Ever sce middle school, people have asked Thomas Lloyd the same qutn repeatedly. "If I had a dime for every time I was asked, 'Why am I so gay?' I uld probably pay for one cred at Geetown." In this humoro talk, Lloyd explor the trici of social "verg" as a gay man, fdg muny and the importance of inty ownership.
Contents:
"THAT'S SO GAY" IS JT SO WRONG
This article appeared the Bra sectn of the prt edn unr the headle "Orkx"Bra July 15th 2023The Conservative Party fac a muty MetrolandMany Brons have changed their mds on gay marriageBrish pensn funds agree to vt more private marketsBra’s doctors are on strike, agaWhy the Orkney Islands are nsirg jog NorwayThe strange succs of the Tori’ schools policyFrom the July 15th 2023 ednDisver stori om this sectn and more the list of ntents Explore the edn. Spend any time around teens, and you’re likely to hear the mon exprsn, “That’s so gay" — even among gay kids. 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.
WHY AM I "SO GAY?"
Gay Equals Sex. 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? 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.