Friday, April 6, 2012
It Gets Better at BYU
Posted By Stephen Dark on April 6, 2012, 10:46 PM
It's takes less than 10 minutes, but in a series of moving clips, gay Mormon students at BYU speak with more eloquence, intimacy and frankness about being gay and Mormon than a screed of worthy news stories could ever capture.---
BYU, the video makers note, "has been consistently ranked as one of the most unfriendly campuses for LGBT students." They also note while increased personal righteousness is the most common method of attempting to change sexual orientation, it is also the least effective.
If it were simply the stats alone that this video provides—notably, that of the 1,800 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students at BYU, 74 percent have contemplated suicide and 24 percent have attempted it—there would be food for thought.
But what makes this video so powerful is the candor these students display addressing their struggles to understand their sexuality and their identity within the framework of being Mormon—and, of course, the other way round.
While there is much that is not said about the painful contradictions between being gay and being Mormon, this video, part of the "It Gets Better" project begun by alt-weekly scribe and LGBT rights guru Dan Savage, nevertheless provides an important building block in the ongoing debate regarding Mormonism and LGBT rights.
As one participant notes, "It gets better, even on this campus."
More by Stephen Dark
-
Call it a Comeback
Long mired in economic depression, Midvale’s Main Street dusts off its small-town charm.
- Sep 20, 2017
-
Love Letters
Correspondence between a young woman at the Topaz internment camp and her beloved sheds light on Trump's America.
- Sep 6, 2017
-
Triggered
Veterans Affairs exists to help vets. So why did the Salt Lake VA appoint an anti-veteran chief?
- Aug 30, 2017
- More »
Latest in Buzz Blog
