Jonathan Van Ness discusses difficult holidays for LGBTQ+ youth with Monet X Change

The holidays are particularly difficult for LGBTQ youth, says Jonathan Van Ness On an Episode of The X Change Rate with Monet X Change, the pair discusses a letter to Santa that recently went viral of a little boy asking if he loves the LGBTQ community and if so can he ask God if he also supports him. The heartbreaking letter mirrors struggles of many LGBTQ youths who are feeling unnaccepted over the holiday season.

"We live in this culture that teaches us to compare, it teaches us to compare our worth and our love and our value against what other people are doing," Van Ness says. "That can be a really tough mirror in the holiday season."

Monet X Change brings up Indya Moore's TranSanta initiative that allow trans youth in need to make christmas lists that folks can buy specific items from the list via an instagram page. "It's really simple stuff that would mean the world to trans kids who are sometimes in shelters and don't have any type of Santa or any Christmas," says Monet X Change.

Video Transcript

MONET X CHANGE: It is a holiday season. And the holiday season can be tricky for queer kids to navigate. We all know that. And I know you saw that heartbreaking letter that a little boy wrote to Santa. This little boy wrote this letter to Santa. He's like, Santa this is me. I just want to find out if you support the LGBTQIA+ community. And if you do, can you please talk to God and tell him to love the LGBTQ community as well? It was literally the sweetest thing I have ever seen in my life.

JONATHAN VAN NESS: Did the parent, like, write back as Santa and say, yes I do? And I will go put in a word. He actually lives across the street from me, on the North Pole, so yes, I'll go talk to them. I do know how tricky the holiday season is for youth, and for LGBTQ youth especially. If your family does not accept you, and it's such a celebration I think of togetherness and unconditional love and family time. It reminds me of that movie, "While You Were Sleeping," honey, except for without LGBTQ stuff, because there was no LGBTQ stuff.

But remember that scene with Sandra Bullock, after he's in a coma, and Sandra Bullock is sitting there with her one little present while everyone's happily opening their Christmas presents. Everyone wants that. Everyone wants to sit by a fireplace and watch each other open presents and their family. Not everyone has that. And so it because I think we live in this culture that just teaches us to compare. And it teaches us to compare our worth, and our love, and our value against what other people are doing, what other folks are doing. And that can be a really tough mirror in the holiday season.

MONET X CHANGE: And also supporting things like Indya's TransSanta initiative, which I think is such a brilliant idea. If it's a kid that's an artist, you can get some paint for them some paintbrushes, some canvases, this really simple stuff that will mean the world to trans kids who are sometimes in the shelters and don't have any type of Santa or any Christmas.

JONATHAN VAN NESS: The thing that's so neat about TransSanta is that you can literally pick out books that you know that it's going straight to them. And that is [INAUDIBLE] directly to them, not straight to them. Any way that we can ally and support LGBTQ youth and each other this year, by slowing down enough to reach out to your friends and reaching out to your loved ones and asking how they're doing. Because not everyone has that Sandra Bullock "While You Were Sleeping" moment.