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Forums - General - using the word 'gay' as an insult

highwaystar101 on 22 November 2009
Kasz216 said:
highwaystar101 said:
zexen_lowe said:
stof said:
I can think of no greater barometer of a person's immaturity than their use of the word gay as an insult. Find someone who says "that's gay" and low and behold, they are incredibly immature.

I agree, it's not like it's increidibly insulting, it's just that there's no reason at all to use it and you have a thousand of other words you can perfectly use without having to misuse a word. Even if gay before meant happy, now it does not. Words change meaning all the time, it happens.

 

Now, if anyone says "that's so gay", I'm not gonna call people with burning torches saying "he's homophobe, burn him!", but I will think the word was misused and that the one who said it has an increidibly limited vocabulary

We're allowed to burn homophobes? Cool.

*highwaystar101 grabs torch, lights it and goes to known local homphobe's house*

Actually homophobes largely deserve pity more then anything else based on the scientific research.

Homophobia as a stance doesn't seem to have the same origins of other phobias. 

 

Although it itself puts homosexuality in a negative light this is the best analogy i can think of at the moment.

For most homophobes research suggests they hate and fear gay people for the same reason recovering alcholics hate and fear bars.

IE most homophobes are closet homosexuals, even to themselves... and as such being around gay people and gay acts makes them incredibly uncomfortable because it confuses them since they have such urges.

 

Yup, I know a couple of homophobe's who are blatantly homosexual/bisexual. It's very obvious sometimes when they are confronted with a homosexual situation and they act irrationally towards it.



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zexen_lowe on 22 November 2009
Kasz216 said:

Actually homophobes largely deserve pity more then anything else based on the scientific research.

Homophobia as a stance doesn't seem to have the same origins of other phobias. 

 

Although it itself puts homosexuality in a negative light this is the best analogy i can think of at the moment.

For most homophobes research suggests they hate and fear gay people for the same reason recovering alcholics hate and fear bars.

IE most homophobes are closet homosexuals, even to themselves... and as such being around gay people and gay acts makes them incredibly uncomfortable because it confuses them since they have such urges.

 

That's a very interesting point if such research is true. Sadly (or luckily) I don't know any homophobic people, so I can't test it out, but it would both explain it properly, and be increidibly ironic




PipForever on 22 November 2009
zexen_lowe said:
Kasz216 said:

Actually homophobes largely deserve pity more then anything else based on the scientific research.

Homophobia as a stance doesn't seem to have the same origins of other phobias. 

 

Although it itself puts homosexuality in a negative light this is the best analogy i can think of at the moment.

For most homophobes research suggests they hate and fear gay people for the same reason recovering alcholics hate and fear bars.

IE most homophobes are closet homosexuals, even to themselves... and as such being around gay people and gay acts makes them incredibly uncomfortable because it confuses them since they have such urges.

 

That's a very interesting point if such research is true. Sadly (or luckily) I don't know any homophobic people, so I can't test it out, but it would both explain it properly, and be increidibly ironic

You don't know any homophobic people? Wow, I guess I'll just have to move to wherever you live! Right now I live in a small town in Ohio, where its almost impossible to completely avoid them. But yes, I have read psychological studies that show homophobic males are more arroused by homosexual porn than nonhomophobic males.

 

Anyway, I find the that using the term "gay" as stupid is slightly offensive. I'm not gonna start rioting in the streets, but come on, with a little common sense its not hard to realize that it is insulting a minority group. Gays are already discriminated against enough in American society. Do they have to live with the fact that people are constantly equating them to the term "stupid" as well?



zexen_lowe on 22 November 2009
PipForever said:

You don't know any homophobic people? Wow, I guess I'll just have to move to wherever you live! Right now I live in a small town in Ohio, where its almost impossible to completely avoid them. But yes, I have read psychological studies that show homophobic males are more arroused by homosexual porn than nonhomophobic males.

 

Anyway, I find the that using the term "gay" as stupid is slightly offensive. I'm not gonna start rioting in the streets, but come on, with a little common sense its not hard to realize that it is insulting a minority group. Gays are already discriminated against enough in American society. Do they have to live with the fact that people are constantly equating them to the term "stupid" as well?

Well, OK, I don't tell people I'm gay usually, but I don't think anyone would find it wrong if I did. I mean, everyone knows I'm atheist and I never faced a single weird look, doubt it would be THAT much different. Maybe people are more tolerant in Argentina, or maybe they simply don't give a damn (more likely)




Chairman-Mao on 22 November 2009
shio said:
Some people are just stupid and all PC.

The thing is, time is changing the meaning of the word GAY. Any term can change it's meaning throughout time.

The original meaning of GAY was "happy" and for centuries it remained so, until recently. It's only been a few decades that GAY has been related to homossexuality.

But now, GAY is changing it's meaning again, and this time it is becoming a synonim of LAME. All the people that are upset by this are idiots.

/thread



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Rath on 22 November 2009
zexen_lowe said:
stof said:
I can think of no greater barometer of a person's immaturity than their use of the word gay as an insult. Find someone who says "that's gay" and low and behold, they are incredibly immature.

I agree, it's not like it's increidibly insulting, it's just that there's no reason at all to use it and you have a thousand of other words you can perfectly use without having to misuse a word. Even if gay before meant happy, now it does not. Words change meaning all the time, it happens.

 

Now, if anyone says "that's so gay", I'm not gonna call people with burning torches saying "he's homophobe, burn him!", but I will think the word was misused and that the one who said it has an increidibly limited vocabulary

So you claim that the word can change from meaning 'happy' to 'homosexual', but cannot possibly change from 'homosexual' to 'bad'. How is one of these changes misuse and the other proper use?



NKAJ on 22 November 2009

yeah nealry everyone i know use gay as an insult...i use it as an insult too,you know why? cos for the person im insulting,it would be awful to be gay



"They will know heghan belongs to the helghast"

"England expects that everyman will do his duty"

"we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender"

 

zexen_lowe on 22 November 2009
Rath said:
zexen_lowe said:
stof said:
I can think of no greater barometer of a person's immaturity than their use of the word gay as an insult. Find someone who says "that's gay" and low and behold, they are incredibly immature.

I agree, it's not like it's increidibly insulting, it's just that there's no reason at all to use it and you have a thousand of other words you can perfectly use without having to misuse a word. Even if gay before meant happy, now it does not. Words change meaning all the time, it happens.

 

Now, if anyone says "that's so gay", I'm not gonna call people with burning torches saying "he's homophobe, burn him!", but I will think the word was misused and that the one who said it has an increidibly limited vocabulary

So you claim that the word can change from meaning 'happy' to 'homosexual', but cannot possibly change from 'homosexual' to 'bad'. How is one of these changes misuse and the other proper use?

Maybe because in most languages, 99% of the people interpret "gay" to mean and make reference to homosexuality? So far, that meaning is not changing




phinch1 on 22 November 2009
Chairman-Mao said:
shio said:
Some people are just stupid and all PC.

The thing is, time is changing the meaning of the word GAY. Any term can change it's meaning throughout time.

The original meaning of GAY was "happy" and for centuries it remained so, until recently. It's only been a few decades that GAY has been related to homossexuality.

But now, GAY is changing it's meaning again, and this time it is becoming a synonim of LAME. All the people that are upset by this are idiots.

/thread

+1, I say it to people when they Don't come out down town.

For example,Me- Dave come down town later
                  Dave- No can do, im a bit low on cash and the mrs......
                    Me- awww come on man don't be Gay.



Kasz216 on 22 November 2009
Rath said:
zexen_lowe said:
stof said:
I can think of no greater barometer of a person's immaturity than their use of the word gay as an insult. Find someone who says "that's gay" and low and behold, they are incredibly immature.

I agree, it's not like it's increidibly insulting, it's just that there's no reason at all to use it and you have a thousand of other words you can perfectly use without having to misuse a word. Even if gay before meant happy, now it does not. Words change meaning all the time, it happens.

 

Now, if anyone says "that's so gay", I'm not gonna call people with burning torches saying "he's homophobe, burn him!", but I will think the word was misused and that the one who said it has an increidibly limited vocabulary

So you claim that the word can change from meaning 'happy' to 'homosexual', but cannot possibly change from 'homosexual' to 'bad'. How is one of these changes misuse and the other proper use?

Actually gay didn't go from meaning happy to homosexual.

 

It went from "Happy" to "Excessivly Happy."  to "Hedonistic without any care of morals as youth."  to "Hedonistic without any care of morals as a negative."  to "Hedonistic without any case of morals as confined only to homosexual acts."  to "Gay."

 

As you can see... the evolution of a word is a varied and long chain of events.


This "change" however wasn't done in the usual gradual sense of the word... but instead done rather abruptly because homosexuality is seen as bad.

It completly jumped the usual process specifically from it's originators to belittle a group.

 

For example... what would be the reaction if the greater world started calling anything stupid Black, or in your case New Zealend.

If everything stupid was suddenly called New Zealend?  You New Zealenders wouldn't be offended?