In September 2010, six American teenagers took their own lives. All boys, all were driven to suicide by anti-gay bullying. The tragedies prompted syndicated columnist Dan Savage to produce a short video with his partner, Terry Miller, which they posted on YouTube to reassure young victims of bullying that no matter how hopeless or painful life seems now, you cannot give up. The video sparked a massive online movement called It Gets Better.
Since that first video, celebrities, politicians and everyday people have taken to the internet, posting their own stories and messages of hope for bullied teens. US President Barack Obama made a video, as did Lady Gaga. Today there are more than 30,000 videos with more than 40 million views worldwide.
The Pink Alliance, a coalition of sexual rights groups in Hong Kong, hopes to bring the same message of hope and acceptance to the city. Their campaign, I Am Me, will come online by the end of next month. As in the case of It Gets Better, everyone is welcome to post videos of hope and solidarity to the official I Am Me webpage and to a public forum on YouTube. One of the first videos will feature radio personality Brian Leung, the host of the radio programme We Are Family.
This comes as welcome relief to people like twenty-something Victor, who endured persistent bullying during his six years in secondary school in Hong Kong. His classmates taunted him constantly, calling him 'gay' or 'sissy'.
'Name-calling was the start; then they started throwing paper at me during lessons ... putting rubbish in my bags and locker ... They wrote different names on my table ... They would yell [names] through the [classroom] windows.'
During his first year of secondary school, Victor was attacked by a fellow student. Instead of making friends, he faced new levels of cruelty as the bullying continued.