Nickelodeon on Tuesday will air a
special episode of Nick News with Linda Ellerbee focusing on
the experiences of gay teens.
According to a Nickelodeon press
release, the episode, titled Coming
Out, will follow “the everyday lives of gay kids as they
face fear, acceptance, bullying, isolation, encouragement, ignorance,
showing how straight and non-straight teens can come together to
triumph over bullying.
“I'm not a special case,” Marcel,
13, said. “There are many people who are my age, and are gay. And
you [kids] can say, 'Well, I don't know any gay people.' You
probably do, but they're probably not out to you.”
Ellerbee, an Emmy-winning journalist,
said: “It takes bravery for a kid to come out. Being accepted by
straight people is not a given. Being young and 'different' is not
easy. This may be tough to talk about, or hear about, but this is
important stuff. Not addressing it doesn't make it go away.”
A Nickelodeon source told IBTimes
that the show would not include transgender teens.
Mark Snyder of the Transgender Law
Center responded: “Visibility is incredibly important. It saves
lives and makes a huge impact for those who feel isolated.
Hopefully, Nick will feature transgender youth in future projects,
and TLC would be thrilled to collaborate on such a project.”