"It Gets Better": Towards a Deeper Analysis of Pan-Queer Identity

Abstract

In this thesis I interrogate the “It Gets Better” (IGB) video project by Dan Savage, using an intersectional analysis to reveal the ways in which it reinforces politics of respectability, neoliberalism, and lacks an intersectional approach to the process of coming out across lines of gender identity, race/ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, and ability. I chose to research this topic because as a genderqueer and queer person there have been instances that my life has not gotten better since coming out. By the same token, I have several friends who have had particularly difficult experiences because of coming out due to their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), contending with gender dysphoria, nationality, religion, and inaccessibility to resources (e.g.- healthcare, education, housing) within the capitalist structures of the United States (U.S.). My goal in this thesis is to interrupt neoliberal notions of “getting better” and instead turn our attention to the structures in society that do not allow life to get better for all LGBTQ people after coming out.