Encyclopedia
Discussion
research guide
editors & contributors
write the editor
Hughes, LangstonLangston Hughes, whose literary legacy is enormous and varied, was closeted, but homosexuality was an important influence on his literary imagination, and many of his poems may be read as gay texts.
Beat GenerationThe writers of the Beat Generation, many of whom were gay or bisexual, endorsed gay rights as a part of their rebellion against inhibition and self-censorship.
Comedy of MannersThe Comedy of Manners, which flourished on the Restoration stage, has been particularly amenable to twentieth-century gay male writers as a vehicle for social satire in both dramatic and nondramatic works.
Sedaris, DavidUsing his and his family's experiences, particularly his childhood in Raleigh, North Carolina, and his own wacky perspective on life, David Sedaris has become a world-famous humorist, comedian, writer, playwright, and radio personality.
Novel: LesbianFrom the great modernist writers of the 1920s and 1930s to the pulp writers of the 1950s to the lesbian writers of today, lesbian novelists have had a powerful impact on the lesbian community.
From its beginning, the nineteenth century in England had a purposeful homosexual literature of considerable bulk, both male and female, though it was fettered by oppression.
Persecuted for his homosexuality by the Castro government he had once championed, Cuban novelist, essayist, and poet Reinaldo Arenas challenged all types of ideological dogmatism.
Baudelaire, CharlesLast updated on: 09/17/12
Terry Miller (left) and Dan Savage.
Congratulations to Dan Savage and Terry Miller, who received the prestigious Governor's Award at the 2012 Creative Arts Emmys on September 15, 2012. The men were honored for their work on the "It Gets Better" Project, an anti-bullying campaign and video series that consists of some 30,000 YouTube videos and MTV and Logo specials.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Savage and Miller received a standing ovation when they were introduced by "It Gets Better" contributor Neil Patrick Harris. The Governor's Award was presented by Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Chair Bruce Rosenblum.
In his acceptance speech, Savage said, "Terry Miller is my husband in Canada and boyfriend in America," alluding to the fact that their 2005 marriage in Vancouver, British Columbia is not recognized by the United States government. "He was the first to recognize the power of this project," Savage said of Miller.
Savage also said, "The award is not for us. It's for the project."
He added, "I think it's a moment in our culture when it's broken through to the world that LGBT children were suffering and dying. The award means that the culture is reconciling itself to the needs of LGBT kids, who grow up in straight families and are often bullied by their own families."
He later told The Hollywood Reporter, "To get a standing ovation from that crowd was flabbergasting. . . . I actually teared up and then I couldn't see to read the teleprompter and I had to wing it."
The Creative Arts Emmys took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and will be broadcast on September 22, the day before the Primetime Emmys.
The first MTV and Logo "It Gets Better" special was aired in February 2012. It focused on the stories of three young people at a crossroads in their lives: a young man struggling to tell his family and friends that he is gay; a lesbian fighting for parental acceptance; and a transgender man preparing to get married. It may be viewed at MTV.com.
On September 17, 2012, the networks announced that a new, 60-minute "It Gets Better" special will be aired on October 9, just two days ahead of National Coming Out Day.
Savage and Miller will again anchor the special, which will share stories and experiences of young people who are growing up glbtq.
Savage and Miller founded the "It Gets Project" in September 2010. They were moved by the suicide of Billy Lucas, a Greensburg, Indiana teenager who had been mercilessly bullied. They wanted to reassure young people that, however awful their predicament might seem at the time, "it gets better."
"I realized," Savage told a New York Times reporter, "that with things like YouTube and social media, we can talk directly to these kids. We can make an end run around the schools that don't protect them, from parents who want to keep gay kids isolated and churches that tell them that they are sinful or disordered."
In the first video posted on the "It Gets Better" YouTube channel, Savage and Miller explain how it got better for them.
learn more about glbtq contact us advertise on glbtq.com
glbtq™ and its logo are trademarks of glbtq, Inc.
This site and its contents Copyright © 2002-2013, glbtq, Inc.