Subscribe to Breaking NewsRuby-Sachs: “That’s so gay.”
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.
Check out the videos (there are three of them): “That’s So Gay”
These videos are terrific, and important. My mother once told me that when she was a little girl, kids called Brazil nuts “n*gger toes.” That term needed to go…and, unquestionably, does “that’s so gay.” Not cool, not at all.
I work with kids. When they use ‘gay’ or ‘faggot’, I tell them that it’s inappropriate language.
But when I see twinks lining up at the disco with bleached blond hair and too-tight Abercrombie clothing, all I think is ‘FAGS’.
Is it ok to use derogatory terms when you mean it?
Hey peeps as so many (much more eloquently that I) have said. Yes, It’s offensive but do any of you remember something I was taught as a child ? “Sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt me” !! (wow if that were only true !! Hmmm I wonder what Matthew Shepard thought as he was being called names AND beaten. Words DO hurt, and so do the sticks and stones! Yea, for the ad council.! Help us More, if you will!
When someone (rarely) uses the expression “That’s so gay” around me, I usually ask them if they actually believe that car (or whatever they were referring to) is homosexual. If I’m careful to act as though I’m just genuinely confused by the usage, it ends up making the speaker look quite stupid, without having to say so. Obviously cars can’t be any kind of sexual, so the term “gay” in this case becomes completely arbitrary and absolutely begs the question as to why the speaker would assign it to an inanimate object, which, given the absurdity and malevolence of the concept, says a lot more about the person uttering such nonsense that it does about the object of their derision. It’s direct, without confrontation. And yet, opens the door to conversation on the subject of slanderous slang. If it’s a basically thoughtless act by someone who I don’t think is being mean, then it ends right there. If it’s truly someone who is trying to be funny at the expense of gay people, and that’s just being rotten, then I can expand on why the word “gay” has taken on a negative meaning for that person. F’rinstance, ” Why do you hate gay people so much?”
well i hope this method works, i for one hate when people use the word gay and tend to tell people off for it and then i get the “oh im not homophobic,” umm reality check, when kids hear people saying that, they think its fine and then when they find out what it actually means, they STILL think its fine.
i can see these adds having an impact.
i am gay. i always hear people saying “thats so gay” and i dont take offence of it. it has even slipped my mouth a couple times.
sure some might think its one of those words like Niger, Cracker, WetBack, are bad but “gay” really shouldnt matter if you use it out of contence. people just quit tripping people should be able to use gay just as much as they can say Sh*t, Fu*k, Bi*ch, Hell, Whore, etc. i think it should be restricted in schools and stuff but you shouldnt even flip out about it
The next time you’re out and about with your same-sex sweetheart (or just a friend you feel really comfortable with) and you hear some fool say, “That’s so gay,” respond by saying, “Oh, that’s not gay. This is gay.” Then grab the aforementioned sweetheart/friend and plant a big kiss on their lips.
If the fool is offended, tell them not to be so sensitive.
Michelle, rjb has a right to relate his opinion, just like anyone else, without being denigrated.
Oh, I think the whole thing is “sooooo breeder”