"That's So Gay"

By Emma Ruby-Sachs, Blogger, 365gay Agenda Blog

When I was fourteen, my younger sister, who was and still is eminently cooler than me, taught me a new word: dyke. It basically means anyone who is lame, stupid, aggressive, ugly, the list goes on.

For months I used that word as an insult at least once a day until finally my parents heard me and set both my sister and I straight: a dyke is another word for a lesbian, and people are going to think you’re homophobic if they hear you say it.

The thing is, I still hear the kids I know say that things are “gay” all the time. Many young adults too.

When I point out that it’s homophobic and offensive, not only to me, but likely to other people who overhear it, they laugh or scoff or look at me like I’m an idiot. Those that respond, say, “It doesn’t mean gay gay, just stupid.”

So imagine my cheer at learning that schools are taking on this problem directly. The Ad Council in conjunction with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network has created a series of ads that explain why using the word “gay” as an insult is, well, insulting. The best part is, they’re funny.

Getting kids to change their vocabulary, even when what they are saying could be classified as hate speech, is not easy. And they don’t respond well to authority figures telling them what to do, even in ads that a bunch of adults assume will be effective.

Still, if I’d seen these ads at 14, I would have started watching what I say a bit more.

Hopefully, it will have the same effect on at least some of the next generation.



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