The phrase “that’s so gay” has tradnally been unrstood as homophobic. Stonewall’s School Report argued this posn, and will be discsed their upg Edutn Conference. Stonewall argu…
Contents:
- WHAT DO YOU SAY TO ‘THAT’S SO GAY’ & OTHER ANTI-LGBTQ+ COMMENTS?
- "THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG
- HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
- THAT'S GAY
- THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020
- THAT'S SO GAY
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO ‘THAT’S SO GAY’ & OTHER ANTI-LGBTQ+ COMMENTS?
The phrase “that’s so gay” has tradnally been unrstood as homophobic. Stonewall argu that the phrase has a harmful effect on young lbian, gay and bisexual people’s tn and well-beg. Yet the ial fdgs om my terviews wh 40 gay youth om four universi suggts a more plex picture, wh no clear agreement on what the phrase means or s effects.
He said: “I thk breaks down barriers between the straight and gay muny… I e a lot. ” Siarly, Neil, gay and aged 18, said: “I don’t fd rogatory any way, probably bee I say as well. How are we to unrstand a phrase that olr people fd homophobic, but many younger people do not fd offensive and even e themselv?
"THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG
My tert the phrase “that’s so gay” veloped when I rearched straight male stunts at sixth form lleg. The young men had openly gay iends, supported gay rights and nmned homophobia.
HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
Given that labellg the stunts homophobic would be ridiculo, was val to nsir how they were g this language and the reasons why.
THAT'S GAY
All of the men my rearch sisted that they did not tend to be homophobic when they ed the phrase.
For them, gay had two distct meangs which they were able to distguish between – when refers to sexual inty and when refers, separately, to somethg beg “bbish”. Language has evolved and “gay” means somethg different to younger generatns particular ntexts. I argued that straight men’s e of phras like “that’s so gay” uld only be unrstood by three key factors: first, the tent wh which was said; send, the social ntext (homophobic or otherwise); and third, the effect had.
THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020
“That’s so gay” n be homophobic if is said wh negative tent or wh a homophobic environment.
But when is said settgs where sexual mori are out, proud and socially clud, and heterosexual men are iends wh their openly gay peers, tak on different meangs. This argument was supported by the narrativ of many of the 40 young gay people a study I am unrtakg wh lleagu at Durham Universy.
In the bat about “that’s so gay”, is important to regnise that gay youths also e the phrase. Only a mory of participants – ls than a third – thought that the phrase was homophobic, and even fewer said that they never ed . Most of the young gay people my study felt “that’s so gay” would only be homophobic if was directed at a gay person, and wh negative tent.
THAT'S SO GAY
So there is no easy answer to whether “that’s so gay” is homophobic. Homophobic hate crim are classified as such if the victim believ to be so.
If young gay people are sayg that they do not experience the phrase “that’s so gay” as homophobic – and if they are even g the phrase themselv – then perhaps we should accept their arguments and ncentrate on other battl. It is val that we bat homophobia schools, and promote equaly of sexualy. But focg on the phrase “that’s so gay” is not the way to achieve that goal.
It don’t matter if ’s a first grar who might not know what the word “gay” means, a sixth grar tryg to sound ol, or a tenth grar “teasg” a iend.