Bitch. Slut. Faggot. Retard. Whore.
These are words Bellerose Grade 12 student Teresa McKernan says she’s not even comfortable saying – she uses “b-word” or “s-word” instead.
But the one that really sticks in her throat is “retard,” as she has a brother who has autism.
“That really bothers me,” she says, as it demeans those who have a disability through no fault of their own.
“They’re just as much a person as we are, and they deserve to be respected.”
That’s why she’s part of a team that has plastered these five common derogatory words on walls and displays around her school as part of a poster campaign to get people thinking about the words they use. It’s the second year of the campaign, which has reportedly spread to other local schools.
“I don’t say slut because it creates a double standard, it’s judgmental, (and) it’s demeaning to women,” reads one poster.
“I don’t say retard because someone’s physical or mental state doesn’t define them,” reads another.
Each has the curse word in big, bold letters, next to photos of current Bellerose students.
It’s a striking contrast that gets its point across: these words affect real people.
McKernan is part of the Bellerose Soul Team, now in its second year of operation. The 12-student squad formed last year with the help of a grant from the University of Alberta as a way to promote inclusivity and mental health, says school counsellor Jeff Beaton, who advises the team.
So far, the team has decorated the school with about 1,100 compliments written on post-its and created “gratitude walls” where students can write about what they appreciate about the school. During final exams, they’ll have stacks of post-its in bathrooms students can use to leave encouraging messages.
“One of the projects we decided to do was a focus on words and language students either use or hear on a regular basis,” Beaton says.
The team decided to print five derogatory words students often use without understanding their meaning onto posters around the school. The posters include background on what the words mean and why their use is harmful. Each has pictures of current Bellerose students on the posters to act as real-life role models.
Words have the power to create a person’s identity and possibilities, says Kristopher Wells, who is director of the University of Alberta’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services. He was not involved in the Bellerose campaign. Words like “faggot” or “slut” reinforce the idea that there is only one way to be a man or woman, for example, encouraging homophobia and sexism.
Words also set a standard of behaviour in a school and can marginalize certain groups, Beaton says.
“Words aren’t just words. They have implications behind them and they are hurtful.”
Although she personally never uses these words, McKernan says she hears them quite frequently amongst some students and has had a few of them lobbed at her as a joke. These students either don’t completely realize the implications of these words or choose to ignore them.
McKernan says it’s tough to tell if the posters have had any effect on the use of these words around the school, but notes many students have thanked her for putting them up.
“We kind of opened their eyes a little bit more to what the words mean.”
Wells applauded the campaign, as it encouraged youths to hold each other to account when it comes to language.
“That’s really where the power of change starts.”
McKernan says she hoped future Soul Team members would continue the campaign.
