I remember when the Ellen DeGeneres show first aired, I was immediately hooked. I started watching the show daily. I remember one particular time my cousin came home with me and it was time for the show to come on. I turned to the show and was all ready to watch and the look of disgust came over her face. She asked “are you about to watch that; I can’t stand to watch gay people I just can’t do it”. I was shocked that she felt that way but I continued to watch the show. While watching the show I felt uneasy because I knew she was not comfortable watching the show. It amazed me how opposite two people from the same family could be.
In one situation I had a class of all boys except one girl. Basically I had a room full of boys around the age of thirteen. Majority of these boys played sports and were on the football team at that time. The boys that did not play sports were looked upon as an outcast; they were portrayed as weak because they were not on the team. In the peak of an argument I would you “fag” “you are gay” “you act like a girl” “you are a sissy” and anything else that would mean a boy acted like a girl. I took offense to hearing those slurs and immediately addressed the issue. I wanted the boys to know their behavior was unacceptable and would not be tolerated. I did not want anyone to take offense, be ashamed or embarrassed. I feel you have to stop things instantaneously before anyone begins to feel it is appropriate to use such disgraceful language.
