Gay. Let’s Get The Meaning Straight!

Last month Stonewall, the LGB equality charity launched a new campaign with pop star Will Young and Mumsnet to tackle homophobic language in Britain’s schools.

The campaign, devised by young people, is in response to research conducted for Stonewall by the University of Cambridge that showed that 99 per cent of gay young people still regularly hear phrases like ‘that’s so gay’ and that 84 per cent of those young people are distressed by it.

Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive of Stonewall said: “Homophobic language has a devastating impact on gay young people’s self-esteem. With your support, we’ve already been able to send our resources to over half of all secondary schools in Britain. But we know there’s still much more to do. We want to ensure that every secondary school can access our posters and new guidance for teachers and young people.

To help Stonewall make this possible:

* Make a donation – just £5 allows Stonewall to send these materials to a secondary school, ensuring that hundreds of pupils understand why it’s wrong to say ‘that’s so gay’. Simply text GAY to 70500 or to donate to donate £5 online, CLICK HERE:

* Buy a ‘Gay. Let’s Get The Meaning Straight’ t-shirt to show your support to young people.

To take action to help tackle homophobic language in your local school or workplace, CLICK HERE:

Ben concluded: “Since launching the campaign we have received cross-party support and commitments from schools up and down the country to tackle the problem. With your support they will be able to turn those commitments into real action so they can realise their ambition that every single child in Britain should be able to reach their full potential – regardless of their sexual orientation.”