them, the new LGBTQ digital platform launched by Conde Nast, released the breakthrough video entitled, “Our Bullies, Ourselves,” which centers on the experiences of victims and perpetrators of anti-LGBTQ bullying. “Our Bullies, Ourselves” comes to viewers during National Bullying Prevention month and a week after Spirit Day, the world’s most visible LGBTQ youth anti-bullying campaign. 

GLAAD is proud to partner with them to share the stories of LGBTQ people through the media in order to accelerate acceptance and end hate and discrimination.

You can take the pledge to stand against bullying at glaad.org/endbullying.

Bullying and harassment are extremely prevalent for the LGBTQ community, especially for youth. According to GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey, the vast majority of LGBTQ students (85.2%) experienced verbal harassment (e.g., called names or threatened) at school based on a personal characteristic, most commonly sexual orientation (70.8% of LGBTQ students) and gender expression (54.5%).

LGBTQ youth also experience physical harassment and physical assault at alarming rates. 27.0% of LGBTQ students were physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) in the past year because of their sexual orientation and 20.3% because of their gender expression; 13.0% were physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked, injured with a weapon) in the past year because of their sexual orientation and 9.4% because of their gender expression.

These statistics come alive through storytelling in “Our Bullies, Ourselves,” as the participants recall the harassment and assault they endured as kids.

Model and musician, Cory Wade told the horrific story of when he was assaulted by a classmate who slammed a basketball against the side of Wade’s head. Wade heard the classmate scream “f*ggot” at him before he went temporarily deaf in one ear from the blow.

Teagan Rabuano, a GLAAD Campus Ambassador from NYU, can still picture members of their high school football team waiting by their locker and throwing Teagan’s stuff into the hallway every morning of school.

The video also reveals the stories and perspectives of LGBTQ people who once bullied others for being LGBTQ. Stories like Garrett Schlicte who said in order to convince his middle school classmates he was not gay he would make others afraid of him through bullying.

Meredith Talusan, who is a transgender woman, and revealed her complex past as a bully to other trans women. Talusan recalls the internalized expectations that she put on herself, and the judgement she placed on others for not conforming to certain ideals. Meredith Talusan is a 2017 GLAAD Media Award winner for her piece, “Unerased: Counting Transgender Lives.” Click here to learn more about Meredith’s experience in her personal essay.

Yet even by hearing their emotional stories, the participants are somehow not left exposed and the viewer is not left feeling helpless. Rather, the intimate grief expressed by all participants allows viewers to see the nuances of bullying and perhaps offers us further insight into the depth of pain LGBTQ youth feel, regardless of their status as victim or bully.

Check out “Our bullies, Ourselves” here: