Have you or your friends said “that’s so gay” when you really meant to say something is bad or stupid? You might laugh or think it’s no big deal, but saying “that’s so gay” is insulting to gay people and anyone who has gay relatives or just cares about gay people.

Can you imagine trying to come out when people are tossing this obnoxious phrase around? Coming out is tough, so why make it harder for GLBTQ people to be themselves by saying “that’s so gay?” Just knock it off!

This Saturday is National Coming Out Day. If you’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or a straight ally, this is your day to be out and proud. And if you hear someone say “that’s so gay,” don’t just stand there. Say something about it!

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) teamed up with celebrities like Hillary Duff to create ThinkB4YouSpeak.com, a site with info on how you can get involved to end GLBTQ harassment in your school. Check out one of their TV ads below:

Are you a fan of the hit show Gossip Girl? There’s been some controversy over the promos for the new season. Critics argue that the promos are way too sexual and that the ads are sending the wrong message to the show’s teen audience. Take a look at the promos for Gossip Girl in the clip below:

These ads are just another example of sexualized advertisements that specifically target teens. Did you notice the OMFG? Some adults might not know what that means, but ask almost any teen and he or she will know. The teen-friendly OMFG sends a message that clearly says, “Hey teens, watch Gossip Girl! The sex scenes are outta control!” And, just in case you don’t realize how much sex there is on the show, a voice says the word “sex” over and over while sex scenes from the show flash across the screen.

Some people might think, So what? I’ve seen ads like this before. What’s the big deal?

The big deal is that ads like these present a warped view of sexuality that’s all about sexual fantasy and not reality. Important parts of sex—like communicating with your partner and using condoms to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and pregnancy—are completely left out of the picture. With teens and middle-school kids watching, you have to wonder: How are they supposed to learn about the really important parts of sex that we don’t see on TV, like deciding if you want to have sex, communication and condoms?

The next time you’re watching TV and you see a sex scene, take note: Do the partners discuss their expectations of sex? How about using condoms or other methods of birth control? Do they talk at all about preventing STDs? You’ll find that although there’s tons of sex on TV, there are few realistic portrayals of responsible safer sex.

Ryan Phillippe was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to talk about Stop-Loss—a new movie about the controversial subject of troop redeployment to Iraq. But host Jay Leno was too busy cracking jokes about Ryan’s role as the first openly gay teenager depicted on a TV soap opera to hear about the film. Take a look at the clip:

Give me your gayest look? Is that for real? Why is being gay the punch line of so many (not funny) jokes? And why didn’t Leno take the hint that Ryan was uncomfortable? The jokes were really lame. Having a laugh at the expense of gay people is just plain ignorant.

Avenue Q playwright Jeff Whitty had an interesting response to Leno’s humor. “I’ve gotta ask: Would you ask a guest to make their ‘blackest face’? Their ‘Jewiest face’?” Probably not.

Leno, you’re in the Sex, Etc. doghouse for making bad jokes at the expense of gay people.

On an episode of Flavor of Love 3, Hotlanta, a contestant trying to win Flavor Flav’s love, had a bump on her lip that became the highlight of the show. Everyone thought the bump was a herpes sore, and some contestants couldn’t help but make nasty comments:

Later in the show, all of the women were split into two teams and had to pick one person from the opposing team to “roast.” Hotlanta was one of the women that was chosen. The roast was downright nasty; the Flavor of Love girls were taking turns cracking mean jokes on everything from Hotlanta’s weight to her vaginal odor. One of the girls asked Hotlanta: “What’s up with that herpes on your lip. You better ask the doctor if Valtrex is right for you, boo.”

Hotlanta spoke to Flav and insisted that she didn’t have herpes, saying “If I had anything, I wouldn’t be here.”

Flavor eventually called in a doctor to have Hotlanta tested for herpes. The bump was nothing more than an unfortunate acne outbreak. At the end of the show, Flav gave Hotlanta a clock to keep her on the show.

It’s important to remember that you can have an STD like herpes and not have any symptoms whatsoever. So, instead of jumping to conclusions that someone does or doesn’t have an STD, you and your partner should always get tested before engaging in vaginal, anal or oral sex. It’s also important to always use latex barriers like condoms or dental dams. Latex barriers will reduce the likelihood that you’ll transmit or get an STD like the herpes virus.

Make sure you know what herpes is and how it’s transmitted. Check out the links below for more info on what to do if you have herpes.

http://www.sexetc.org/faq/std/4030
http://www.sexetc.org/faq/std/4033

Saturday Night Live (SNL) created a really funny, fake commercial for a birth control pill called Annuale. It’s supposed to give women just one period a year. SNL’s skit pokes fun at commercials for Seasonale—a hormonal birth control method, which can reduce the number of periods you have to just four a year. And there’s actually a method called Lybrel that you can take and not have your period as long as you’re taking the pills.

Although many women enjoy having fewer periods, some think it’s not natural and prefer a monthly period. But current evidence suggests that regular menstruation isn’t connected to a woman’s health. But you have to wonder: What happens when a woman gets her period after going for three or more months without one? The lining of the uterus hasn’t been building up for months to give her the mother of all periods, so she gets her period just as she normally would.

Check out the SNL skit below. When these women’s periods finally come, watch out! In reality, there’s no backlog of hormones that will make you go berserk, if you’re on birth control that reduces the number of periods you have to once a year. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this video!