I’m a backer and you can be too.

allisonweiss:

I agree with everything said in this EveryoneisGay post, despite the fact that I posted the initial tweet which made them so upset. I don’t support Lady Gaga. I think she’s pretty interesting, I think she’s great at being a superstar, but I think her music is boring and she exploits serious issues to make herself into an icon. It’s wonderful that the serious issues are brought to light and forced upon the mainstream, I just wish it came from a source that felt more real and genuine. 

I hope that every person who listens to “Born this Way” or watches her (awesome) video actually goes out and does something about it. Life is not all sunshine and rainbows. You can’t just sing along to your favorite Top 40 hit and think positively and expect that to have an effect on anyone but yourself. You can’t just put your fist in the air at a pop show and expect it to make a difference. Sure, everyone feels better for that one moment but when you go back home, you have to do something to make that feeling last. You have to take action.

I challenge you to get angry and get involved. There are too many kids in this country who are ashamed for who they are. COME OUT and tell everyone how amazing you are because of it. ARGUE with strangers. FIGHT to be treated respectfully and equally. But please don’t fight on behalf of some fame-hungry girl you’ve never met who put some generic lyrics to a dance beat. Fight for yourself and your friends and your community. Fight because it’s important, with or without a spokesperson who pockets millions off of your 99 cent downloads.

You don’t need to follow a leader. You don’t need to join a cult. You don’t need to call yourself a ‘Little Monster’ or whatever they’ve got you shouting in those arenas that you’ve paid at least $50 to get inside. Below you’ll find some links that you will hopefully find useful.

Thanks, that’s all.

xo

AW

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- MakeitBetter.org is a division of the Gay-Straight Alliance and takes the It Gets Better Project one step further.

- Read about how you can help make schools safer for LGBTQ kids, Make it Better has suggestions for youth and for adults.

- Bring EveryoneIsGay.com to your school and let Kristin & Dannielle do the talking

- I made a video for the It Gets Better Project back in October when I decided it was extremely important to come out to my fans. Watch it here. Make your own!

- Start a GSA at your school. Click here to find out how.

- Make your school a hate-free zone.

- Donate to GLSEN and help them send Safe Space Kits to schools all over the country.

- Revel and Riot is a clothing company that donates profits to groups working for LGBTQ rights and equality. Check out the Revel/Riot news page, which shows news to be happy about and news to get angry about.

- R&R also offers resources on things like internalized homophobia and understanding transgender among others. They even have a glossary of LGBTQ terms and a great list of role models to look up to (Gaga is on it)!

- The Trevor Project offers a 24-hr toll-free hotline for gay and questioning youth. I have some “Fingers Crossed” bracelets for sale that benefit their efforts, or you can donate on their website. Also apparently they’ve just added a live chat to the site!

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There are so many more than this, please feel free to reblog and add your own, or I encourage you to write your own post about this subject. Make sure you tag it #LGBTQ on Tumblr so everyone can see!