Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity visits Sudbury students

A group visiting Sudbury schools this week hopes a sweater will end a common homophobic phrase.

The Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity created a sweater made out of hair collected from the heads of LGBT people.

Yesterday, it was shown to students at Lansdowne Public School, including grade 5 student Macy Jones-Naponse.

"Everybody makes fun of gay people," she said. "I hear a bunch of people saying 'that's so gay' or 'that thing is so gay.'"

Using the word gay in a negative context is something Jeremy Dias has been trying to stop for years. As the founder of the Canadian centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, his group goes into schools and teachers kids to stand up to homophobia and bullying.

Dias said when you call something you don't like gay, you're telling gay people they're bad too.

He said the group came up with the idea to create the sweater to get kids talking.

"The idea behind it is to literalize the expression 'that's so gay' in an absurd kind of way but to also get people thinking, especially for younger students," he explained.

Dias said the sweater shows children calling random things gay is not only hurtful, but doesn't make sense — unless you're talking about his sweater.