That's so gay: So not cool

The Ad council has recently been pushing the "Think B4 you speak" campaign which educates teens and adults on verbal harassment and poor verbal behaviors. The cool phrase, "That's so gay" which means "That's so stupid, bad or annoying" for anyone under 25, is actually really harmful. Coming from a heterosexual perspective, I never thought about this before. I have homosexual friends who say "that's so gay" all time, so I figured it was fine to say. However, using gay as a synonym for bad is a terrible thing to do and I feel ashamed, thanks to the Ad council. In order to push this campaign they have created numerous TV commercials with a "little star power." Hillary Duff and other celebrities have used their fame in good ways. Hillary Duff busts two young girls who are shopping, one calls her shirt "gay" to mean it doesn't look right. When Duff criticizes their word choice, the girls are shocked and embarrassed. This image is pretty realistic (besides Hillary Duff shopping at the same store I do.) There have been times I call something "gay" without knowing the people around me. Even if Hillary Duff isn't there, who else am I offending? At the end of every commercial, the celebrity says "knock it off" in a harsh tone. To me, that is the most effective part of the ad because it causes the audience to feel ashamed and embarrassed. Having a celebrity tell me to "knock it off" causes me to question my ethics. Who am I hurting when I say "That's so gay?" Sadly, I never meant to hurt anyone but instead just went with the crowd. From now on, I'll definitely think B4 I speak.