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Friday, June 24, 2011

LGBTQI-Z Off Target

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Jun 24, 2011 at 9:44 AM

So... Target, after giving tens of thousands of dollars to rabidly anti-gay politicians, released an "It Gets Better" video. Three things:

First: We can't stop people from making IGB videos, or uploading them to YouTube. It's an open-source project, and anyone who wants to—any individual, any politician, any club, any corporation—can make an IGB video and upload it to YouTube. No one is obligated to give us a heads up, no one has to ask us in advance for permission.

Second: We can control which videos appear on ItGetsBetter.org and at the It Gets Better Project's original YouTube channel. And we won't be posting Target's video. We are not interested in helping corporations with PR problems in the gay community—expensively purchased PR problems—pinkwash their reputations. Target has some issues that would need to be resolved—not addressed, resolved—before their videos could appear on the IGB websites.

Third: I'm sure there are lots of great LGBT employees at Target. I'm sure there are LGBT folks who work at Target whose stories, insights, and advice would benefit LGBT youth. This is in no way a slam on the LGBT employees at Target, nor is it a slam on the Target employees who appear in Target's corporate IGB video. I would like to personally invite LGBT employees of Target to make IGB videos—as LGBT individuals—and resubmit them.

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