Think Before You Speak
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has teamed up with celebs like Hilary Duff and Wanda Sykes to create PSA advertising to help curb bullying or threatening language aimed at LGBT youth. Think Before You Speak is a new campaign that seeks to educate young people about the harmful nature of associating negativity by saying “that’s so gay” — which is an issue that I, as a teacher, tried to take on at the school I worked at a few years ago. This issue is very close to my heart and I am very glad to see that this new campaign has been launched:
FOR the first time since the Advertising Council was founded in 1942, the organization — which directs and coordinates public service campaigns on behalf of Madison Avenue and the media industry — is introducing ads meant to tackle a social issue of concern to gays and lesbians. The campaign, which is scheduled to be announced by the council in Washington on Wednesday, will seek to discourage bullying and harassment of teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.” That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.” There will be television and radio commercials, print and outdoor ads and a special Web site devoted to the campaign (thinkb4youspeak.com). Some spots feature celebrities, the young actress Hilary Duff and the comedian Wanda Sykes, delivering the message. The campaign is on behalf of a nonprofit organization in New York called the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or Glsen (pronounced glisten), which promotes tolerance among students. Glsen is spending about $2 million to develop and produce the campaign. The introduction of the campaign will be accompanied by Glsen’s release of the 2007 edition of an annual report, the National School Climate Survey. The survey will report that 9 in 10 teenagers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender said they were verbally harassed during the last school year. Almost half said they were also physically harassed because of their sexual orientation. The campaign is “something I dreamed about for 10 years,” said Kevin Jennings, the founder and executive director at Glsen, and has been in active development for two years. “If you follow hateful language, you eventually get hurtful behavior,” he added. “The chain of events begins with kids learning it’s O.K. to disrespect people.” The campaign is “a very bold step” on the part of the council, Mr. Jennings said, in that “this will be, by a million miles, the largest public education campaign on L.G.B.T. issues” … The council has presented antidiscrimination campaigns like “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” for the United Negro College Fund, and ads promoting gender equality (“Expect the best from a girl and that’s what you’ll get”) … the goal was “to show the situation in a new light,” Mr. Staffen said, “to point out this language can be hurtful and let the kids make their own decisions.” “Ultimately, we believe they will make the right decision,” he added.
Kudos to both the Advertising Council and GLSEN for taking such a bold, important step in this matter. As I said, when I taught high school kids, this was an issue that we tried to take on and were marginally successful with. At our school, we found that kids weren’t necessarily trying to be hurtful with their language … they were just too comfortable associating something bad or negative (like a pop quiz, for example) with “being gay” (ie. In the library where my desk was located I might hear “that pop quiz was so gay”). When it was brought to the kid’s attention, they realize that what they were saying was wrong and could be hurtful to others. I think a campaign like this will go along way to help educate more kids on a larger scale. After the jump, check out Hilary Duff’s Think Before You Speak PSA …
It’s a simple message and, as I said, I really think kids will be receptive to this campaign. For the most part, I really do believe that kids are more accepting … or, at least, are learning to be more accepting of others. Our society continues to make great strides in acceptance and it all begins with education. The more you know …
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Tags: 'Think Before You Speak', Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Hilary Duff
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October 9th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Wow. What a great campaign!
I hope one day people can be truly acceptant of people regardless of race, religion and sexual orientation. I’m still struggling adjusting to hearing the term”wetback” around here. I live on the border, you would figure Hispanics would not rag on their own ethnicity but apparently not.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:00 am
Fantastic! In related news, I’ll be attending Safe Space/Ally training this afternoon through my employer’s PRIDE Club (I work at a community college).
October 9th, 2008 at 9:16 am
I love it! As a teacher, this is something I have tried to work with my students on for years. Using the word gay as an adjective has always been a pet peeve of mine so it’s something I’ve even spoke up about with my friends and family. I applaud Hillary Duff and Wanda Sykes for using their fame to combat disparaging language like this and I hope more celebrities get on the train.
The most important thing to do is to not remain silent when you hear stuff like this because when it is pointed out to someone who says it unconsciously, it really stays with them and then that person ends up setting an example for their friends and family and on and on.
I also encourage everyone to check out the NoOnProp8 site to see how they can help. Even if you are not from California, it’s a big issue that effects the rest of the nation.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:20 am
this is a great campaign and i hope it works. you know me, i have to throw my two cents in for another word widely used in teen (and adult!) lingo that really bothers me … the word “retard” or “retarded.” i just can’t stand when anyone uses that word. it’s awful. i’m sure that most of the time the intention is benign but it’s offensive and should be pointed out. and now i’m done with my little rant. :)
October 9th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Absolutely Monica, it’s very important to speak up in situations like these. As I said, the kids I tried to enlighten were very receptive.
October 9th, 2008 at 9:30 am
OMG! I love it! I agree with Your Sarah! I am a special eduacation minor in college and I hate when people say that something is retarded! I have argued with all my friends and family about saying “retarded” and “gay” to try to stop them from saying it! I am glad celebs are starting to help out!
October 9th, 2008 at 10:00 am
I think the positive messaging and anti-bullying programs are great and its very important to try to make school an accepting, safe place for kids. However, I do have to say that when I was in elementary school in the early 70’s, we used the term “that’s so gay” and it never had ANY homosexual connotation whatso-ever. Any then there was my grandmother, who used the term regularly in its other context, eg “you look so gay” and it never occurred to me as a child that this could be taken any other way than “you look happy”. Maybe kids these days are nastier when it comes to manipulating words to be cruel by using double meanings and connotations but I never believe the original intent of the phrase was to link something being lame and homosexuality. Maybe the 1970’s were just a really naive times…(and for that, I guess I was lucky).
October 9th, 2008 at 10:25 am
In response to that, I’d say that maybe those people didn’t mean any harm by their words – but that doesn’t mean that they didn’t cause harm. This is the same kind of argument that came up with Eminem, because he said he didn’t mean gay people when he said the word “fag”. But the point is, gay people were affected when he said it so that is what counts. If people say things like this unconsciously, that just means that the problem is more insidious and needs to be combatted in a different way. It’s like saying something like “Don’t be such a girl” and not technically meaning anything malicious but ultimately, a comment like that IS rooted in misogyny, which is very connected to homophobia. The bottom line is that it’s all about pursuing equality and the first step is starting with kids and changing language. The best way to change our world and to change the idea that women, gays and lesbians, people of color etc. are less than straight, white, heterosexuals, is with education. Let’s hope a campaign like this becomes mandatory in all public schools because it is very needed!
October 9th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Probably an equally important lesson to teach parents. My friend’s kid said someone called him a homo and so he asked what it meant. His dad told him “A homo is a stupid person.” So now when his son finds out what a “homo” actually is…
“That’s so gay” is one of my pet peeves as well. And spelling it “ghey” does NOT make it any better.
October 9th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Are you kidding me people, where were you educated? Old School is absolutely correct in their comment. The word gay has been in the dictionary for years (not relating to homosexuality) and means something merry or lively. People saying “that’s so gay” has nothing to do with a person being homosexual. I’m all for gay rights, equality, etc. and have many close gay friends, but this is ridiculous. What’s next, are you going to demand that the dictionary definition be changed?
October 9th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Lisa, you are sorely mistaken if you think that kids saying “that’s gay” are really trying to say “that’s merry”. Sadly, kids these days do not know the real definition for the word “gay”. This is not ridiculous and you are very lucky to not be affected by bullying behavior. Hopefully your children will be as lucky as well. But for the thousands of kids out there who aren’t as lucky, this campaign seeks to help them.
October 9th, 2008 at 10:45 am
“People saying “that’s so gay” has nothing to do with a person being homosexual.” – I completely disagree with this. No one today is saying something is “merry or lively” when they use the word gay. They use it when they are referring to something they feel negatively about, plain and simple. Gay equals something bad and if you are a gay person, hearing it can be very hurtful and isolating.
From Wikipedia: In contemporary usage, the adjective gay usually describes a person’s sexual orientation, being the standard term for homosexual. In earlier usage, the word meant “carefree”, “happy”, or “bright and showy”, though this usage is infrequent today.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay
October 9th, 2008 at 11:08 am
People using the word gay as an adjective in modern times are using it to mean dumb or stupid as Trent described. I have to admit, I got into the habit of saying “that’s so gay” when I was in high school. I affirm Trent’s beliefs that when people say it they don’t mean anything hurtful by it, it’s just a bad habit. Once you stop and realize that you are equating the word gay with stupid then you realize that you shouldn’t be using it in that way. I am glad efforts are being made to stop this, and I think that more effort should be used to stop people from saying “that’s so retarded.” That phrase has been around for as long as I can remember and it is still in use.
October 9th, 2008 at 11:38 am
I’,m so glad that someone is trying to do something about that term. I have gay family members and since i was like 10 and started hearing “thats so gay” in terms of an outfit, something someone did, a commercial etc… it irked me. Does that outfit have a sexual preference? It just drives me up the freakin wall when people say it and I am always the one to open my mouth and say “does that “—–” have a sexual preference?” good job on trying to educate all the people out there on thinking before speaking :)
October 9th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
I love this campaign. I’m a Senior in college and I also agree that many just say it without thinking. A friend of mine is a lesbian, and she HATED hearing someone say that. As of right now, I have a girlfriend (my first ever, but I’m not myself gay) and she doesn’t get angry about it. I feel like everyone is different. I think that tolerance is a huge issue and there should be a lot more of it. After I graduate, my best friend and I are starting our own nonprofit organization to work on issues exactly like these. I don’t know about you, but I’ll all for positivity! =]
October 9th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
As a tender-hearted child and now adult, I’ve always felt discomfort/sadness with “that’s so retarded” or “that’s so gay”, and recently, being straight myself, I have wondererd if I’m just too “PC” … that maybe those phrases have taken on such a life of their own that they’re not even specifically offensive anymore. Hearing your take on it, Trent, confirms my original reaction. It’s hard to tell one’s friends who really mean no harm that what they’re saying is offensive, but it sounds like it is.
October 9th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Thanks to everyone who truly considers their choice of words and say what they mean. The careless and insensitive use of the words “gay” and “retarded” really just show that the speaker is not smart enough to say something better.
October 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
love the campaign! passing this on to the kids…
October 9th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Again, nothing to take away from the campaign at all and I am certainly against name-calling, bullying and all that. It is just the specific term that caught my eye and my brain as I specifically had never thought of the homosexual connotation when using the phrase. Nor did I think that it would still be thought of as “she’s so merry” in this day and age (unless you asked an 85-year-old). I was just trying to point out that the formal/information definition was very different depending on the era and that the intention of the use of the phrase has apparently become much more hurtful than it ever was in our childhood. In another 10 years, it could have another additional definition that we haven’t thought of yet. Good discussion, though.
October 9th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
I think an easy solution is we should call ourselves “alternative”, not gay. A lot of people, both straight and gay, never liked the world “gay”, and I never did either. A lot of people have trouble even saying it. It has too many silly, negative, swishy connotations, that don’t fit most gay people. Just say “alternative”, because people already say “alternative lifestyle” anyway. (Although the “lifestyle” is not alternative, only the orientation is.)
October 9th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Love the campaign! And I agree with Your Sarah on the “retard” issue- I come from a family with a special needs child and I HATED hearing people say that. I always say “lame” or “Sucks” since my parents raised me not to say “gay” or “retarded”. People often don’t realize who they are around when they say these things, and just how negative and hurtful they are being. High schoolers, I think, are especially bad when it comes to this. I hope that I’m able to raise my children as I was. Thank you, Trent!
October 9th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
i have tried to get most of my friends to stop using the word “gay” when they’re trying to describe something as “stupid” or “lame.” they don’t seem to realize they’re associating something negative with that term, and it’s just hurtful, offensive and ignorant.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:48 am
My comment got erased. Never knew you censord people here. What happened to freedom of speach you’re so keen about??
October 10th, 2008 at 5:08 am
i’m sure that most of the time the intention is benign but it’s offensive and should be pointed out. and now i’m done with my little rant. :)
bi/gay/lesbian http://www.FindBilover.com
October 10th, 2008 at 11:38 am
While it may be offensive, I don’t know why freedom of speech is brushed off to the side for this. We offend many people in very harsh, sometimes disturbing ways all day everyday and why should we be banned from using only this particular word just because it offends gays. You are ridiculous. And there you are posing next to Madonna who is the most vulgar hateful b*tch in the world. Thanx for your hypocracy.
October 10th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Gizzy, this campaign has nothing to do with opposing freedom of speech. It’s ludicrous to assert that anyone is being “banned from using” any word at all. Folks are free to say whatever they want. This campaign is seeking to educate young people to think before they speak, plain and simple. I’m sorry you don’t understand.
October 11th, 2008 at 1:11 am
My best friends kids say “eww that’s gay” around me all the time and it doesn’t occur to her to stop them. Her feeling is they don’t know what gay really is (because of their age) – therefore they are not being harmful. But to equate everything that’s gross, smells bad, food they don’t like, songs they hate, people they don’t like (I could go on) to gay people is just deeply offensive! Straight people really need to crack down on this one!
October 11th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I used to say that a lot.. i’m bisexual so don’t think i really mean it in a bad way.. and i didn’t use it like: omg EW thats soo gay, it disgusts me..
i mean, usually it was just a joke
but now i’m like: what the heck are we all saying =\
but then again, a lot of people say things without thinking it through.
and about kids saying it. parents should stop them. cos it might already be a habit, and for them to grow out of that when they become teenagers.. well that’s hard!
they might not realise it. but they might also not realise that they’re hurting someone when they hit them. that doesn’t mean its ok for them to do so, right?
October 13th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Kids was magical, haha no he was really good and I was quite impressed with all his tricks, but he seemed a bit tired of the term. They all either look like kids or, well. It’s called a campaign from Down Under and it an example of kids type show.
March 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
THATS SO BULLSHIT!!!
I hate this Commercial!!!. Its not enough they cram their sexuality down my throat…Now they want to tell me what to say!!!! *&^% that! %^&* them. This is a free country, I can say whatever I want to say.