Well some of you might have seen the news story on this site about a gay right's group's advertisement Campaign called "Thinkb4youspeak"

www.thinkb4youspeak.com

The campaigns stated goal is to remind people that while that saying things like "that's so gay" is an offensive and hurtful term whether they mean it to be or not. Personally, I think the general campaign is well done, of course the issue people here are taking is with their posters.

Personally, I think it's hillarious that some people are assuming the group is trying to insult other people with these. I think it's pretty clear that the notion is people don't like to be insulted, so why on earth is it perfectly acceptable to say Thats gay, your gay, he's so gay. For some reason, the term has become ubiquitous; not only amongst highschoolers, but in the general public as well.

Even our own site had many people defending the slur on the basis that "I don't mean gay as in gay, I mean gay as in stupid" which is rather rediculous no matter how you slice it. It's also usually untrue, as the slang is often leveled at people who act "efeminitely" or in keeping with stereotypes of homosexuals.

We can drop the silly "it doesn't actually mean gay, it means happy" excuse right now.  It definitely means gay, both in accepted definition and in common usage. So why doesn't "gay as dumb" get a free pass because it's become an accepted phrase? Because it's roots as a slur are pretty damn easy to identify. It's equating being gay with being stupid, absurd or wrong. That's where it came from, and for a large number of people that use it, that's what it still means.

And it's also still damned offensive to the millions of people who are gay. Can you imagine being a gay youth, deciding whether or not to tell the world who you are, and being faced with your friends, family or co-workers using your label for everything wrong in the world?  If you showed up to work or school tomorrow and your friends were all saying "oh man that test was so nigger", would you join right in because, hey, I guess that's an accepted slang now, even if that black kid down the hall doesn't seem to like it very much.

Would you say you got in a jew accident or that your teacher was being a muslim today? I hope not.

So why do so many people not only employ, but feel the need to defend the practice of identifying negative things with the label for one of the most persecuted and looked down upon groups in our society? 

There really is no excuse for an intelligent and non-hate filled person to say "thats gay", unless of course they're watching gay pornography, in which case the proper label is "that's awesome"

Stof.

Meh, it's already engraved into my head, it'll take a generation for it to wear off. Kinda like how it's socially unacceptable to be racist against blacks and Jews (even though it was a few decades ago), but occasionally some old person will slip up, and I don't blame them.

Except a new generation isn't suddenly born at once free of the prejudices or misconceptions of the previous one. It was through actively engaging and changing minds that we managed to progress past the faults of previous generations. And personally, I'd like to think that human beings are capable of self reflection and change.

But either way, this really is an issue that people need to start talking about, if only because it's such an easy one to remedy. As the advocacy group says, just think before you speak.

I don't know why you're responding to me like we're in disagreement... I did say that it'll go away, only that it'll take a generation to. We (the current generation) can try to supress it, and we should, but it'll always be within us. It'll only be until the next generation when it won't be "inside them".

I think there is a bit of a disagreement in that I don't think it has to be the trait of a generation. Especially the generation that has made leaps and bounds in the fight for equal human rights.

Where I see it as different is that as most people are saying, they don't mean it in the bigoted context. But merely use it out of not thinking about the connection. So if it's not a way of thinking but merely a word, that really doesn't sound like it's too difficult to deal with. We managed to kill off people saying "WASSAAAAP" pretty quickly, so why not actively engage people to throw out another stupid saying?

I'm not doubting that we could stop the act of saying "Gay" as an negative term. If that's what you meant then yes, I agree, we can do that easily within this generation. It already started IMO, albeit slowly.

But if you're talking about wether or not people will stop becoming homophobic and think of gays negatively inside them, then I don't think that'll go away until the next generation comes and they're properly socialized (although there'll be another prejudiced group by then). So, like I said, the older generations don't say "nigger" or blame the Jews for everything anymore, but I'm sure that the effects of socialization are permanent and still last today, although you may not see it until they accidently slip up.

Ah, I see your distinction.

Primarily, I was refering to the use of gay as a slur without the intended insult, which is a ubiquitous and disturbing trend. As for the notion of acceptance of homosexuality. I understand that that one is far more weighted in many people's psyches.

That said, every day, many people of all different ages have their views challenged and changed when their own friends, family or associates come out. It's a lot easier to hate a group of people when you don't actually think you know any of them. My mom used to say some pretty awful things until her daughter in law (my half sister) came out. Now she says some delightfully awful things about bigots.

Most people hold those views just because they've never been truly faced with it. It's surprising how quickly some people can make 180's.

Wanda Scites ruined it for me. She isn't funny to me, never was and never will be, forever and ever.. Amen.

But gay people use it themselves. In London, a gay tourist company have been advertising their holiday destinations with posters saying things like "London is so gay" and "New York is so Gay" - Have the Gay holiday of your life, call 09... etc. etc.

That's the better way of turning this around if you actually do find it offensive. People find "that's so gay" an expressive way of making a point. You may think it's wrong, but that's not going to stop them using it, and I don't think they should be made to. People aren't going to stop using "Jesus Christ!!" or "Oh my God!" as interjections of surprise/excitement just because Christians find it offensive to take the Lord's name in vain.

Hmmmm, that's actually kind of a good point, although it doesn't nullify in any way, the fact that using "gay" as a negative term is wrong.

I wonder if people used that analogy could Christians understand why Muslims get pissed as well when their holy figures are disrespected.