Ideas worth spreading

This is what LGBT life is like around the world

2,835,086 views |

Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols |

TEDWomen 2015

• May 2015

As a gay couple in San Francisco, Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols had a relatively easy time living the way they wanted. But outside the bubble of the Bay Area, what was life like for people still lacking basic rights? They set off on a world tour in search of "Supergays," LGBT people who were doing something extraordinary in the world. In 15 countries across Africa, Asia and South America -- from India, recently home to the world's first openly gay prince, to Argentina, the first country in Latin America to grant marriage equality -- they found the inspiring stories and the courageous, resilient and proud Supergays they had been looking for.

As a gay couple in San Francisco, Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols had a relatively easy time living the way they wanted. But outside the bubble of the Bay Area, what was life like for people still lacking basic rights? They set off on a world tour in search of "Supergays," LGBT people who were doing something extraordinary in the world. In 15 countries across Africa, Asia and South America -- from India, recently home to the world's first openly gay prince, to Argentina, the first country in Latin America to grant marriage equality -- they found the inspiring stories and the courageous, resilient and proud Supergays they had been looking for.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Watch Out & Around, Jenni and Lisa's documentary about the people who are leading the movement for gay, lesbian and transgender equality.

About the speaker

Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols

Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols

Documentary filmmakers

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Jenni Chang and Lisa Dazols made "Out & Around" to show the momentous changes in the status of LGBTQ equality -- all around the world.

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Diagnosing Difference

In 2007, Lisa's friend Annaliese made this powerful documentary, Diagnosing Difference, to complete her psychology dissertation. The film has had a large social impact campaign geared towards educating schools and workplaces about transgender individuals. Annaliese's success in story telling without a background in film gave Lisa confidence to interview subjects for Out & Around.

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This website is a passion project of clinical psychologist Richard Ammon. He's collected thousands of stories about LGBT people in over 190 countries, most of the articles written by himself over the past 20 years. Richard became a reliable online companion while we traveled, and we have shared a number of contacts and articles to help one another find the Global Supergays!

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It Gets Better Project

The It Gets Better Project inspired us to pick up a camera and press record. Filming yourself and telling your truth can be so scary and vulnerable, yet so powerful to LGBT youth. It Gets Better now has several international programs spreading the message of hope around the globe. "Out & Around" has been lucky to have It Gets Better as a social impact partner.

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Married with Luggage

How do we budget for this trip? What’s the best international credit card? How can we travel as a couple and not want to break up? These were all questions that we asked Betsy and Warren from Married with Luggage. We loved their blog and really counted on them for the many logistical questions about how to pull off a big time trip and dream such as Out & Around.

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Radical Remission

While planning our travels, we had dinner with Lisa's classmate, Kelly, and her husband who had just returned from a year long trip visiting 15 countries. They traveled to interview cancer survivors and healers around the world, a project that would later turn into the New York Times bestseller, Radical Remission. They spoke about how fun it was for them as a couple to have a project while they traveled and challenged us to think of a subject we were both passionate about. Out of that dinner party conversation came the idea for Out & Around.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Watch Out & Around, Jenni and Lisa's documentary about the people who are leading the movement for gay, lesbian and transgender equality.