BY DESIREE DEMOLINA
In high school, it is easy to overhear candid and uncensored conversation. Throughout the halls, in the class, and at lunch, my ears pick up on phrases that are as futile as they are offensive. “Do they even acknowledge what they’re saying?” I wonder. But of all the slang, vernacular, and jokes there is one phrase that is as commonplace as it gets: “that’s so gay.” In my math class, students spewed the expression to announce their frustration at the amount of homework. In the lunch line, one girl used it to describe her friend’s hideous sweater. What some would dismiss as lazy minds mimicking a slang term is actually more serious. The use of “that’s so gay” as a negative is destructive and needs to stop.
There is no doubt that language and slang are ever changing. As we bring new connotations and definitions to our speech patters, our mouths sometimes spill out we may not intend: prejudice. “That’s so gay” is a term frequently used by young people. What was once used to depict the sensation of being joyful or carefree is now used to slander. Although homosexuality is not as taboo as before, anti-gay slurs like “that’s so gay”, express a general negativity toward being gay in our society that is just as damaging as using a racial slur.
For example, replace the word “gay” when it’s used to depict something “dumb,” “repugnant,” or “terrible” with an ethnicity, religion, or race. No longer would the homework assignment be “so gay,” but so “so Jewish”, the sweater would be “so Hispanic,” the punishment from your parents “so Asian.” For fear of insulting another, you wouldn’t use another person’s religion or ethnicity as something negative. There is no difference when the negative connotation pertains to a person’s sexuality, it is just as hurtful and damaging.
According to a recent Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) finding, the most common form of damaging language in elementary schools, heard and used by both students (45%) and teachers (49%), is the use of the word “gay” in a harmful way. Understanding that discriminatory language begins to take root at an early age can explain why “that’s so gay” has developed as a catch all phrase for anything stupid, hideous, awful, and effeminate.
Words that describe sexual orientation have taken on curious and telling alternate meanings in our vernacular. Interestingly enough, in today’s slang, saying that something is “straight” denotes that it’s good, that the statement has validity, and determines an understanding. If something is bad or dire, it’s “gay.” The connotation of “gay = bad” and “straight = good” can have a damaging effect on young gay people and make discrimination seem justified in the minds of others. If you heard your name used dozens of times a day to say things were “bad and worthless”, you would eventually start thinking that way about yourself.
This affects students’ educational outcomes and personal developments at every grade level. ThinkB4YouSpeak reports that nine out of ten lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people have been harassed at school in the last year. Over one-third of LGBT students have been physically assaulted because of their sexual preference or gender expression. Detrimental connotations manage to grow into ridicule and violence.
Victimization and harassment of all kinds is frequent in schools and among teenagers. Since much of anti-gay language is said carelessly and lacks the intention of destruction, many argue that this form of verbal bullying does not sting, that the force of words does not generate an effect. Yet, a study by the U.S Department of Health shows that homosexual teenagers are at least six times more likely to have attempted suicide than straight teenagers. As more and more LGBT “come out of the closet,” awareness of their presence in the community has become greater and more announced, making them a target for bullies.
Although we may not consider the term detrimental or use the phrase carelessly, it still reinforces the hurtful stance that the feelings of gays are somehow irrelevant and that being gay is an offense. We need to take responsibility for what we say and acknowledge that our language can have serious repercussions. “That’s so gay” represents something far more caustic than its casual usage indicates.
