This Jumper Is So Gay. It’s Also A Bit Gross, Too

‘Gay jumper’ has been created to make people realise how ridiculous it is to use the word ‘gay’ to mean ‘crap’…

A Jumper Knitted From 'Gay Hair' Is Challenging Homophobic Language

by Sophie Wilkinson |
Published on

Ever described something as ‘gay’ when you meant lame? Well, there’s a jumper for you, and it’s made out of hair.

The gay jumper is made from the knitted hair of over 100 LGBT people who donated it to the The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (CCGSD) to make a point – which is to end the misuse of the word ‘gay’.

See, it’s the world’s first real ‘gay’ item. Nothing about it isn’t gay, just like nothing is gay about all the countless other things in the world that have been described as ‘gay’ because someone was too lazy and uncaring to think of a better word.

Jeremy Dias, director of the CCGSD, said: ‘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 realise the negative impact their words and actions are having and change their behaviour.’

Currently, 99% of schoolchildren have heard the phrase ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘you’re so gay’ in school, and 55% of young LGBT people are bullied at school. It’s easy to see how these two behaviours intermingle (like the strands of hair on the jumper) and then go on to affect people in later life.

It might be a gross way of presenting the argument, but it’s memorable, right?

The jumper is totally unavailable for sale and we’re cool with that.

Like this? You might also be interested in:

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Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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