“That’s so gay” originated as a pejorative phrase in the late 1970s, with the word “gay” implying stupidity or unpleasantness. According to junior Noah Murase, who identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community, while students may attempt to divorce the phrase’s meaning from its origins, it still reinforces the harmful stereotypes against LGBTQ+ students.
“This word, specifically, has not evolved,” he said. “(When it is used,) we know that you want to associate ‘gay’ with femininity.”
According to Gender-Sexuality Alliance President senior Chania Rene-Corail, expressions like these also stigmatize the LGBTQ+ community.
“Saying the phrase, ‘That’s so gay,’ can make members of the (LGBTQ+) community feel ashamed of being queer, and it makes (Gunn) much more of a hostile environment,” she said.
These words also make students who are discovering their identity feel ashamed of themselves and afraid to openly join the LGBTQ+ community.
“When you are a young person trying to come out and you see that people around you aren’t that supportive of it, that makes you not want to come out of the closet,” Rene-Corail said. “You just stay stuck in that situation where you can’t openly be who you are.”
Rene-Corail said this phenomenon affected her personally in middle school.
“People at my old middle school used the word ‘gay’ a lot, which made it hard for me to come out,” she said.
Students who use these phrases also prevent the formation of meaningful relationships, alienating potential friends.
“I’ve had a lot of people in my life who were like, ‘Oh, that’s a red flag about (him),’ and I should be on alert,” Murase said.
According to Murase, the phrase also reflects badly upon the user, making them seem childish for attempting to represent something “girly” or silly as “gay.”
“If you want to say something is stupid, don’t relate it to sexuality,” Murase said.
According to Rene-Corail, many students are simply ignorant of the phrase’s connotations. Thus, raising awareness is the first step in changing the conventional image of the LGBTQ+ community.
“A lot of the time, it’s used to not actively be mean, but as an ignorant statement,” Rene-Corail said. “What I’ve gotten from listening (to others’ experiences) is that it’s not about people being mean, it’s about not knowing of the negative effect on others and not knowing that it might make others feel embarrassed.”