Written & Submitted by Allegra Fonda-Bondardi;
One question that was a major source of debate at the Project Safe Zone conference was whether it is okay to use the words "fag", "queer", and "gay" as terms to denote disgust, dislike, or distaste. Participants felt strongly on either side of the issue - some thought that it was okay to use if not meant to insult homosexuals, or if the term is used to describe an inanimate object instead of directed at a person. Others, however, felt that using the words like "gay" to express dislike is inappropriate and offensive to anyone--gay or straight.
I would like to post this as a question to the Grip Doctrine Community...Do you think using "gay" to mean gross, dirty, or bad is okay?
Before you answer, consider the following statistics:
- 97% of high school students in the United States report hearing homophobic comments on a regular basis while in school. (Making Schools Safer for Gay and Lesbian Youth: Report of Massachusetts Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, 1993)
- 80% of prospective teachers report negative attitudes toward gay and lesbian people (Sears, James. “Educators, Homosexuality, and Homosexual Students: Are Personal Feelings related to Professional Beliefs?â€, in Harbeck, Karen, Harrington Park Press, 1992).
- One Harvard University study reported that 28 percent of young homosexuals drop out of high school because of discomfort and fear.
- 53% of students report hearing homophobic comments made by school staff (ibid/Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network).
- two-thirds of guidance counselors report harboring negative feelings toward gay and lesbian people (ibid/Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network).
- "the majority of the hate crimes committed in this country today are probably against gay and lesbian citizens" --United States Justice Dept., 2006
- "gay youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. They may comprise up to 30 percent of (the estimated 5,000) completed youth suicides annually". (United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) "Report on the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide")
All the hatred and homophobia, while often not intended to be offensive, is obviously having an impact: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth (which make up an estimated 10% of the teenage population) comprise 30% of teen suicides annually.
A person's sexual orientation is not obvious by their outward appearence, habits, way of speech, or style of dress--contrary to popular belief. So, next time you use the word "fag" or "gay" to mean ugly, dirty, or gross, think twice-- a gay teen, or one of their supporters could be present. And you wouldn't even know it.
Written & Submitted by Allegra Fonda-Bondardi
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15 comments:
i have to admit, some of those stats are crazy, but still... using a word jokingly with your friends, cant be blamed for all this harm
What Fonda-Bondardi is talking about is just that, you think its a joke but in all actuality it is offensive to people; its no longer a joke
its not that its a joke, im saying that they are just words, you cant convince me that words have that big an impact , and can be taken so literally, its like if someone calls you a mother fucker, or a beaner, or a kike. like i think its ridiculous to take that to heart and let it affect you
Words have no power, but the ideas they harbor do.
To any english speaking foreigner who has never come into contact with the word, it is just a word. However, for gays and lesbians, "fag" emodies all the rejection, fear, and hopelessness that they go through every single day.
Think, for example, about the word "nigger" or "nigga" and any of its other perversions. Merriam Webster's diction defines it as "Usually offensive: a black person." However, for a most people in our society, especially blacks, I think we all know the word is a lot more than "Usually Offensive". For us it connotes all the bigotry, hatred, and harsh injustice that the colored community experienced for almost 250 years. (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary)
It is cruel and destructive that our society has accepted these words for so long. One might even argue that the only reason people are afraid to say "nigger" is because they are afraid of a violent response, despite the fact that even this expectation is bigoted and racist. Bottom line, using slurs offensive to homosexuals is not only inappropriate, it's downright unacceptable. I encourage not to use them and to spread the message of acceptance on to your friends.
The woman who wrote the article is Allegra Fonda-Bonardi, not Bondardi.
Just clearing that up...
well heres the thing
i think homosexuals need to stop caring about what other people think of them or there sexuality.
who cares.
be proud.
ignore ignorance and stupidity
shoot the girl for spelling it wrong! And that is her, that is her last name
The word gay shouldn't be used as an insult. By using it as a negative word, one is saying that being gay is bad. Even if one isn't consciously thinking that, it's still the message that it sends.
Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can still do a heck of a lot of damage.
actually, its sticks and stones may break your bones but words can never hurt you
yeah, but the point was to turn the saying around so as to make it fit her point...
its poetic license...like what the DMV gives you but for changing things.
How can you urge people to ignore words when these words are the seeds of hatred? We cannot ignore that which we know will cause us to suffer alienation and possibly even violence.
If you read my pervious post, then maybe you're just vicariously challenged. Let me try again. If you were sitting and you heard someone saying that all [insert your race/religion/culture/ethicity here]'s were inferior citizens, that it would be acceptable for non [see above]'s to commit acts of violence etc. against you, you'd probably be angry. I hope you'd be angry, I hope you'd want to stop people from spreading this kind of propaganda, because you wouldn't want to be a subject of this prejudice and mistreatment. Now think, if this were happening, wouldn't you want others to help you stop the spread of hate? Because they wouldn't want it to happen to them. Alone we are helpless, but together, we might just blot out a little more hatred and bigotry on our campus.
BTW, @#2. Hilarious.
I try. sometimes it works.
:)
thanks
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