About
Dan Savage is an American advice columnist and LGBT activist, best known for starting the It Gets Better project.
Online History
Savage Love
It Gets Better
It Gets Better Project project is a social media campaign launched by Savage in an effort to prevent suicide among LGBT youth by encouraging gay adults to spread the message that their lives will improve. Since its foundation in September 2010, the project has grown into an international movement with more than 50,000 video messages and 50 million views. The project was founded by Savage in response to the suicides of Billy Lucas and other teenagers like Raymond Chase, Tyler Clementi, Ryan Halligan, Asher Brown, and Seth Walsh who were bullied for their homosexual orientation or suspected to be gay. The project was formally announced on September 21st, 2010 in a YouTube[1] video titled “It Gets Better: Dan and Terry” featuring Savage himself and his partner Terry Miller.
In the video, Savage and Miller reaches out to teenagers who have ever been bullied for their sexual orientation and tell them that although life may seem difficult now, things will get better in the future as they grow older. The video was positively received within the YouTube community, accumulating one million views and over 200 video responses the first week of the campaign.
Social Media Presence
As of October 2014, Savage’s Twitter account[2] has gained over 200,000 followers and his Facebook page[3] has gained over 240,000 likes. He has also gained over 30,000 Instagram[4] followers.
