010). "'It Gets Better' Offers Hope and Help to Gay Youth". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2010.

External links

It Gets Better Project website

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with It Gets Better Project

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what It Gets Better Project claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to It Gets Better Project before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about It Gets Better Project ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of It Gets Better Project

In research: It Gets Better Project appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses It Gets Better Project in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: It Gets Better Project is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010 establishments in the United States, American LGBTQ-related web series, Anti-bullying campaigns, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for It Gets Better Project outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study It Gets Better Project in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what It Gets Better Project means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain It Gets Better Project out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is It Gets Better Project in simple terms?

Why does It Gets Better Project matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study It Gets Better Project?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on It Gets Better Project.