Challenging the use of homophobic language in schools: Mumsnet and Stonewall campaign

[RebeccaMumsnet]

"That's so gay." Um, actually it probably isn't.

It's also something most of us don't want to hear, and it's absolutely something young people shouldn't have to hear in the classroom.
That's why, for Anti-Bullying Week this year, we've teamed up with Stonewall on Gay. Let’s Get Over It, a campaign to provide guidance to schools, parents and young people, and to address the misuse of the word 'gay'.

Mumsnetters talked about the need for the campaign here, and you can get involved in it here.

Do share on Twitter #GetOverIt, Facebook and Google+ - the more people know about the campaign, the more we can challenge unacceptable language and change the culture of our schools. And do feel free to discuss it here too.

Tomorrow, Will Young will be coming into MNHQ for a webchat about the campaign at 12pm - watch active for the webchat thread which will be up later and post your questions to him there.

Before you go, do you really think that "freedom of speech" includes the right to shout "Fire!" In a crowded theatre?

Fantastic video here about why it's important to challenge the "so gay" when it is being used pregoratively.

Falcon, no one is challenging or uph anyone's fundamental rights (although I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this)

sorry, posted too soon

This campaign is not about upholding or challenging anyone's fundamental rights (although I'm not sure what you mean by this). It is about challenging a modern notion that Gay = A bit shit. Please watch Neolara's video and the webchat tomorrow to see what the real impact of this is.

If you decide that it is still ok, that's fine by me. As long as you recognize that it is ok for me to challenge you on it.

I fully support this campaign, and I hope that in the future, saying something is "gay" causes as much horror as the use of the word "spastic" does, which was a word thrown about playgrounds when I was growing up - and as a child with a brother who has cerebral palsy, I found upsetting on a daily basis.

Just googled to see if this might be or might become something close to a crime

"When two policemen turned up unannounced at Alan Rawlinson's home asking to speak to his young son, the company director feared something serious had happened.

So he was astounded when the officers detailed 11-year-old George's apparent crime - calling one of his schoolfriends 'gay'.

They said primary school pupil, George, was being investigated for a 'very serious' homophobic crime after using the comment in an e-mail to a 10-year-old classmate.

But now his parents have hit out at the police, who they accused of being heavy-handed and pandering to political correctness.

"It is completely ridiculous," Mr Rawlinson said.

"I thought the officers were joking at first, but they told me they considered it a very serious offence.

"The politically correct brigade are taking over. This seemed like a huge waste of resources for something so trivial as a playground spat."

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-445996/Police-send-police-officers-tackle-boy-11-called-schoolmate-gay.html

"We are law-abiding citizens who have paid taxes all our lives.

"I've constantly contacted police about break-ins at my business and never get a suitable response.

"George was really upset, he thought he was going to be locked up. This just seemed like a huge waste of resources for something so trivial."

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-445996/Police-send-police-officers-tackle-boy-11-called-schoolmate-gay.html

"Inspector Nick Bailey, of Cheshire police, said no further action would be taken against George. However, he said the force had been obliged to record the incident as a crime and that they had dealt with it in a 'proportionate' manner.

"The parents of the boy believed it was more sinister that just a schoolyard prank," Inspector Bailey said.

"We were obliged to record the matter as a crime and took a proportionate and maybe old fashioned view."

What was the outcome Claig?

They dropped it.
However, I don't know if the incident is recorded at all. Maybe someone knows if records are kept.

Oh, just googled it. The parents of the boy who received the e-mail made a complaint to the police after seeing it. Police said it was not a one off incident and had to be investigated.

I understand why you would want your local bobbies to be as diligent as these one's Claig. Perhaps you could write them a letter to that effect. Anyway, no one was criminalised. No one's freedom of speech was compromised.

"Education Secretary Michael Gove yesterday declared war on the ‘utterly outrageous and medieval’ use of the word ‘gay’ as an insult.

He will study current laws to ensure they are ‘properly policed’ and could even ‘sharpen’ them in a bid to stamp out offensive homophobic language.

Mr Gove told a conference held by pressure group Stonewall that the Coalition was determined to protect gay pupils from being subjected to homophobic bullying at school.

He said that it was unacceptable to use the word ‘gay’ as abuse and named and shamed former Radio One Breakfast Show DJ Chris Moyles."

....

"Famously, Sam Brown, a 21-year-old student, was taken to court in 2006 for calling a policeman’s horse ‘gay’ after being arrested under section five of the Public Order Act.

His remarks were deemed likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress by police, but the prosecution dropped the case at Oxford magistrates’ court."

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2357196/Gove-declares-war-use-word-gay-insult.html

'Anyway, no one was criminalised.'

Well that's a relief

I don't know about "medieval", but I agree that it is outrageous to use homosexuality as a term of abuse. Personally, I consider Gove an absolute twit, but I guess even absolute twits are right some of the time.

I seem to remember that even we were in agreement on one thread.

"We're asking them to display the posters and train their teachers to tackle this damaging language.

www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_for_all/quick_links/9291.asp

What kind of training is involved and what happens if a child uses the term about an item rather than a person? What does the training say?

In the 50's my Mums family had a black Labrador called Nigger. When they named it, no way did it have any connection with any hatred or insult to any ethnic minorities. Nigger brown, or negro came in part from the Spanish/French words for Black - negro. People would refer to the colour of a coat, or fabric, or paint, as Nigger brown. As language as evolved, it is apparent that a lot of people find the word offensive and hurtful for many reasons and so it is no longer used by anyone with a senseof intelligence of respect for others.

Given that I'm a teacher who already polices use of the word gay as in insult in her classroom, I am totally baffled by the assertion that this campaign is some sort of nazi-esque thought control scheme intended to criminalise innocents.

Unthinking use of the word gay to describe objects (this textbook is gay) is easily challenged with a verbal intervention. Kid, who is unlikely to be homophobic, merely chooses his words more carefully in future.

Homophobic use - school discipline system.

I also correct kids who use spastic to mean clumsy as they are unaware it is offensive, and also those who use twat thinking it's a bit like twit and not aware of what it really means. They are usually mortified.

Kids need educating about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. It's not being Big Brother to police their use of language, it's part of my job as a teacher.

My children's friends know that there are words they don't use in my house or car. These words include "gay" to mean anything but homosexual.

They might very well use them out of my hearing- but I like to think that being pulled up on them makes them think. And, because they are all nice, kind, thoughtful people, I assume they would prefer not to use language that upsets or hurts other people.

Regarding the dog, it's a good example because while the owners weren't doing anything wrong at the time as they saw it, once they learned of the offensive it can cause they would be wrong to do the same thing again. And we're not talking about people just being a wee bit put out by living in a culture of homophobia, we are talking about children leaving school too early to escape it, and sadly too many choosing suicide as the ultimate escape. In the light of this it's not hard to say "we don't use homophobic language" to your classes, is it?

"In the 50's my Mums family had a black Labrador called Nigger. When they named it, no way did it have any connection with any hatred or insult to any ethnic minorities"
This could well have been true of people in the UK- it was used as a derogatory term in the States from, I think, the end of the 19th century. I come from a left wing, very international family, and I remember a reel of "nigger brown" thread being viewed with mixed shocked amusement and horror on my mother's sewing machine in the early 60s.

I think you're wasting your time with this, the word is undergoing another semantic shift. It's like Canute trying to stop the tide. Better off prepare for the change.

We seem to have been able to stop the semantic shift of "spastic" and "retard" from medical terms to insults...

Everything stupid when I was at school was Irish (more ironic as so were we ) Noone says that in schools anymore.
Have the people who want to use the word investigated the reasons why it makes lgbt people feel bad, or does that not matter?