So Far Today, 850 People Have Said "Fag" on Twitter

by Michael Jones · 2009-12-11 07:51:00 UTC
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GLSENThe Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Ad Council are launching a second wave of ad campaigns targeting the use of homophobic language. Their aim? To point out the very real and tragic consequences of anti-LGBT language, particularly on young people.

Among the tools that folks can download and use are a Twitter monitor, which scours the Twitterverse each day to document how many times words like "Fag," "Dyke," and "So Gay" are used. The goal is zero. But we're nowhere even close to that goal.

It's not even lunch time yet on the East Coast, and so far more than 850 Tweeters have said the word "Fag." That's compared to over 450 folks who called something or someone "so gay," and over 250 folks who tweeted "dyke." It's a pretty safe assumption that most of those 250 folks weren't using the word in the 19th century context of a "ditch."

Sadly, homophobic language speaks volumes. It also fosters the type of anti-LGBT bullying in schools that plays out in tragic ways. Just ask Sirdeaner Walker, a new spokesperson for GLSEN. Her 11-year-old son Carl committed suicide this year after being the target of anti-LGBT bullies in his school.

"I hope Carl's story will help young people realize the impact their hurtful words can have on their peers so that no child will ever feel like the only choice they have is to take their own life," Walker said.

The Twitter monitor is just one component of the new advertising blitz. There are also web banners that aggressively tackle homophobic language and jokes, as well as a whole round of statistics showing how anti-LGBT language not only makes the school day about as much fun as a trip to the dentist, it also makes classrooms royally unsafe.

That might be why upwards of 60 percent of LGBT students report feeling unsafe in their classroom. And that's a number that's 60 percentage points too high.

"While we still have a long way to go before widespread use of anti-LGBT language becomes a thing of the past, hopefully this campaign will force more and more people to confront the real consequences of the words they use," GLSEN's Executive Director, Eliza Byard, said.

That includes words in the classroom, as well as words online.

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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