“I can't stand when boys only look at your body and never try to look on the inside. I am a great person, but no one ever sees that.”
—Jessica, 14, NY
Sex Education by Teens, for Teens!
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“I can't stand when boys only look at your body and never try to look on the inside. I am a great person, but no one ever sees that.”
—Jessica, 14, NY
Everyone at my school says "That's so gay" when they mean something is stupid or bad. As a gay student, I find it really offensive and annoying and I want to say something back. At the same time, I think my teachers should say something, not just me--the so-called token gay student. What can I do?
You're right--your teachers should also take responsibility for making the school environment safe for all students, not just some students.
There are things you can do! However, it is worth noting that it can be exhausting to be the one "token" gay student who takes on the burden of educating students and teachers about gay issues. So if you feel up to the challenge, here are some ways to bring about change so that you don't always have to be the only one "doing something."
1. Find a teacher or administrator that you particularly trust, or who has reached out to you in the past. Talk to him or her about how you are feeling, specifically what it feels like when students say, "That's so gay," and when teachers pretend not to notice or care.
If your teacher seems interested and asks how he or she can help, here are some suggestions:
2. Do some research. If your state school system has adopted the "Safe Schools" laws, then this is expression is deemed "harassment," and must be stopped by the school administrators. Check out our project called "Sex in the States" to review the laws in your state. Be sure to follow the link in the sources for updates.
3. Go straight (no pun intended) to the top and talk to your principle. You could try to talk to him or her about this expression as "harassment" or bullying and ask that it be addressed in a staff meeting with teachers. If you want to do some research on this topic before you talk to your principle, then try these Web sites: Gay, Lesbian Straight Education Network and Lambda Legal.
diff opinions
Posted by: TL on Oct 4th, 2007 4:56pm
k i no that alot of people gay or straight feel ofensive
when the word gay is used. im gay and i feel that it depnds
on how they use it. if ther sayin it to mean stupid then
fine its just a word. we cant let it affect us so bad. now
if they called one of my friends gay and ment it to ofend
them then i will stand up. but everybody has their own
opinion oh well
I loved the Day of Silence.
Posted by: iluvnooyawk on Sep 9th, 2007 9:40pm
=D Our GSA had an inservice where some students talked to a
few teachers about being gay. I think this year we really
need to stress the fact that teachers should be there to
help us out too!
GSA
Posted by: camellover109 on Jan 13th, 2007 7:14pm
My school has the same problem. As a Bi student and an
active member of our school's Gay Straight Alliance, we've
been trying to substitute another word in place of "gay".
so far we haven't gotten much public response, but we keep
trying. we also have an annual Day of Silence, which you
can learn about at www.dayofsilence.org. also try GLSEN's
website, www.GLSEN.org
"That's so gay"
Posted by: abeseth on Mar 18th, 2008 4:55pm
I think it would be funny just to start a new trend, if you
will. It is vindictive, I must confess, but a little
funny. How about "That's so hetero"?