The Solutn to "Gay" Insults: Freedom of Speech | Psychology Today

Contents:

• WHAT WORDS CAN I SAY TO DECLARE THAT I’M GAY?
• WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?
• WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"
• MY FRIEND CLAIMS SHE’S GAY — WHAT DO I SAY?
• THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: WHAT DO MEAN?
• STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY
• GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN
• ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
• AM I GAY?

WHAT WORDS CAN I SAY TO DECLARE THAT I’M GAY?

Florida’s furiatg “Don’t Say Gay” law has given new power to an old word.

WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?

Jt look at the T-shirts and prott signs: “#SayGay” is the new “We’re here. As gay dads at a time when gay fai were still relatively rare, my hband and I felt the prsure to be mol parents. My social media feeds are anythg to go by, most gay men live packs.

—I’ve never had as many gay guy iends as the algorhms on my phone seem to expect. On the other hand, I have a number of straight iends who have signifintly more gay iends than I do.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR CHILD SAYS: "I'M GAY"

The iends of me are, you might say, culturally gay— much the way I was once culturally lbian. At one time or another, I’ve heard most of my gay-ish straight iends utter the word faggot, or at least s shorter siblg, fag.

MY FRIEND CLAIMS SHE’S GAY — WHAT DO I SAY?

It mak me squirm when I hear a straight person ll someone a faggot, no matter how many gay iends this person may have. It was a step above the icky, patronizg tone of the woman who asked me all serns to be her gay bt iend.

” Soon after, he published his study of early Christian mment ceremoni—Same-Sex Unns Premorn Europe—helpg to lay the groundwork for the morn gay-marriage movement and, ultimately, my own marriage. Boswell died of AIDS 1994—left for ad not by some townie gay bashers but by an entire natn different to the liv of men who have sex wh Simon 1991Raphael SimonI’ve been lled a faggot more than once, ways that no one would nfe wh flattery. The Republin ernor of California, Pete Wilson, had jt vetoed a bill that would have protected gays and lbians om job discrimatn, and I was a graduate stunt at the Universy of California Irve.

Though straight, Sam had many gay admirers.

THE SOLUTN TO "GAY" INSULTS: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Or around a uch, as I’d heard another gay graduate stunt had done, to my chagr. I stepped between them, as if I were dng for the part of some new gay superhero. Callg myself a faggot orr to protect a straight iend om beg gay-bashed—heroic, right?

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: WHAT DO MEAN?

I wasn’t takg a big stand for gay visibily, or even actg selflsly to help my iend. Shame that I was a homosexual, other words.

As turns out, while I was whg to my rosé about all the wokens my hoe, reactnary forc were gatherg, ready to send this untry back to a time when racism wasn’t talked about, trans kids suffered silence, and homophobia had yet to be named. If the “Don’t Say Gay” bill prov anythg, ’s that plenty of people still thk gay is a bad word. 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.

STRICTLY LEGAL: SU OVER 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL FAILS

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.

The term "gay" may be nfg and even foreign to some, forcg people to ask, "What is gay?" or "Am I Gay?" And while some might thk the fn of "gay" is simple, to many, actually isn't.

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

While "gay" n be thought of as a synonym to "homosexual," there is more to the meang of gay than that. Homosexualy is nsired to be same-sex sexual attractn and behavr and "gay" is a synonym of homosexualy. The term "homosexualy"1 was first ed by Victorian scientists who nsired same-sex sexual attractn and behavr a "moral ficiency."2.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

Homosexualy is still the rrect term clilly, but even though homosexualy is no longer nsired immoral, some people feel there are still negative overton to the word given s orig. The term "gay" was ially a slang term veloped to overe some of the negative associatns. Gay is a term that is not genr specific so men or women n be termed "gay." When intifyg people as gay though, 's important to nsir three thgs.

GAY FURRY HACKERS ARE TARGETG US STAT FOR PASSG ANTI-TRANS LEGISLATN

For example, a person may feel same-sex sexual attractn but not intify as "gay" whereas another person who behav sexually towards men and women may intify as "gay." Moreover, is not unmon for people to intify as "gay" at some tim their liv, while straight (not gay) at other tim. In other words, rrectly intifyg someone as "gay" is as often a personal choice as much as is a textbook fn.

Overall, 's the self-intifitn of beg "gay" that is the most accurate. on 2023, July 28 om /genr/gay/what-is-gay-fn-and-meang-of-gay.

ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL

When parents learn that their child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, they n experience a range of emotns. As a matter of fact, you might someday look back and fd that you are grateful for the experience of havg a gay or lbian child.

Well, my study of 65 fai of gay and lbian youth for the book, Comg Out, Comg Home: Helpg Fai Adjt to a Gay or Lbian Child, I found that some parents get to the pot where they believe that the experience of havg a gay child actually ma them a better person—more open-md and sensive to the needs of others, particularly those other mory groups.

If you jt found out your child is gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr, you may be thkg that such ias are prepostero. The tstworthy nfidants let them vent but also rrected some of the misperceptns they absorbed om society, such as that gay people are lonely, unhappy, promiscuo, not fay-oriented, unable to have children, or sted for an unhappy life. Contact Parents, Fay, and Friends of Lbians and Gays (PFLAG).

AM I GAY?

List of Helpful Books for Parents of Gay and Lbian Children. Straight Parents Gay Children: Keepg Fai Together (revised edn). Beyond Acceptance: Parents of Lbians, and Gays Talk About Their Experienc.

Somethg to Tell You: The Road Fai Travel when a Child is Gay.