Yeah, I don’t know why, but this is one of my big ones — the whole “gay” as synonym for “stupid” thing. I heard it so often in schools and to me, it is homophobia dressed in sheep’s clothing. They all said the same thing: “We don’t have anything against gay people, it’s just a word, blah blah blah.” But to me, saying that perpetuates the idea of being gay as “other,” as “bad,” and yes, as “stupid.” And what about the people who DO have a problem with homosexuality and hear that and feel fortified by the normalization of their prejudice?

No. No way. That was literally my first stop in every class, to shut that down and like the student you mentioned, people thought I was being overly sensitive. Ten years later, I still don’t think I was even SLIGHTLY sensitive. It’s a MAJOR issue.

xoxo