I don’t know what it’s like to be picked on for being gay, but I do know what it’s like to grow up feeling like sometimes you don’t belong…it’s tough. (President Obama)
This is a quote spoken by U.S. president Obama in his It Gets Better Project video posted on YouTube (2010 “Obama: It Gets Better ”). The It Gets Better Project started in September 2010, where Dan Savage, an American syndicated columnist and author, posted a video on YouTube with his partner with a goal to prevent suicide among LGBT youth by having gay adults convey that these teens’ lives will improve. The project grew rapidly and now has more than 50,000 entries from people of all sexual orientations including many celebrities, organizations and politicians, such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Morrison of “Glee”, Ellen DeGeneres, employees at The Gap, Facebook, Apple and many more.
Countless videos related to LGBT can be found on YouTube such as drag queen make-up tutorials, coming out stories and daily life “vlogs”(*1) . I decided to do a research on how today’s electronic media, with a focus on YouTube, can affect LGBTs and non-LGBTs in both positive and negative ways. In order to accomplish this, I interviewed Hiro (*2), a 23-year-old student from Japan.
(Interview translated by writer)
“I started having slight feelings that I may be gay at the age of twelve, but thought it could just be a phase. I went to an all-boys school for junior-high and high school so after entering university and seeing many girls, I still had the feeling that I could fall in love with a girl too. However, I started becoming friends with people who were gay and went to places like Shinjuku Ni-chome. It was when I became a sophomore that I realized I was gay for sure.”
Hiro says that it was a video of a world-renowned pop star that helped him accept himself as who he really was.
“I saw Lady Gaga’s Born This Way music video on YouTube just before I started my second year at university. I was really inspired by the song and activities that Lady Gaga did for the LGBTs. I learned that it was ok for me to just be myself and stay the same. I think that it was the acceptance towards myself that made me actually realize that I was gay. Although I did go out and date men when I was a freshman, the fact that I still wasn’t able to love and accept myself made it impossible to actually fall in love with somebody else. ”
At the age of nineteen, another YouTube video gave Hiro the courage to come out to his family.
“I knew my mother would have my back, but I remembered my father saying that if he had a gay son, he would disown him, when I was in high school. That made it pretty scary for me to come out. I came across a video where a young American solider would come out to his parents. After watching Lady Gaga and these coming out videos on YouTube, I began to accept my own sexual orientation and became able to tell other people about it.”
The coming out video of an American solider that Hiro mentioned was posted on YouTube hours after the repeal of the U.S. army’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell by 21-year-old Rand Philips. The video, named “Telling my dad that I am gay-LIVE”, now has more than 7 million views and has encouraged many other soldiers to speak out about their sexual orientation, which was prohibited before the repeal in September, 2011.
Videos that encourage LGBTs are not always serious but can be funny and enjoyable for people of all kinds of sexual orientation : one of the most popular channels on YouTube wickydkewl, has a very unique way of introducing gay culture to people all over the world. With over six hundred thousand subscribers, DaveyWavey, the user of the channel, has posted nearly six hundred humorous and sexual videos to date. However, if you scroll down the comment section of these videos which are meant to be positive and encouraging, negative words and comments such as “fag” or “pray the gay away” certainly can be found. While videos on YouTube keep inspiring and encouraging the LGBTs, could these kind of discriminative comments give negative or dangerous impacts on young LGBTs? Hiro says,
“I believe that posting LGBT videos on YouTube is completely positive. I heard that the movement of human rights for the blacks in America was hugely affected by the mass media and so was the LGBT’s. Yes, there are comments like that and no, they aren’t always enjoyable to look at, but I think showing both positive and negative sides of something can be very effective. Of course there are negative sides of the LGBTs, but we’re all human after all, I would like people to see that too.”
Since 2005, YouTube has and continues to grow rapidly. According to YouTube’s statics, more than one billion users visit the website each month and over six billon hours of videos are watched each month, which is almost an hour for every person on Earth. Assuming that this virtual community will keep on expanding, it can be said that YouTube is an effective tool to encourage young LGBTs and deepen one’s understanding towards LGBT.
Written by Sayuri Shinohara
Posted on Jan 30, 2014
Footnotes:
*1 vlogs: video blogging
*2 Interviewees name has been changed according to research ethics
Reference:
Patrick Vonderau(2010) The YouTube Reader :National Library of Sweden
2010 “Obama: It Gets Better “ (video on It Gets Better channel on YouTube)
2011 “Telling my dad that I am gay-LIVE-” (video on AreYouSurprised channel on YouTube)
DaveyWavey.TV (Official Website of Davey Wavey)
It Gets Better Project /Give hope to LGBT youth (Official Website of It Gets Better Project)
YouTube statics (as seen on official YouTube website)
Queer Studies at SFC 