Description
Following a string of highly publicized suicides by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youths in August and September 2010, the It Gets Better project (IGB project) was launched in order to raise awareness of homophobic bullying in the United States. It has since received widespread media coverage, and this paper will highlight how the project employs constitutive rhetoric in the form of counterpublics, counter-narratives, and the click consciousness in community-building by constituting young LGBT individuals as being part of the broader LGBT identity. The rhetoric of hope is also produced as a counter-narrative that is present throughout this campaign. Together, these different forms of rhetoric invite marginalized LGBT youths to identify with the broader LGBT identity and feel connected with this community.
