Cracks in the Glass Slipper: Does It Really “Get Better” for LGBTQ Youth,or Is It Just Another Cinderella Story?

Abstract

This study examines narratives of the 20 most popular video submissions to the It Gets Better Project campaign to explore how they create a shared story around lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The results suggest that while the movement has garnered global attention from activists and scholars, much of the discourses that have traditionally framed LGBTQ youth as at-risk are perpetuated in the narratives of the campaign. A dominant Cinderella myth emerges that, despite offering alternative discourses, continues to frame LGBTQ youth as in need of saving and following a fairy tale trajectory of falling in love and being saved by his/her prince(ss) charming.

Keywords

activism adolescence narrative LGBTQ social movements and media

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