For the next two weeks people across the UK will be confronted with a positive message about gay people from 600 billboards. The advertising space in England, Scotland and Wales has been donated to gay equality organisation Stonewall by an outdoor advertising company. The message - 'Some people are gay. Get over it!' - will be displayed in giant, tabloid-style capital letters, on a bright red background. The campaign, originally designed for schools, was developed in collaboration with 150 secondary school pupils and teachers for Stonewall. In November 2007 it was launched by television actor John Barrowman as part of Stonewall's Education for All campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. The posters, stickers and postcards, distributed to all 5,000 secondary schools across England, were so well-received by pupils and teachers that the message has gone beyond the school gates. Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskill told PinkNews.co.uk: "Homophobia is almost endemic in our schools and blights the lives of people throughout society. "It makes sense that this zero-tolerance message should be extended to the wider public. "Across urban and rural Britain, this plain-speaking slogan will remind people that discrimination against gay men and lesbians is no longer acceptable."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Tuesday, 12th February 2008 - 8:49am