That's Gay

[Red Exodus]

I hate being politically correct. I hate when people say "Don't call them ******** or handicap, call them differently able". Oh please, it's the same thing with gay. Like most people in the thread said, gay people are hardly offended by it.

If you are so offended by the word 'gay' you should just stop posting on a thread about the word gay.

 

[Ryusiodo]

I think it's a tad demeaning to homosexuals. They claim something to be bad by saying gay and this in turn can lead people to think that being gay is bad. Another thing is that homo is the opposite of hetero. So by saying substituting gay for stupid/uncool/bad they indirectly say that homosexuals are bad while heterosexuals (conveniently the majority in this situation) are better as human beings. I'm still wondering how this all started. Since when did a person start using gay as a substitute for stupid/uncool? Why do people feel the need to conform and thus say on a daily basis "Mr/Mrs ____ is so gay for giving us that hw"/"That's so gay".

Then again the smash community also use the word gay for any overpowered/cheap tactic. I quess how demeaning it is is based on the perspective of each individual. Some homosexuals might not care much for something like this.

 

[Falco&Victory]

what people need to realize is that sociologically gay has become a widely accepted term. Those who take offense are therefor different from the rest of. Yes, it's wrong, but it's crudeness is diminished by being used so often

 

[Eor]

Seriously, for those who say it's not demeaning, lets replace gay with "Nigggerish".

It doesn't matter if the term has become so popular that it doesn't mean what it means, that only makes it worse. It enforces intolerance by saying that it's ok to refer to bad things as being "Gay", which means that gay is bad.

 

[Red Exodus]

I don't really care for specifics. Why bother say African American when you can say black? They both mean the same thing. Gay and homosexual mean the same thing and if one is taken to offense then so should the other.

 

[Falco&Victory]

touche`....

but majoring in sociology is on my side lol. As you said, if gay means bad than it's bad to be gay. Unfortunately gays are frowned upon by most people, and are a very small minority. Also, "n-wordish" would offend FAR more people, we never enslaved the gays, we leave them be if they just keep to themselves.

 

[Eor]

I don't really care for specifics. Why bother say African American when you can say black? They both mean the same thing. Gay and homosexual mean the same thing and if one is taken to offense then so should the other.

Man, did you read this topic? That's not at all what we're debating about. It's whether or not it's ok to call something gay. Like, if I get a zero for a test, I'd say "That's ****ing gay", which I'm saying is wrong. If someone is gay, and I say that he's gay, that's something else.

but majoring in sociology is on my side lol.

You're 15, you're not majoring in anything

As you said, if gay means bad than it's bad to be gay. Unfortunately gays are frowned upon by most people, and are a very small minority.

Doesn't matter how small they might me (I wouldn't call 10% small), they have their rights protected, and discrimination against them is not a moral thing to do. Saying that they're frowned up by "most people" is a lie, it's the evangelicals that are promoting gay hatred, not "most people".

Also, "n-wordish" would offend FAR more people, we never enslaved the gays, we leave them be if they just keep to themselves.

You missed the point entirely.

 

[Falco&Victory]

college credit class, college credits =]

i know like, 9 gay people at my super-liberal school, they don't take offense.

I'm not saying it's ok to say gay, I just don't think such a big deal should be made. If suddenly you weren't allowed to say it suddenly the term becomes far more offensive.

and gay isn't demeaning, it's sexual alignment. Just don't say it to gay people and you're fine =\

 

[Eor]

college credit class, college credits =]

At most, you're currently taking AP psychology. And you haven't completed it yet. You are not in college, you are not majoring in anything. AP credits only work for the first 1-2 year of college, and those years you spent about zero to a very few courses actually doing anything with your major. Therefore, no.

 

[Falco&Victory]

well, fine then. I guess I'll be officially majoring it in a few years =\

i think you misunderstood my standing though. Yes it's bad, and some people will take offense. But if you only use it in front of people you know, and don't use it as a derogatory term than it is acceptable. Not the term, how it's used

 

[Xsyven]

college credit class, college credits =]

i know like, 9 gay people at my super-liberal school, they don't take offense.

I'm not saying it's ok to say gay, I just don't think such a big deal should be made. If suddenly you weren't allowed to say it suddenly the term becomes far more offensive.

and gay isn't demeaning, it's sexual alignment. Just don't say it to gay people and you're fine =\

College credits don't equal a major.

WHAT THE POINT OF THIS THREAD IS, is that saying "gay" when a bad thing happens, means "gay" is a bad thing. Imagine kids that grow up with hearing "gay" whenever something bad happens. When they meet meet a gay person, they'll think "bad."

It's sort of a Pavlov Dog sort of effect. If you don't know what that is, you should consider 'majoring' in psychology.

 

[Ryusiodo]

In this society, people tend to think that using the n word is worse than another deragatory racial word. For example, some times people kid around and call me a chink. ( this includes asians...) Now pretend the person happens to be black people and I responded by calling him the n word I would look like a total asshat but he doesn't even though he calls me a racially offensive word. That in itself is racist and unjust. This may seem misleading from the main topic.

Now using that comparison it would be saying the n word is worse than gay. Thus, it would be giving more priority or higher ground to blacks over homosexuals. (Yes I know they there are gay africans but I'm doing this on a very general basis.) Using the n word is just as bad as using the word gay as a substitute for other negative adjectives. By using the n word one demeans africans. Similarly by using gay as a substitute, people demean homosexuals and make them look inferior.

 

[Falco&Victory]

you mean 'pavlov's dog'? I did an experiment on mice with that once, that was cool.

I never established the connection between gay = bad. I now a lot of gay people, and some of them are really cool(except that one who whipped out his package =/)

Using the term ignorantly is bad. Hell, using it AT ALL is bad, but it does not have some horrible effect on our youth's. We are actually very acceptant of gays compared to other nations, because we know that using the term is bad.

 

[BubbleShield]

Gay shouldn't even be considered "Homosexual" anymore. It's just another crude word like stupid. I wouldn't be surprised in the future if it means "cool" Like bad. sometimes you tell someone they're bad, not literally bad, but like badass. The bomb. Somebody says that movie bombed. Or someone can say "You da bomb! Soon its gonna be you pretty gay but not homosexual
Here's the real question, is "F@ggot" still offensive? I think so, but keep in mind about their origins. gay = happy, F@ggot = bundle of sticks. not homosexual.
I'm pretty gay, eh? nvm...

 

[Decoy Octopus]

Honestly, I've known gay people that call things gay. It's not that big a deal.

You even know one of them: my buddy Gabe.


EDIT: Ugh, objecting to the term "homosexual" is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Sorry. But seriously, have you take middle school science? Homo- is a prefix meaning (basically) "same" and hetero- means "different/opposite" (essentially). Like homo- and heterogeneous substances. Thus, homosexual means you're attracted to the same gender.

People label things as "offensive" in far too slapdash a fashion these days. You know what? I've decided "bronze" to describe a tan is offensive. "Craggy" to describe weathered facial features is now offensive. "Shiny" to describe corrugated aluminum is now offensive.

It's all just as arbitrary.

 

[LelandStanfordJr]

Warning: this post contains intense terms and language.

This thread probably isn't as awesome as you thought it was going to be when you opened it. Sorry.

But anyway, when people say something is gay, as in, it's "uncool" or "lame" or suchlike, does that offend you? Do you think it's somehow unacceptable? I'd been thinking about this for a while now. In fact, I was talking to a homosexual the other day (my relative’s friend), and he freely called the service at the bar "gay," and then later on went on to describe the pool table as "fu*king gay" because it was a terrible table. I was quietly amused by it actually, but it didn't seem to bother him one bit. But, countless times I’ve seen others get on their high horse about it - pretty much always straight people by the way - and pull out these big spiels about how casually saying something is "gay" makes you a horrible person because it demeans homosexuals and so on.

I personally don't think that it does, so I still say it regularly. I don't think it's any kind of malicious attack on homosexuals like people make out that it is because the meaning has changed. It was a juvenile insult, but now it's just become another slang word in itself like the words "suck" and "blow."

I don't think people realize it, but saying "this car sucks/blows" is the exact equivalent to saying "this car is gay". Think about it - sucks what, exactly? What does the car suck? Spoons? "This car sucks spoons"? The only way it could possibly make sense is if it were a reference to male on male fellatio, as in, "This car sucks c*ck". Which doesn't really make sense, but I could see why a homophobic or immature kid would have said it to begin with. It wouldn't be a reference to female on male fellatio either, because what kind of 13 year old is going to come to the conclusion that a girl giving him a blowjob is something "bad," or something that should be used to describe things that "aren't cool"?

That just doesn't make any sense, so it would have to be a reference to homosexual behavior. With that in mind, why do people kick up a stink when somebody says something is "gay," but not when somebody says something "blows" or "sucks," or even when somebody says something "sucks d*ck," when they have the exact same meaning? Well I know why, but it seems a bit ridiculous is what I’m trying to point out.

This topic isn't pointed out to insult or offend any possible homosexuals here on smashboards. This post has also been discussed on other forums before, I just thought I'd introduce it to SWF. And try to be mature about this, please?

It's about as offensive as calling Native Americans "Indians."

If a politician were to say "that's gay" (besides Larry Craig), s/he'd be in big trouble. Lots of youth in this generation trivialize the struggles gays go through by using the phrase. So if you don't think it's "offensive," you're probably ignorant. Think about it.

 

[ThatGuy]

Figures I click on this thread and get this ad:

 

[Banks]

I say it all the time, and I don't care if people get offended. that's gay.

 

[Ryusiodo]

That's fine but rethink that when they use the word straight for an offensive word such as stupid/uncool or just plain bad.

 

[Aruun]

I'm gay and I can't say I get my panties in a twist when people use it. I think it makes the person seem unintelligent because they've obviously learned to consolidate their vocabulary to a grand total of 10 words (like 99% of America's youth), but I can't say I'm really offended. If anything I think it's more demeaning to the person saying it than to homosexuals. It's the same reason I rarely swear; I don't care when other people swear, but simply learning to use words that actually share the same meaning as to what you're trying to communicate, makes you appear much more intelligent.

 

[Chill]

You shouldn't use the word "lame" either because it offends the people in wheelchairs.

Let's just refer to things we don't like as "unpleasant" from now on.

 

[tmw_redcell]

But that deeply offends people who are unpleasant.

We prefer to be called "grouches", or "differently happy."

 

[pikachun00b7]

But that deeply offends people who are unpleasant.

We prefer to be called "grouches", or "differently happy."

tmw, I just got really offended.

Racist.

 

[Venus of the Desert Bloom]

My girlfriend and sister say "that's gay" all the time. While it doesn't bother me, it gets annoying. I mean how can a traffic light be gay? I laugh when my sister call h er teacher's gaay.

However, I get more offended when someone says something is retarted. I had several friends who were mentally retarted and they were amazing people. They were always fun to be with. So I have a general bias towards people who say things are retarted.

The one thing that concerns me about calling thinmgs gay and retarted is your putting that situation into a negative sense. If you are saying "this computer is being gay" or "retarted", you are portraying the computer in a negative viewpoint. However, sense when is homosexuality and mental retardness is a bad thing? That's the thing,. it isn't. One is a lifestyle someone becomies affiliated with and the other is a natural born disability.

On the note of mental ***********, I watched I am Sam with my parents last night (or parts of it haha).

 

[lukintosh]

I think the word "gay" has been used so much in the media (Hard Gay, Daffyd Thomas...) that it sort of becomes funny. And that it's slang.

DUDE THAT CAR IS HOMOSEXUAL

MAN THAT GAME IS CRIPPLED

Yeah. But I say "thats gay" occasionally, although it makes no sense.

 

[Dibs]

I'd say that's Whack... But Wak would be offended.

 

[Decoy Octopus]

Ahahahahhaha, I love Chill and Redcell (not in a gay way, not that there's anything wrong with that.)

Do you guys get promoted based on awesome and hilarity?


Hahaha. Anyways you guys hit the nail on the head. Great, now everybody at the webcafe is looking at me weird. STOP IT. LET ME LAUGH.

 

[Red Exodus]

If this keeps up I won't be able to say anything negatively. I can't even say something is bad because Bad Boyz would be offended.

Being PC isn't fun.

 

[DoH]

To all of you who keep preaching that the word gay isn't offensive to homosexuals in this conotation, how many of you actually are homosexual? And if you aren't, who are you to determine whether something is offensive to a group in which you have no association with? Who are you, Ann Coulter?

The pejorative use of the word gay is a blatant example of institutionalized homophobia, a word that has entered the lexicon with the intent to create a negative association with those who speak the language. This tool has been used forever, turning such words as cunt, bitch, and whore, from words that actually describe beauty and royalty into offensive words for trampy females. The same thing has been done here; even little kids growing up today have an aversion to being gay implanted in their heads at an early age due to the negative connotation that it carries. This is just another word that has entered our daily use which its sole purpose is to promote discrimination and create an automatic reaction of negativity with the utter mention of the word. It's a powerful tool of our enemies; essentially we as the gay community have been taught to hate ourselves.

Therefore we have 3 options; we can either wait it out and hope that a new word takes its place (much as gay replaced ******** as the pejorative word of choice around 2001/2002, as it became far less offensive to make fun of different orientation than those who were crippled, possibly due to the increase of the handicapped post-9/11 and the subsequent military aftermath - I'm just speculating here), create a new word that's just as or more offensive and hope that it catches on (but I doubt that we could get the entire nation to start calling things negative 'hetero' or 'dude, quit being a breeder'), or redeploy the meaning of the word, and take it on in a prideful manner, much as the gay movement has already transformed the meaning of queer, the feminist movement has transformed cunt and the black movement has transformed the meaning of nigger to each of those movement's different communities. No longer are these words a form of obscenity, but rather empowerment.

However, in order to pursue this last option, the gays of America would have to pull their heads out of their ***** and start to actually think about the words they use and how their language affects not only others, but their view of one's self. If a person continues to disrespect their personal attributes by using forced negative associations, then there can be only negative effects from this kind of subliminal conditioning of the mind.

Why do I have to dumb down my posts? They're pretty self explanatory if you're not baked. But I'll make an honest effort.

When we use gay in the negative sense, it attaches a negative connotation to it. This is bad because we internalize this discourse as at least having a shred of truth, and therefore we can't escape the association that being gay in and of itself is a negative thing. This is bad because it perpetuates heterosexism/homophobia and spreads hate.

Think about it on the schoolyard; no kid wants to be associated with the term, even if they have no idea what being gay actually means, and very few of them have a conceptualization of what a sexual identity even means.

 

[Katy Parry]

^^^You have a great point.

I know what you mean about school. Kids make fun of me all the time when I was little, and to the point where I didn't want to go to school anymore - and I wasn't gay.

I'm in the 10th grade now, and nothing has changed. It's also gotten so bad, to where the guys in the locker room will run out of the showers when I come in, or when I sit down on the bench to change they try to shove they're ***** in my mouth - but if I did that to someone - I 'd never hear the end of it.

That's why even when that word comes up - "gay" - I can't stand it. It's never used as a noun, it's always used as a negative adjective.

 

[Dark.Pch]

I say if anyone is mature enough and all would not be offended. Some people though might get offended cause to say that something is bad and whatnot, people use the word gay, as in gay is a bad thing. If you say that something is gay and you could be refering to something like your friend is being cheap in a match or w/e, you useing the word gay to describe it is stating that gay is bad. so people use it to describe certain situtaion that are not to thier liking Cause some people dont like gay people and see them as an outcast or a person not to be near. Thats the only way I say one can be offended by it (if your gay that is) Nothing is wrong with being gay. they are people. but useing the word in terms to describe something bad is saying gays are not liked or etc. So I say its a win/lose situtaion. It all depends on the person that is gay to say if it offends them or not.

Same goes for useing the word N-I-G-G-A. when one is called that, it means nothing to the african american person cause it was not said to be racist. Just being said like people would say Dude or homeboy or etc. Im spanish and my frinds say that to me and I am fine with it cause I know and they know there was no sense of a racist remark there. Other types of people call each other that too. But there are some that dont like the word even though it was not ment to be racist. it depends on the person I suppose.

that is all

 

[Jammer]

I never say things are gay. I rarely say things are stupid. Sometimes I say things are "not good". I never say "that blows", and I only say "that sucks" in the most extreme circumstances. So I'm kind of unusual in that respect, I guess.

But about things "blowing" and "sucking" as opposed to simply being "gay", I would say that the first two are quite different from the third. The first two are euphemisms; the third one is using a common term for a sexual orientation as an insult or derogatory modifier. Which, of course, would likely anger people with that particular sexual orientation.

When I read the title of this thread before clicking on it, I was expecting to say "You shouldn't call stuff 'gay', mate. Many people are offended by that."

But it turns out that's very close to what you were saying yourself.

 

[notftomearth7]

'Gay' could offend if the person is actually homosexual, due to the fact that it's a far off interpretation of 'stupid' unlike '********' which is very simillar (In meaning anyway) to the word 'stupid'

 

[Pluvia's other account]

Actually, I heard this from the BBC when they were defending themselves.

"Gay" in modern day use, can also mean "Lame" or "Uncool".

I guess they're right.

 

[sugarpoultry]

Buzz and I say "That's gay" all the time. We go to a private school where there are no gays. So we won't offend any gays. SO... we use it.

 

[Bailey]

This thread is gay.

 

[SkyeYuki]

I don't really mind it, although it used to bug me. What bugs me is when people say "That sucks big hairy monkey balls." I'm not sure why. I guess just because it's really crude or something.

 

[Mediocre]

From my perspective, it doesn't matter if people are offended or not. People take offense to all sorts of stupid things. That doesn't mean you shouldn't say them.

What I dislike about modern usage of the word gay is that it demeans and degrades an entire group of people. Using the word gay as an insult implies that there's something wrong with homosexuality, even if the person who used the word didn't intend to imply anything of the sort.

The common use of "gay" as an insult makes homophobia more socially acceptable, because it helps create an environment in which homophobia is seen as normal. This means that people will be more comfortable being openly homophobic, and that's bad for homosexuals.

I'm not offended by the word, but I'm somewhat concerned about the effect it has on how people view and interact with homosexuals.

We go to a private school where there are no gays.

How could you possibly know this?

I think it's hilarious that you think you can know that you have no gays in your school. How did you find out that everyone in your school was straight? Did you send out an anonymous survey?

 

[sugarpoultry]

How could you possibly know this?

I think it's hilarious that you think you can know that you have no gays in your school. How did you find out that everyone in your school was straight? Did you send out an anonymous survey?

Because it is a religious school and our religion is against homosexuality.

 

[Aruun]

Because it is a religious school and our religion is against homosexuality.

Worst point ever. All that means is that all the gay ones are hiding it, because they know there's probably no one who would actually accept them. If you went to a religious school full of straight people, do you think you'd go around saying you're gay?