Born In This Day- October 7th... Daniel Keenan Savage

I used to see him around town when we were both doing theatre is Seattle. He had help start Greek Active, a theatre troupe dedicated to queering up the classics. I, on the other hand, was chasing mainstream success in theatre, film, TV & advertising with my eye on fame. Notice who became famous?

Photo by Christopher Staton

Dan Savage was making waves, in Seattle, for his experimental theatre, drag persona- Helvetica Bold, & for his outrageous column in a new weekly paper- The Stranger. That column starter was the salutation- Hey, Faggot

Activist, writer, editor, pundit, journalist, sex columnist, joker, provocateur, best selling, award winning author, contrarian, Dan Savage is just my cup of tea with a propensity to prepossessing & point-blank presumptions, along with reedy, horsey good looks & nimble humor.

This could only have happened in the new century. After Santorum, then a United States senator from Pennsylvania, made comments to a reporter comparing homosexual sex to bestiality & incest in 2003, Savage assailed Santorum in his column. Later, he sponsored a contest that led to the term santorum being used to refer to "the frothy mixture of lube & fecal matter that is sometimes a byproduct of anal sex". There is nothing as gladdening as the intertwining a goody-goody puritan & a dashingly droll dirty joke.

He is a hero to me for having created the hugely successful It Gets Better viral video campaign aimed at stopping gay teens from killing themselves, since it seemed like no one else was doing anything about it. It may have actually saved lives that might have been ended had they taken to the heart the rhetoric of someone like his nemesis Rick Santorum. Has Santorum actually saved any lives?

Savage & his husband, Terry Miller, have one adopted son- D.J The couple were married in Vancouver, BC in 2005, the same year & city that The Husband & I got hitched. Savage celebrates his 47th birthday today.

It Gets Better

My good friend & fellow blogger- Brian over at Caliban’s Revenge challenged me to post abut the It Gets Better campaign. It is my pleasure. I was lucky enough to have positive role models at hand when I was grappling with coming out in my late teens. Working in the theatre world that Brian & I share, may have saved my life.



When I was 17 years old, I did summer stock theatre in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. One of the company members was an openly gay man from San Francisco. Ron was a college graduate, which just seemed impossible mature to me. He was a stunningly handsome & talented man who played King Arthur in Camelot, & roles on 3 other musicals that summer. He took me under his wing & into his bed. Ron’s talent seemed to me to know no bounds. His bounteous life tips & counsel about show biz, sex, & experience made all the difference in my young life. He took my face in his hands, looked me in the eye, & told me that someday I would not have to question about my attraction to men. He said: “Just get through your last year of high school. Don’t be tragic & don’t be sad. When you finish high school, move to a big city. You will fall in love, you will have your heart broken, you will fall in love again, you will make friends, & you will live your life with love & pride.”


Writer & one of my personal heroes- Dan Savage is reaching out to LGBT teenagers to let them know life may be difficult now, but "it gets better."


The "It Gets Better" Project is inspired by the suicide of 15-year-old Indiana teenager Billy Lucas, who hanged himself in his family's barn after enduring bullying from his classmates. After writing about Lucas's death, one commenter expressed a desire to have spoken to him to tell him that things get better.


To help tell the story of how things get better Dan Savage launched a YouTube channel that allows gay adults to upload videos of themselves describing the bullying they might have experienced in high school, but also talking about how much better their lives are now .It is a rare opportunity for gay adults to speak directly to gay youth & explain that while sometimes you may feel isolated, that life gets better. Many celebrities joined in & shared their words of encouragements with the simple message that "it gets better."

I have read the heartbreaking accounts of 5 young people taking their own lives after carrying the burden brought on by bullying & harassment., including 19 year old Raymond Chase, a sophomore culinary arts student in Monticello, NY.


If you are struggling with a difficult time and need someone to talk to I encourage you to call the Trevor Project 24 hour hotline designed specifically for LGBT young people at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR.


I encourage all young people to think about how great your life can be in the future. This can be a powerful way to cope with some of the tough times you might be experiencing right now. It will get better & you can have an amazing life!