Dan Savage
A brutally honest sex columnist who turned frank talk about relationships into a platform for LGBTQ+ advocacy and viral social change.
Born 1964 (age 62)·American sex advice columnist and gay rights campaigner·Birthday: October 7·Baby Boomers
Biography
Dan Savage stormed the staid world of advice columns in 1991 with 'Savage Love,' a syndicated feature that traded polite euphemisms for razor-sharp, politically charged, and often hilariously blunt counsel. Writing from his perspective as a gay man, he dismantled sexual shame and challenged conventional wisdom on monogamy, family, and identity. His voice, equal parts therapist and provocateur, built a massive following. That platform gave weight to his activism. In 2010, after a series of tragic LGBTQ+ youth suicides, he and his husband Terry Miller uploaded a homemade YouTube video promising teenagers that 'It Gets Better.' The campaign exploded into a global movement, with thousands of videos from everyday people and world leaders. Savage leveraged his media savvy to push for marriage equality and call out hypocrisy, forever changing the conversation about sex and acceptance in America.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Dan was born in 1964, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Dan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1964
#1 Movie
Mary Poppins
Best Picture
My Fair Lady
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Dan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1964Born
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1969Started school
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1977Became a teenager
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1980Could drive
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1982Could vote
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Turned 21
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1994Turned 30
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2004Turned 40
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 50
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 60
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 62 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded the It Gets Better Project in 2010, a global viral video campaign to uplift LGBTQ+ youth that has garnered millions of submissions.
- Created and syndicates the influential 'Savage Love' sex advice column, published in hundreds of newspapers and podcasts since 1991.
- His political activism and fundraising were cited as influential in the successful campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington State.
- Authored several books, including 'The Commitment,' which chronicled his own family's debate over marriage.
Did You Know?
He originally intended to be a playwright and theater director, and sometimes directs under his birth middle name, Keenan Hollahan.
He coined the acronym 'DTMFA' ('Dump The Motherf***er Already') in his column, which entered popular lexicon.
He and his husband, Terry Miller, were among the first gay couples to legally marry in Washington State in 2012.
He hosted the 'Savage Lovecast' podcast, one of the longest-running advice podcasts.
“It gets better. You have to live long enough for it to get better, and then you have to work to make it better.”
