In February, the Ontario government passed Bill 157: Keeping Our Kids Safe at School Act. There’s a lot of information contained within the bill (which you can learn more about here) but here are the major pieces:

It is now mandatory for  teachers, school staff, and administration (principles and vice-principles) to intervene in all forms of [...]

Do you hear this phrase all the time and you‟re not sure what to say back? Try some of the ideas below!
Call it for what it is: Being direct and telling someone that saying  “That’s so gay” is homophobic is a great way of responding. It’s quick, it’s to the point and if you say [...]

Looking for a fun and easy way to take a stand against homophobia in your school/town? How about putting on some pink on April 14th? Check out the Day of Pink Resource Page and grab some posters and stickers to help spread the message that homophobia is not acceptable in your space! Feel free to [...]

Researchers at Iowa State University just published a study that shows LGBTQ youth were more likely than their straight identified peers to be cyber bullied.
Cyber bullying is a term that describes the nastiness that goes on online, often through facebook, or blogs, or via chat. Rumors can be started and spread in minutes, humiliating photos [...]

Looking for something neat to put up on your blog or web page? Check out GLSEN’s ‘Think Before Your Speak’ campaign page for posters, web banners, etc.
My personal favorite? This one.

One of the great things about my job is that I get to go all over the province and talk to youth. I hear about what things are like for them in their schools, at home, and in their communities. One things I hear a lot, in big cities and small towns is that in [...]

I’m sure many of you have heard ‘gay’ used to describe someone weak, scared or cowardly. When I hear it, I tend to stumble over words in my hurry to tell whoever using it to check themselves and their ignorance at the door. It’s a dream of mine though to come up with a killer, [...]

Again, another tragedy has rocked our community. While so much remains to be known about the death of Christopher Skinner, what stands firm is that we have lost a vibrant young man and together, again, we stand against hatred and violence in our neighborhoods. Hundreds of people showed up for a candle light, moving vigil, [...]

Ever wondered how straight folks think about homophobia? Check out Ivan E. Coyote’s recent column for Ottawa Xtra http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Queer_talk_from_straight_teens-7380.aspx In the later half of his piece he posts the actual responses he got when talking to straight identified youth in B.C.
This again has me thinking about the role straight people play in queer advocacy. How [...]

The YL office was appalled by news of the recent homophobic attack in Thunder Bay (click on the following link for details: http://www.xtra.ca/public/National/Thunder_Bay_rallies_against_homophobic_attack-7471.aspx ).
I’m sitting here, trying to come up with some way of using this example to illustrate how hateful words transform into hateful action and how that action incites fear that is long [...]