User:Fava2021/It Gets Better Mexico/Bibliography

Todo Mejora México
Todo Mejora México (translates in English to It Gets Better México) is an organization that was founded in 2014 by Fernanda Garza and Rubén Maza. It is the Mexican affiliate of the United States based It Gets Better Project, which is an Internet-based 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth around the globe. Link to mission statement/website. Although Todo Mejora México is the Mexican affiliate of the It Gets Better Project, Todo Mejora México is an independent organization that is autonomously responsible for their own programs, allocation of funding, and building of community partnerships. However, through its relationship with the It Gets Better Project, Todo Mejora México reserves the license to do business as Todo Mejora (It Gets Better) México. {Link to desc. of affiliates.)

It Gets Better México grew directly in response to harassment directed towards LGBTQ+ youth in México, and also as a means to speak out against the high rates of violence that is targeted towards LGBTQ+ youth in México. [Insert links to violence reports 1] Toda Mejora México's goal is to have individuals share their experiences growing up, so that other LGBTQ+ youth may know that they are not alone and that their lives will get better. Toda Mejora México has collected video submissions from LGBTQ+ activists, celebrities and allies. It Gets Better México has reached thousands of viewers through its YouTube channel. Globally, there have been over 60,000 video submissions combined under the hashtags #TodoMejora and #ItGetsBetter. These videos have garnered millions of views. It Gets Better México strives to connect Mexicans with resources and curricula for people all over Latin America. It is principally concerned with showcasing the stories of LGBTQ+ identifying individuals and creating more visibility for the LGBTQ+ community at large. They have reached hundreds of thousands of people through TikTok, Twitter,Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.

Project History
The It Gets Better Project was launched in the United States on September 21, 2010 by Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller. The organization was founded with the intention of supporting LGBTQ+ youth through their adolescence and in response to the suicides of youth like Tyler Clementi and Ryan Halligan. In conversation with the It Gets Better Project, Fernanda Garza uploaded her video titled "Todo Mejora!! ;)" on June 29th, 2012. In her video she spoke about how she wanted to share her story in order to "help all those people that are looking for videos about who they are... I wanted you all to see something positive instead of something that would say you shouldn't feel that way that you do." (translated from Spanish to English) [link to her video] Todo Mejora México was officially launched two years later in 2014 with Fernanda Garza and Rubén Maza co-founding the organization. The Mexican affiliate of the It Gets Better Project was founded after years of struggle for increased visibility for queer individuals within Mexico.[link to article about gay culture within Mexico] As an organization Todo Mejora was primarily focused with advocating for LGBTQ+ youth and individuals suffering from HIV. But through aligning themselves with Mexico's larger social movements against Femicide and democratizing Mexico further, they have been able to grow their presence. In his writings on the subject of LGBTQ+ movements flourishing in the 21st century, political scientist Javier Corrales wrote "On the question of alliance-building, the literature on social movements suggests that, to be successful in changing policy, small social movements must develop alliances with larger social movements or political actors. This was the case in Argentina and Mexico City, where pro-LGBT movements formed key alliances with the largest and most developed social movements in each country: human rights groups in Argentina (especially those seeking that more be done to uncover human rights abuses during the dictatorship) and democratizing movements in Mexico that had been working in the country since the 1990s."[insert citation to Corrales writing]

The organization began with an emphasis on having LGBTQ+ identifying people and allies share their stories through YouTube. [Link to Fernanda's video] Todo Mejora México's headquarters are based out of Monterrey, Nuevo León, but their reach extends throughout Mexico and Latin America. In the years since, they have continued to showcase the stories of everyday LGBTQ+ people, celebrities and activists.[Link to Alex Orue story] But in more recent years, they have started other initiatives that seek to build off of the increasing accessibility to technology and social media platforms like Whatsapp within Latin America.