Why do it?
The Do Nothings team is driven to change the paradigm for young people who endure discriminatory inequities. We need films and television that authentically reflect the journey of queer – and in particular – non-binary young people; where kids and families can see their own experience normalized. So that other kids can see themselves reflected back, understand they’re not alone, and be empowered to continue as their unspoiled selves.
The Do Nothings series is for those kids - and grown up kids - who exist outside of mainstream culture. Our LGBTQI+, our alternative thinkers, our change-makers - people who experience a torrent of low-key rejections every day that signal they don’t count. Our “Do Nothings” get the message loud and clear. Today, LGBTQI+ youths have a rate of attempted suicide 5 times higher than their heterosexual peers, according to the CDC, and two thirds of transgender youth report self-harm in past year (Centre for Suicide Prevention, 2018).
In fact, in the U.S., eighty-five percent of LGBT students have experienced verbal harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender identity (GLSEN, 2015), twenty-four percent of transgender students report having been physically harassed, and seventeen percent of transgender students report leaving school to avoid mistreatment by peers, teachers, and administrators (The U.S. Transgender Survey, 2015). What’s more, most American students attend schools in states without laws that protect them from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity despite the fact that these protections work: students who attend schools with anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies explicitly including sexual orientation and gender identity experience less victimization.
Moreover, this discriminatory bullying and harassment is strongly associated with increased levels of absenteeism, lower GPAs, lower rates of college attendance and other plans following graduation, as well as lower levels of self-esteem and increased rates of depression and drug and alcohol use (Williams Institute, 2018).
