Schools: That's So Gay!

Nearly all homosexual [!] teenagers say they hear the word "gay" being used as an insult, according to research carried out by Stonewall.

Of the 1,600 pupils interviewed 99% said they had heard homophobic language used regularly.

Eighty-four per cent said they were upset by gay being used as an insult.

Gay, lesbian and transgender [sic] charity Stonewall is launching a poster campaign this week, fronted by Will Young, to tackle the problem.

Copies of the new posters and guidance are being sent to around half of all secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales.

Wayne Dhesi, from Stonewall, says school children need to be taught that misusing the word gay is wrong.

"People hear phrases such as, 'That's so gay' and 'You're so gay' being used to describe something that's negative or defective," he said.

"It perpetuates the stereotype that being gay, lesbian or bisexual is somehow wrong..."

BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat report on Stonewall's latest campaign.

Fagburn quite likes the slogan above - but fears that it may go way over the heads of many of the people it's aimed at.
As may the other two;  ‘Gay. Let’s Get the Meaning Straight’, and ‘Your So Gay. Can You Spot the Two Common Mistakes?’

Also, is Will "Nice But Dim" Young, the ridiculously posh privately-educated 34 year-old the right man to front a campaign to talk wiv ver kids?

He told the Independent in 2009; "What was great about private school for me is that we were taught the importance of manners, [and] traditional values and basic decency were definitely promoted."

Maybe Mr Not-so Young believes homophobia is a terribly common mistake?

PS Will Young in the TES! If nothing else, it proves that going to a good public school teaches you the skill of speaking with absolute authority, even if you're saying something rather banal.

PPS And finally... School's Out has declared today The Pink Promotion: "To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the repeal of Section 28, the law which banned the ‘promotion’ and ‘publication’ of anything supporting a LGBT ‘pretend lifestyle’ we would like everyone in the UK to wear pink, the symbol of diversity..."
Let me know if you see absolutely anyone at all wearing pink today.

PS And inevitably... an article asking if kids are always being homophobic when they say "gay".
Inevitably it's by contrarian clickbait machine, Brendan O'Neill on the Telegraph blog; Gay now means rubbish. Get over it.
But even he admits; "Even Stonewall’s own report on the widespread use of the word gay in schools admits that “most of the time it is used unconsciously and without hurtful intent”.

Edit: Forgot the Daily Telegraph is the only newspaper that still tells writers to use the word "homosexual", not "gay". Irony...