Eric James Borges, Gay Teen Filmmaker, Commits Suicide One Month After Producing ‘It Gets Better’ Video
Just one month after filming an “It Gets Better” video in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, a California-based gay teen filmmaker has taken his own life.
Nineteen-year-old Eric James Borges, who went by EricJames among friends, worked as an intern with The Trevor Project, and as a supplemental instructor at the College of the Sequoias, according to Queer Landia blogger Jim Reeves.
“A brief introduction left me with the impression of a fine young man, and I regret that I did not get to know him better,” Reeves writes of his experience with Borges.
Borges spoke frankly of being tormented throughout his adolescence and young adulthood in his video. “I was physically, mentally, emotionally and verbally assaulted on a day-to-day basis for my perceived sexual orientation,” he said. “My name was not Eric, but ‘Faggot.’” He claims his mother performed an exorcism on him in an effort to cure her son of his homosexuality before eventually kicking him out of his home.
Suicide rates among LGBTQ youth are comparatively higher than general youth populations. More than 1/3 of LGB youth are reported to have made a suicide attempt at some point in their lives, and this figure increases when attempted suicide rates among trans* youth are included.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Click here to learn about LBGTQ youth resources.
bigotry, bullying and hate towards other human beings are among the worst things the human race produced.
to all of my followers, I hope that in your everyday life, you help to eradicate this atrocity, little by little, step by step, and encourage your fellow peers to do the same.
