I have decided that my New Year’s Resolution for 2010 is that when I hear “That’s so gay” being used in a negative way, I’ll speak up and call it out. It’s not okay to use the word “gay” as something negative. I know that a lot of the time when people use it, they don’t mean to be offensive- they don’t know that it could hurt someone, but that’s exactly why we need to bring attention to the phrase. People who say it need to know that it’s offensive and that the association to something negative is inappropriate.

Some would say that News Year’s resolutions are supposed to be big and important, and some may not see this as such. But I do. I see it as something small that will add up to something big. If no one has told you that they don’t like it when you say “That’s so gay,” how will you know to stop? That’s where I want to come in.

It’s not always easy to speak up on issues like this, but that’s why we have to. Or, at least why I feel I have to- why I’m making it my new year’s resolution. I’ve been in situations where someone has said it and I’ve wanted to say something back but nothing came out of my mouth. I want that to change.

I hope that 2010 will bring many successes to the LGBTQ equal rights movement, and I hope, in whatever ways that I can, that I will be a part of the progress.

Happy New Year, everyone!

~ Samantha