Boston LGBT seniors featured in Google "It Gets Better" commercial

By now you’ve probably seen the Google commercial for its Chrome browser that features the “Its Gets Better Project,” started by Dan Savage and his partner Terry to combat bullying. I was an early contributor, and since then it’s become quite a phenomenon. Among those featured in the Google ad are two men from a group of Boston LGBT seniors. From Bay Windows/Golden Rainbow Times: Google launched a ground-breaking ad about gay suicides on primetime television during FOX TV’s “Glee” last month. The commercial for Google Chrome highlights the social movement that grew out of Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” video on YouTube. The ninety-second spot beautifully captures the surge of emotions that came with the wave of suicides by gay youth last fall. Building in intensity, the commercial highlights how Savage’s video inspired thousands of people all over the world to put out their messages to gay youth urging them to hold on because “it gets better.” Since the “It Gets Better” project launched countless celebrities, athletes, politicians and artists added their own video messages including President Obama, Hilary Clinton, Lady Gaga and cast members from “Jersey Shore.” Bob Linscott, Assistant Director of The LGBT Aging Project in Boston was touched by this movement but feared that there was an absence of gay elders in the videos. “The one generation that can truly attest that it does get better wasn’t represented,” Linscott said, “Gay elders faced seemingly insurmountable discrimination and harassment decades ago and thankfully survived. Those stories needed to be included in this project too.” So Linscott took the matter into his own hands and shot and edited his own video “It Gets Better: Wisdom From Our Gay Elders,” which he added to the thousands of videos uploaded on YouTube. The video features poignant and funny stories from a number of Boston area LGBT seniors, two of whom speak about times they attempted suicide. In March the LGBT Aging Project was contacted by an agency working with Google on the “It Gets Better” commercial. They had seen Linscott’s video and wanted to use it in for the project. Linscott and Lisa Krinksy, LGBT Aging Project’s Director had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and were not able to let anyone know about the commercial until it aired on FOX TV. The commercial will now run at various times on multiple networks and it can be viewed online.
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