Video: Parents and friends of gay Mormons release ‘It gets better’ video
Following the popularity and widespread reporting of the ‘It Gets Better’ video made by Mormon students at Brigham Young University, several parents and friends of gay mormons have joined forces to add another video to the project.
The video will be formally released during a national conference for LGBT Mormons in Washington DC tomorrow, and aims to confront the homophobic image associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
In the video, parents recount struggles of reconciling their faith with the sexuality of their children. One mother describes how she learnt of her son’s sexuality only after the 19-year-old attempted to kill himself. The central message is that sexuality is innate, on account of which they should not feel any shame, and that God would not love them any the less for it.
The video was produced by Kendall Wilcox, who also produced the video by Brigham Young students. Mr Wilcox, who is now openly gay, was formerly an employee at the University, and told the Associated Press that his mission was to highlight the growing disparity between the church’s official ban on gay sex, and the support expressed otherwise by people who know of gay members of the church. “It’s sort of an invitation to Mormons everywhere to come out and say, we can’t be quiet about this anymore. We have to show support,” Mr Wilcox said.
The ‘It Gets Better’ project was started by gay rights activist Dan Savage and his partner, in the wake of a string of gay teenagers committing suicide, largely due to homophobic bullying. It has since had contributions from dozens of high profile politicians, celebrities and corporate organisations.
