YouTube beauty guru Ingrid Nilsen has released her first in a series of videos for Pride Month in a partnership with the It Gets Better Project. Nilsen honors three LGBTQ+ people who've inspired her: Anne Lister, Adrienne Rich, and Anis Gisele.
Nilsen begins with Anne Lister, author of the The Secret Diaries of Anne Lister. Called the "first modern lesbian," Lister details her life as a well-off aristocrat in 19th-century England but secretly writes about her relationships with women through a code made up of algebra and Ancient Greek. Lister is portrayed in the HBO show Gentleman Jack.
The second is Adrienne Rich, an American poet Nilsen has long admired. Nilsen reads one of her favorite quotes from the collection The Dream of a Common Language. She ends with writer and activist Anis Gisele, a spoken-word poet of Filipina origin. Gisele focuses on race, gender expansiveness, accountable love, and violence. Their work is available to watch on YouTube and across other platforms on the web.
Nilsen wraps up the video talking about the It Gets Better Project and shows YouTube's new donation feature below the video. Her goal is to raise $50,000, and she has already contributed to the cause herself. This is a a part of the #TheirStory campaign from It Gets Better, which aims for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies to share a story about individuals who inspire them. If you want to help, you can donate on the video's page or you can share your own video on Instagram, Instastory, TikTok, or YouTube and tag #TheirStory & @ItGetsBetter in the post.
