Main | Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Wanda Sykes And Hillary Duff Fight Teen Usage Of "That's So Gay"


Semi-out comedian Wanda Sykes and actress Hillary Duff have joined with the Advertising Council and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in a national campaign to discourage teenagers from saying "that's so gay" to refer to things they don't like.
The campaign, which is scheduled to be announced by the council in Washington on Wednesday, will seek to discourage bullying and harassment of teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.” That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.”

There will be television and radio commercials, print and outdoor ads and a special Web site devoted to the campaign (thinkb4youspeak.com). Some spots feature celebrities, the young actress Hilary Duff and the comedian Wanda Sykes, delivering the message.

The campaign is on behalf of a nonprofit organization in New York called the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or Glsen (pronounced glisten), which promotes tolerance among students. Glsen is spending about $2 million to develop and produce the campaign.
In the clip above, Sykes overhears teenage boys say "that's so gay" at a pizzeria and confronts them: "How would you like it I said 'that's so 16-year-old boy with a cheesy mustache?'"

Visit GLSEN's ThinkB4YouSpeak site for more and to view the videos. Below is the clip featuring Hillary Duff.

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