In less than a month17-year-old Katy Butler went from being an antibullying activist in her home state of Michigan to becoming a prominent figure in the national conversation about bullying, complete with celebrity backing and recognition from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
In less than a month17-year-old Katy Butler went from being an antibullying activist in her home state of Michigan to becoming a prominent figure in the national conversation about bullying, complete with celebrity backing and recognition from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
An out lesbian, who endured antigay bullying in middle school, Butler launched a Change.Org petition late in February, calling for a rating change from R to PG-13 for the Weinstein Company’s documentary Bully, so that the film’s target audience of middle school and high school aged students would be able to see the film and so that it could eventually be shown in schools.
The push for a rating change came when the Motion Picture Association of America slapped an R rating on the film for its six swear words, whereas, if the film had only four swears, it would have qualified for a PG-13 rating.
The fight for Bully’s rating change began before Butler launched her petition but since she took action she’s caught the attention and support of celebrities, politicians and GLAAD. Butler’s odyssey from Michigan high school student to activist on the national stage includes an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show during which DeGeneres lauded Butler and introduced viewers to Bully and the surrounding controversy.
Hollywood mogul and one of the men behind Bully, Harvey Weinstein, will present Butler with a special recognition award at the 23rd Annual GLAAD Awards in New York City.
SheWired talked with Butler about coming out, her activism, Bully, her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and just who she’d like to meet at the GLAAD Awards.
Congratulations on the wonderful work you are doing. How are you handling your sudden fame since launching the ratings change petition?
It’s been absolutely wonderful. It’s incredible that so many people want to support such a great cause. It gives me so much hope to know that almost half a million people are so willing to change the climate around bullying in the United States.
You’ve spoken openly about your own experiences with bullying. Can you elaborate on what happened to?
When I was in middle school I came out as a lesbian, and not a lot of people liked that. They called me names, pushed me into lockers, knocked my stuff over, and they ended up slamming my hand in my locker and breaking my finger.
That’s so awful. I’m sorry. Was the school faculty unaware of the bullying?
I think the fact that it happens so much, and they don’t know what to do about it, becomes part of the daily life of school, unfortunately.
How did you first hear about the film Bully?
I did a lot of work with the Michigan anti-bullying legislature in November of last year, so I’m on a lot of email lists and whatnot on bullying. I got an email one day that was talking about this new movie, Bully, that was coming out.
I looked it up and I thought it was the greatest thing, and it had such a wonderful message -- such a powerful film. Then I saw that it was rated R, which was really, really confusing, because the target audience of this movie is the middle school and high school students who are bullied and who are the bullies. Having that R rating makes it really hard for those kids to see it. So, I went on Change.org and started the petition to change the rating.
Have you seen the film?
I have now. I hadn’t seen it when I started.
What do you think of it now that you’ve seen it?
I think it’s absolutely amazing. It has a powerful message, and once you watch this movie, you just want to go and change the world.
Stepping back a little bit, you said you came out when you were in middle school, which is a really bold move at that age. You must have an incredible sense of self. To what do you attribute your ability to come out at such a young age?
Definitely my parents – my parents raised me in such a way that they taught me to be accepting of everyone, and love everyone. And the morals they instilled in me and empowered me with were just incredible.
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