See the Photo That Inspired the Internet to Rally Around a Gay Youth Jennifer Swann - TakePart
go to original July 10, 2015

Rainbows and same-sex wedding photos have been used on social media to express support for gay rights, but a new Facebook photo of a little boy speaks volumes about the challenges facing LGBT people from a very young age.

An image of a weepy-eyed young boy with his hand pressed to his forehead in despair was posted to Facebook on Friday with this caption: “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.”

The moment was captured by photographer Brandon Stanton as part of his ongoing project Humans of New York, which has been documenting the stories and images of New Yorkers since 2010. Messages of support and acceptance flooded the comments section of the Facebook post, which was liked more than 602,000 times and shared by more than 56,000 users.

One high-profile supporter even offered a hopeful prediction. “Your future is going to be amazing. You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do,” read a comment signed with the first initial H. It was posted from Hillary Clinton’s campaign page. “Find the people who love and believe in you—there will be lots of them,” it read.

So, Why Should You Care? Clinton’s note echoed the inspirational message behind the youth advocacy project It Gets Better, which aims to show LGBT kids and teenagers images and stories from happy, successful LGBT adults as a reminder that life often gets better after surviving one’s teenage years. Clinton’s Facebook comment might be seen as a publicity effort for her 2016 campaign, which spotlights gay rights as a key issue, but it also helps spread an important message to LGBT youths: It’s OK to be yourself.

Read the rest at TakePart

Photo: Humans of New York/Facebook

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