A Youtube video has reached 1.5 million views in just three days after a collage of contemporary LGBT film and TV clips went viral.
Ryan James Yezak, a West Hollywood-based filmmaker unveiled a video entitled ‘Gay Rights Movement’ with a plea to raise $50000 for Second Class Citizens. Yezak explains that his documentary was made in order to address “many areas in which gays, lesbians, & bisexuals do not have the same rights & opportunities as others in society.”The video was shared over 120,000 times on Facebook and raised more than $96,600 in donations.
However, the video has been criticized for excluding lesbians, transgender people and people of colour in the documentary. Pam Spaulding a LGBT blogger notes that in watching the video “You’d think lesbians are practically non-existent in the movement. And it’s definitely “gay rights” only — don’t expect anything related to trans folk here either …. And people of color? Well, aside from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. … if Dan Choi hadn’t been in the DADT-related clips, then the vid would have been a complete whitewash. It’s kind of sad.”
According to Yezak, the video is the first of five he will make in order to raise awareness of equality and gay rights.