Martech: Martech is Marketing Logo
  • Topics
    Transformation
    Operations
    Data
    Experience
    Performance
    Management
    Special Reports
    All Topics
  • Conference
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • What is MarTech
    Mission
    Team
    Newsletter
    Search Engine Land
    Third Door Media

Processing...Please wait.

MarTech » Customer & Digital Experience » Sexual Diversity Organization Combats ‘That’s SoGay’ With #TheGaySweater

Sexual Diversity Organization Combats ‘That’s SoGay’ With #TheGaySweater

The non-profit advocacy group worked with Saatchi & Saatchi Canada to put together the campaign.

Steve Hall on March 27, 2015 at 3:29 pm

the_gay_sweater

Many of us have said it at one time or another. Though not everyone who says “That’s so gay” intends to be derogatory, the word “gay,” like many other words has changed meaning over time. Years ago, the word “gay” was a perfectly good word to describe a happy experience as in, “A gay old time.”

Today, “gay” is a word used to describe a person of the homosexual persuasion. So when a person says, “That’s so gay,” it’s meaning is very different and has taken on a derogatory connotation.

Working with Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, the Canadian Centre for Gender & Sexual Diversity launched #TheGaySweater, an actual sweater knit from the donated hair of 100 LGBT people which made its debut during Toronto Fashion Week.

The campaign’s aim was to help everyone understand that the use of the phrase “that’s so gay” to negatively describe something is offensive.

Of the campaign, CCGSD Director Jeremy Dias said:[blockquote]”The idea for the sweater was born from a desire to educate and encourage everyone to use ‘gay’ the correct way. We want the conversation that surrounds the gay sweater to inspire those who are using ‘gay’ in a detrimental way to both realize the negative impact their words and actions are having and change their behavior.”[/blockquote]

To get the word out about the sweater, Saatchi & Saatchi Canada created a short film hosted on The Gay Sweater website. On the site, people are encouraged to share the video and to make a donation to CCGSD.

In addition, the site offers downloadable kits for elementary, middle school and high school teachers to use in their classrooms to help teachers promote acceptance of LGBT and discourage the use of “that’s so gay.”

Did you know #TheGaySweater comes as a classroom kit? Download and promote #LGBT acceptance http://t.co/40JCc5f12w pic.twitter.com/aBPBZ6JAPj

— CCGSD | CCDGS (@CCGSD_CCDGS) March 25, 2015

The campaign has been picked up on Canadian TV news and many other news outlets:

Jeremy Diaz models #thegaysweater watch my story @CBCNews ottawa @5 #cbcott pic.twitter.com/pauhsXPKBk

— Sandra Abma (@abmacbc) March 27, 2015

.@CCGSD_CCDGS, Jeremy Dias create the world's first #GaySweater: http://t.co/b9orWAIXhn via @Keaton_Robbins pic.twitter.com/QSGQMZvY4E

— Ottawa Sun (@ottawasuncom) March 26, 2015

Regarding all the media coverage, Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity Founder Jeremy Dias said:[blockquote]”Over the last 24 hours I’ve gotten more media than I have for a decade of hard work trying to address homophobia in schools across Canada.”[/blockquote]

The campaign also includes several other videos: Behind the Scenes, Meet the Knitters, Why We Made It and The Word Lady which explores the etymology of the word “gay.”

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity is promoting the campaign on its Twitter page:

There's always a better word than 'gay'! That's the reason we made #TheGaySweater http://t.co/hCLjT60H0F check it out :)

— CCGSD | CCDGS (@CCGSD_CCDGS) March 24, 2015


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


New on MarTech

    Webinar: Benchmark your social media performance for a competitive edge

    Gartner announces the 2021-22 Genius Brands

    4 strategies to help marketing teams improve workflow and collaboration

    What you need to know from Google Marketing Live

    New Mailchimp integration automatically syncs customer data with Stripe

About The Author

Steve Hall
Steve Hall is a marketing professional, publisher, writer, community manager, photographer and all-around lover of advertising.

Related Topics

Customer & Digital ExperienceDiversity and InclusionMarketing ManagementPerformance Marketing

Get the daily newsletter digital marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

The MarTech Conference logo.

June 7, 2022: Master Classes

September 28-29, 2022: Fall

Start Discovering Now: Spring

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

The SMX Conference logo.

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 14-15, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Webinars

Benchmark Your Social Media Performance For a Competitive Edge

Take a Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Multi-Channel ABM

Content Comes First: Transform Your Operations With DAM

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

The State of Influencer Pricing

How to Measure Influencer Performance

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily marketing news & analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • Transformation
  • Operations
  • Data
  • Experience
  • Performance
  • Management
  • All Topics
  • Home

Our Events

  • MarTech
  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX

About

  • What is MarTech
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.