Will Young calls for word gay to be banned from schools
Bunions
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As a slur of course - not the word in general.
He has taken up the issue with the Education Secretary Michael Gove and is working with Stonewall to set up a programme to train teachers:
http://news.sky.com/story/1153908/will-young-calls-for-end-to-gay-as-school-slur
He has taken up the issue with the Education Secretary Michael Gove and is working with Stonewall to set up a programme to train teachers:
http://news.sky.com/story/1153908/will-young-calls-for-end-to-gay-as-school-slur
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Comments
I am anti prejudice and no one should be allowed to bully anyone in this way but when used in the way suggested in the article, isn't it actually more of a colloquialism rather than suggesting some benign activity or an inanimate objuect is homosexual or lesbian which in itself is odd anyway? But is that a reason to 'criminalise' the word gay?
Its just the way the language evolved. I remember when gay meant happy and something being sick wasnt a good thing.
School is difficult enough for kids for many reasons and the ones who are becoming aware or are already aware that they are gay certainly don't need the added grief.
Good for Will for putting this 'elephant in the room' out there.
No you getting mixed up with Scot
Teachers already pull up kids on use of homophobic language and stuff. It just means kids watch their mouth when teachers are around.
Now would you have called the suffragettes always moaning ? History has taught us that many did
It was always used to mean somebody tight round this neck of the woods.
It's not about enforcement , it's about education! Educating children to know what is wrong. As someone mentioned further up the word cripple is no longer an everyday insult so it can be done
Not when it's used as a slur. Context, and all that.
I think it will be impossible. I agree with the reasoning behind it but the best thing to do would be to educate rather then enforce. Rather then banning a word teach kids about homophobia and acceptance.
on top of that as someone has said he word has a very tenuous relation with homosexuality itself. As kids we constantly said something was gay, we never meant it as a homophobic insult its just how the word have evolved.
Why should they take any more notice of this Will Young or any other "celebrity" than any other person who has an opinion?
This "celebrity" status of a singer, actor, songwriter makes him no more important and his opinion should count for no more than Joe, the guy who wraps up the chips at the local chippy.
I always thought it a poor choice of word and not one I would have chosen. Something more subtle like 'aran' or 'salis' that can never be confused with some other meaning.
Maybe they'll go back to the myriad of disability ones.