UBC Prs | “Don’t Be So Gay!” - Queers, Bullyg, and Makg Schools Safe, By Donn Short

Contents:

• I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?
• “DON’T BE SO GAY!”
• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?
• AM I GAY?
• "THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG
• HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

I LIKE GUYS BUT I DON’T WANT TO BE GAY. HOW DO I STOP BEG GAY?

I like guys but I don’t want to be gay. How do I stop beg gay? You don’t need to be certa you are gay before talkg to someone or attendg an LGBTQ+ meetg.

I am a gay male.

“DON’T BE SO GAY!”

I have been out nearly 7 years now (age 16, sophomore year of HS). That week I told my iends and fay I was gay. It is very homogeneo/ hetero-normative and beg a tholic stutn is not the easit environment for queer stunts.

Across the Uned Stat, at least a dozen stat are nsirg new legislatn that several ways will mirror Florida's new ntroversial law, referred to by some opponents as "Don't Say Gay. "The stutnalizatn of the bills is an overt form of stctural transphobia and homophobia, and go agast all public health evince creatg a safe and supportive environment for transgenr, nonbary, queer, gay and lbian youths and teachers to thrive, " Arjee Rtar, assistant profsor of epimlogy at the Universy of Washgton, told NPR. Rtar, a social epimlogist and health equy advote, said the ntroversial bills will lim all youths to live to their fullt potential, addg "there should be no room for transphobia and homophobia — pecially the classroom.

" Tennsee's HB 800 bans books and stctnal materials "that promote, normalize, support, or addrs lbian, gay, bi-sexual, or transgenr issu or liftyle. Two years after Arizona lawmakers repealed a law barrg any stctn on HIV or AIDS that that "promot a homosexual liftyle, " they are close to enactg a broad remake of the state's sex tn laws wh a particular foc on LGBTQ issu.

NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS

"Florida may be the first this wave, but there have been other laws the past that were lled 'no promo homo' laws, which forbid sayg posive thgs about lbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people classrooms, " Simmons told NPR. New York Cy is lnchg a digal billboard mpaign, supportg LGBTQ visibily that will be displayed five major markets Florida for eight weeks, to lure Floridians unhappy wh their state's "Don't Say Gay" law to the Big Apple, Adams announced.

WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?

Today, we have an analysis of a piece of tn legislatn Florida that crics have referred to as the “Don’t Say Gay” we have news of our own: We’re makg some chang to the Edutn Briefg. See below for Asenc-Rhe/Tampa Bay Tim, via Associated PrsA close read of ‘Don’t Say Gay’Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is expected to sign Hoe Bill 1557, a proposed law that supporters ll the “Parental Rights Edutn” bill and opponents refer to as the “Don’t Say Gay” lleague Dana Goldste has done a close readg of the bill self, which is about much more than gay rights.

Sentence has earned the bill the “Don’t Say Gay” nickname:L 97-101: Classroom stctn by school personnel or third parti on sexual orientatn or genr inty may not occur krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state impact is clear enough: Instctn on genr and sexualy would be nstraed all gras. That uld disurage a teacher om speakg about gay fai wh the whole class, even if some stunts have gay bill also targets mental health and unselg servic — a place where stunts often have difficult nversatns about genr inty and sexualy, pecially if they stggle to talk about those nversatns at as Florida revis s school unselg standards, adopted 2010, which affirm genr and sexual diversy unselg. Gay - While this adjective has historilly scribed men who are attracted to other men, the term now is ed to refer to anyone who experienc romantic, emotnal, or physil attractn to people of the same genr.

Sce genr inty and sexual orientatn are separate, transgenr people n intify as straight, gay, lbian, bisexual, etc. Spend any time around teens, and you’re likely to hear the mon exprsn, “That’s so gay" — even among gay kids.

AM I GAY?

If you ask them about , as some rearchers have, they often will sist that is not tend as homophobic language, jt a harmls phrase to exprs tratn or somethg siar. Studi reveal that 30 percent of gay adolcents stggle wh suicidal thoughts. “That’s so gay” is always pejorative, always harmful, and always homophobic.

Thk about this: For thoands of years, religns have lled homosexualy an abomatn. People still get murred if someone thks they are gay, and not jt other untri. Gay Equals Sex.

"THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG

When most people hear the term LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual), for stance, they equate to havg adult sex. Another client’s mother once ught him lookg at gay porn, and said, horrified, “You’re not gay, are you? ” Later when the parents learned their children were gay, they apologized to them for sayg the thgs, but the damage was already done.

I heard you say whout knowg I was gay. Hearg kids sayg, “that’s so gay” every day mak the people and everythg else around them qutnable: Are thgs safe or dangero? What, then, n be done about makg kids (and the rt of ) more aware of the harm g such phras as “That’s so gay?

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE GAY

But parents who are enough aware of language’s substrata n help by helpg their kids’ schools unrstand the value of practicg the same kd of zero tolerance for homophobic language that they do for racist or anti-Semic or bullyg language. The bt thg I have seen is the mpaign “ThkB4YouSpeak” by GLSEN (Gay, Lbian School Edutor Network). Anti-LGBT remarks such as “that’s so gay” are often untentnal and a mon part of teens’ vernacular.

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

Garrison tells Stan gay people are evil. 09/03/199701:26Ask JSouth ParkS1 E4Stan lls J on his talk show to ask how to handle his gay dog. 09/03/199701:10Big Gay AlSouth ParkS1 E4A seemgly unwanted Sparky ns away and is found by Big Gay Al, who v him to live his gay animal sanctuary.

09/03/199701:07Meet SparkySouth ParkS1 E4After settg up a dog fight between Sparky and Sylvter, the boys learn that Sparky is gay. Stan's teammat nfirm he's a gay dog.

09/03/199700:49Don't Be GaySouth ParkS1 E4Stan tri mandg Sparky to not be gay but don't work and he's ma fun of yet aga.