Olivia Julianna calls herself a late bloomer but if that’s true, she still bloomed quickly. She was 18-years-old when she first thought she might be queer and just two years later, now at 20, she attended the Pride Month celebration at the White House as an openly queer woman. She’s also partnering with It Gets Better, a nonprofit whose mission is supporting LGBTQ youth around the globe.
Pride Month in 2023 is different, coming as it does in a year when anti-LGBTQ legislation is at an all-time high, Target and Bud Light have both rolled back LGBTQ-friendly campaigns after conservative backlash, and a Republican Congressman has vowed “[stopping] gender-affirming care is the hill we will die on.” But at the same time, more U.S. adults identity as LGBTQ than ever before, the 118th Congress has broken records for LGBTQ representation, and the Pride Flag was flown at the White House. In the midst of both historical progress and heartbreaking rollbacks, Olivia Julianna makes sense as the spokesperson for It Gets Better. In just a few years, her life has changed in ways she never could have imagined – from struggling with an eating disorder and suicidal ideation to being an openly queer abortion activist who meets President Biden, AOC, and her own personal hero, director of political strategy at the White House, Emmy Ruiz, who is an LGBTQ+ Texan just like Olivia.
You can watch the debut of the video here. And ahead, Teen Vogue sat down with the activist to talk about what gives her hope, what keeps her going, and what “it gets better” means to her.
Teen Vogue: In this time of legislative attacks on queer people, how can young people hold on to hope?
Olivia Julianna: I think that's something that I always kind of hear people say, that these are unprecedented times and unprecedented paths. I think that's silly because we have seen ideology and actions before on a much more outwardly violent scale. I think to remain helpful [we have to] look at where we were and look at where we are now. It is 100% true that there are attacks on our ability to exist in states like Texas and in Florida. But when you look at states like California and Pennsylvania and Michigan, you see that there are really great politicians and elected officials who are making it a point to protect our communities – the amount of LGBTQ+ representation in legislative bodies… people like Pete Buttigieg, Zoe Sepper and all these amazing people, elected officials who are on the front line fighting for our community, but also are quite literally shaking the face of public policy. I think that that should provide inspiration.
TV: What keeps you going in this fight?
OJ: We know how to overcome these things because we've overcome them before. We know how, because we've organized to do it before. There's these kinds of footsteps that have been made over the last several decades by different activists, organizers, and lessons learned. And I think that we're coming to this really pivotal moment where intergenerational activism is starting to become more and more common.
We also have more resources than other generations. That's what brings me hope, seeing these people who were marching in the 70s, fighting for the same thing and giving us their knowledge. Is it terrifying? Of course it's terrifying. We're still fighting for progress. But I also think that it's inspiring.
TV: What does It Gets Better mean to you?
OJ: For me, it is quite literally does get better. You find community and you find yourself. But you're going to have to deal with really difficult things and tough times, but with phrases like it gets better, we know and we tell you that it gets better because there is an entire community of people who are either going through the same thing or have already went through the same thing. And it's a reminder that no matter how isolated and lonely you feel you are not alone.
TV: What do you want to say to young queer kids?
OJ: There was literally just a picnic on the [White House] South Lawn for LGBTQ+ people, and there was volleyball and funhole and drinks and games. As I was standing there, I just kept looking around, thinking about, there's just queer joy everywhere here. And I saw kids with their parents, and I think if I had to say something to queer kids and teenagers out there, it would be look at what is happening. I know it might seem like it's really dark and scary, but our flag is being flown at the nation's capital right now. And I don't think that there are a lot of people out there who thought that that would ever be possible, but it is. And I think that should just be the reminder our community is valid and it's being recognized in ways that it should be.\
And we have got work to do. We got bills to pass, we got laws to amend, and we owe it to the generations of the past and the next generation to fight as hard as we can so that they don't have to face the same battle.
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