Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The 'That's So Gay' Impact



Now, there are times when saying "That's so gay" is entirely accurate and appropriate, for example when a gay man is describing hand making curtains with silk fabric and trim.  Or, like when I was watching "Warehouse 14" on Syfy Monday night and Agent Jinks, a gay character on the show, does a double take when seeing the ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" in the warehouse. Most of the time, however, this is not the kind of situation that this phrase is most often muttered.

"That's so gay" has been part of the adolescent lexicon for some time, but a new University of Michigan study has revealed the phrase could have deep consequences for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students.


Published in the current issue of the Journal of American College Health, the study reportedly examined the impact of hearing "that's so gay" among 114 LGBT students between the ages of 18 and 25, CBS Detroit is reporting.
The resulting data found that LGBT students who heard the phrase frequently were more likely to feel isolated and experience headaches, poor appetite or eating problems than those who didn't. Still, the study also revealed another troubling statistic: a mere 14 respondents (13 percent) hadn't heard "that's so gay" at all throughout the duration of the survey.
"Given the nature of gay-lesbian-bisexual stigma, sexual minority students could already perceive themselves to be excluded on campus and hearing 'that's so gay' may elevate such perceptions," Michael Woodford, an assistant professor of social work and co-author of the new study, said in a statement. "'That's so gay' conveys that there is something wrong with being gay."
Woodford went on to suggest, "Policies and educational programs are needed to help students, staff and faculty to understand that such language can be harmful to gay students. Hopefully, these initiatives will help to eliminate the phrase from campuses."
In 2007, the phrase was at the epicenter of a controversial lawsuit, after a California teen's parents claimed their daughter's First Amendment rights had been violated after she was disciplined by her high school for uttering the phrase, which "enjoys widespread currency in youth culture," to classmates who were allegedly taunting her for her Mormon upbringing, according to court documents cited by the Associated Press.
Still, retired teacher Rick Ayers, who helped compile and publish the "Berkeley High School Slang Dictionary," told the AP, "I wouldn't be surprised if this girl didn't even know the origin of that term. The kids who get caught saying it will claim it's been decontextualized, but others will say, `No, you know what that means.' It's quite talked about."
Source:  Huffington Post (Gay Voices), "'That's So Gay' Impact," by Curtis M. Wong 

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Which is why I never allowed the students who worked for me to use language like that. They all know what it means, and it's hurtful. I don't think a study was particularly necessary, but I'm glad someone is quantifying the effects.

Peace <3
Jay

Uncutplus said...

How would you deal with it in your classroom, Joe?

Joe said...

Jay, a study probably wasn't necessary, but everything gets studied at some point.

Anonymous said...

The real kicker is that WE pay for that stuff!
Jay

Joe said...

Uncutplus, I usually handle it with my lecture about derogatory language. No derogatory language is allowed in my class, and I prefer that my students only speak positively. They know this and watch their language and what they say around me.

Joe said...

Very true.

Anonymous said...

WTF happened to 'sticks and stones will break my bones...' I would have been happy with verbal abuse at school because it generally meant I was getting hit.

I read about kids committing suicide because of name calling and wonder what kind of wimps we have bred. Get over it.

Headaches for a simple bigotted statement ffs! Ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

'wasn't getting hit' Oops!

Anonymous said...

I saw and heard how it was being used...it wasn't innocent most of the time. It was directed at particular people or actions. So I put a stop to it and told them why. No one complained, and at least one kid I knew was gay told me later a lot of them stopped using that sort of "casual put down" away from my office.
Jay