Translator: Rachel Hendsbee Reviewer: Denise RQ
This book should not be allowed to be sold in stores internationally.
This book is corrupting your child's mind.
You're probably thinking
I'll start talking about the the fact that it has "gay" in it,
but really, I'm here to talk about the fact that it's missing
the color indigo in it.
Indigo is such an important color in the color spectrum,
but they left it out.
But why were you thinking
I was going to start talking about the fact that it has the word "gay" in it?
Why is it that we affiliate
the word gay with disgusting and corrupting your child's mind?
How did that become the new definition?
That's so worthless. That's so disgusting.
That's so unpleasant. That's so unsatisfactory.
All of these words, but teens are still deciding to use the word gay.
If teens are properly educated on a word,
they will be more mindful in the way they use it,
and will not hurt as many of their peers.
Whether you realize it or not, misusing words can be a form of bullying
and is harmful to some people.
According to Stonewall.org,
more than 25% of gay or bisexual teens have or have tried
to take their own lives,
and 56% of them harm themselves in some way.
Gay teens say they feel ashamed or like outsiders
when they hear the word being used in a derogatory or negative sense.
Feeling ashamed about the bullying or their own sexual orientation
can prevent many bullied gay teens from seeking help.
Almost 3 in 5 bullied gay teens don't tell anyone
because they don't feel as if they have anyone they can discuss it with.
If a kid growing up gay constantly hears the word being used
to describe something that's disliked or stupid,
of course they will feel as if that reflects on themselves.
Misusing words can give the wrong perception
of what the word actually means.
We live in America.
According to our First Amendment, we have freedom of speech,
and this is not about taking that away.
Instead, this is about stopping a new generation of people
from growing up in a climate of persecution and ostracism.
This is about having teens be accepted into society
no matter what their sexual orientation is.
Most of the times, kids don't realize
they're insulting anyone by misusing words.
Kids don't wake up in the morning thinking,
"I'm going to be using this word in a negative or derogatory sense."
No, they learn to use it that way.
And if children as young as 7
can learn to use a word out of its meaning,
they can sure learn how to use it properly.
If we have teachers teach kids how to use words properly,
they will stop using language that hurts and upsets many of their peers.
Stonewall also found that gay students are more likely to be bullied in schools
that don't say homophobic bullying is wrong than schools that do.
Just by giving a 30-50 minute lecture
on how to use the word gay properly, you can drop bullying by 19%.
In my case, it's a less than 5-minute speech.
My suggestion would be putting it in the school handbook
and take 2 minutes discussing on using gay in a negative way will be treated
as any other form of bullying would be, because that's exactly what it is:
bullying.
Most schools think it's common sense
to not be using homophobic language in schools.
Then, why is it not common sense
for teens to be bullying about religion, race, or even stalking someone?
If it was common sense, I would not be standing here
talking about this subject right now.
In schools, we have teachers teach teens
how to tolerate religion by talking about the Holocaust.
We have teachers teach teens how to tolerate race
by talking about segregation and discrimination.
Have we not learned from our mistakes?
Teach kids how to tolerate different sexualities at an early age.
In my two-month unit on the Holocaust,
I never even learned that homosexuals were affected by it.
Teach kids thousands of homosexuals died
and went through of persecution during the Holocaust
Teach kids there's still discrimination among gays going on right now
and teach them that it's wrong.
Whenever I talk about this,
people always tell me that words change meanings,
and they're right.
Words are always changing meanings.
Like in the 70s, if you said something was "cool",
you were probably saying something was cold.
Or that someone was "sick", you were probably saying they're ill,
or running a fever they couldn't sweat out.
So, why is it a problem?
In most cases, it's not.
But in our case, it is.
It becomes a problem when there's a whole swath of society out there
who are actually gay,
and for whom the word forms an important part of their identity and sense of self;
when you're fueling little kids' perception of gay people as wrong or bad.
If one day, we woke up and started saying, "That's so Irish",
or "That's so straight" towards something disliked,
of course anyone straight or Irish will be confused and offended,
so how is it any different when you're using gay as an insult?
All it takes is a lecture, a school assembly,
or even just sitting down and talking to your kids
is all it will take for teens to be more mindful in the way they use words.
Gay students in schools who say that homophobic bullying is wrong
and feel as if they are in an accepting, tolerant place
where they feel welcome and are twice as likely to feel
as if they are a part of their school community.
So if we all come together, we can stop using gay as an insult,
buy dictionaries, and find a better word.
Thank you.
(Applause)