"That's so gay!"
- Thread starter lauren
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I don't see why it should be. ****, ****, ****, ****, ****er are all used as insults, but men and women don't (or shouldn't, at least) get offended by it. Really, it's just words. It simple words are deemed offensive... well, you need to re-evaluate yourself. We already live in a world where saying **** on TV is more awful than the war crimes in Iraq, don't make it worse.
I think it's a stupid phrase used by stupid people. My sexuality isn't bad in anyway and by using it as an insult people are implying so.
I wouldn't call someone a woman for throwing bad because it's sexist and I wouldn't say you act like a black man because it's racist. Calling someone gay for being annoying or something is just as bad.
I wouldn't call someone a woman for throwing bad because it's sexist and I wouldn't say you act like a black man because it's racist. Calling someone gay for being annoying or something is just as bad.
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I guess it depends on the person. I have a gay friend, and he doesn't get offended by the phrase. Hell, he says it himself.
I don't say this anyway, I say dumb. I never really picked up the habit of it, which I suppose is good because it could offend some gay people.
If they don't like it, I will respect that and not say it.
So I really don't have an opinion per say; it all depresnds on the person. Different people get offended by different things.
I don't say this anyway, I say dumb. I never really picked up the habit of it, which I suppose is good because it could offend some gay people.
If they don't like it, I will respect that and not say it.
So I really don't have an opinion per say; it all depresnds on the person. Different people get offended by different things.
I hate the phrase and all my classmates say it all the time. Uggh, it annoys the heck out of me. Gay isn't a bad thing, so why make it seem that way? People these days get on my nerves. It's not right. :/
People who give a word this kind of power must have really boring lives. To be "oh-fended" by a WORD is ridiculous in the extreme. All this PC crap is getting older by the day. The simple fact that using certain words are now considered a "hate crime" is just another example of how the government is trying to become the thought police and it is un-Constitutional. Think the 1st Amendment. I use what words I want, when I choose, in the context I decide. Yep, it's another one of my rights. You can be as offended as you like. That's your right. Just as it's mine to offend.
The fact that people even SAY that I shouldn't use a word is offensive and goes against the Constitution that I believe in with my entire being.
The fact that people even SAY that I shouldn't use a word is offensive and goes against the Constitution that I believe in with my entire being.
If I call somebody a **** and you heard it, would you be offended because you're a man and you have a ****? Or would you just shrug it off as a word? If the former, you're hypersensitive. If the latter, then why does using gay as an insult offend?
Nope. Because I'm not a ****. I have a ****. It's a big difference. Calling someone a male reproductive organ is much different than calling someone a sexual orientation.
How so? In both cases, you are using a word as an insult, which is not its original defined meaning. Where is the difference in severity derived from?
Another example: My male friend is scared of spiders. I call him a woman. Your scenario dictates that he should be offended, because I am calling him something he is not.
You know how some people claim the justification for black people calling each other "****" is to show the word no longer holds power over them? I say it does still hold power over them. They feel compelled to use it to disprove this belief they are inferior to white people, when in actuality they're just proving that there is a huge divide between the general maturity of it, i.e I don't call other white people crackers.
I think I was right initially. You're hypersensitive towards things like this, which can/will lead to some less than stellar experiences later in life unless you develop a thicker skin. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"
I'm not hypersensitive in any way so just throw that off your plate. I can joke about anything almost and I normally don't get offended by things. This is one thing that bugs me, so stop suggesting I'm hypersensitive. I've had a lot of issues with homophobia so it's a rough issue for me.
I know you can't see the difference between calling someone a **** and calling someone gay. For me, I don't like people using my sexuality to refer to something as bad. Homosexuality's not openly accepted everywhere. You never know if someone is homophobic or not and it makes me uncomfortable. If it's that much harder for someone to call something **** or stupid I don't have time for them.
Being hypersensitive isn't based on a numerical aspect, so you can easily be hypersensitive towards just one thing.
There is no difference. A simple example this time. "That game is so gay." vs. "That game is so ****." Now, the game is a physical entity with no soul or capabilities beyond its programming, no mind of its own. It has no sexuality, so the word "gay" is not being used by its definition. Similarly, the game is not faeces, it has not been spewed from the rectum of an animal or fish. The word "****" is also not being used by its definition. The only difference lies in the hearer's mind, their sensitivities or lack thereof. This. Is. Fact.
It's interesting that you're so vehemently against not associating with somebody based on the language they use. "Give as you wish to receive." If you desire respect, acceptance, love etc. you must be prepared to give it. If merely using a word is enough for you to write somebody's personality off as a bust, why in the world would anybody care for you? If you look down on them solely based on their choice of words, I don't see why you should feel entitled at all. At the end of the day, gay is a word. Like many words, it can be used to detrimental effect. But instead of getting mad, it is far better to simply ignore it, look past it. Using it in an "offensive" manner doesn't make that person bad, or a homophobe. But if you can't look past that, you really can't expect anything from other people. Nobody is perfect, everybody will have certain quirks, character traits, personality glitches that you may find undesirable or irritating. I know I do. But I look past it because the whole is more important than the parts.
Basically, if you ostracize somebody for something so trivial, you have to expect people to ostracize you for whatever aspect of your personality they dislike. If that is your sexuality, so be it. Acceptance is a funny thing.
To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were.
Anyway, about the topic at hand;
Personally I don't find it offensive, but then again I'm not homosexual and thus the word doesn't really make much of an impact on me. I've always found it amusing how some words can have such an effect over society, such as the word "****" generally being unacceptable at 'least in the professional world. To me, they're just words, and although many are used in a derogatory manner at the end of the day it's simply a case of ignoring them.
That's exactly my point. The word **** means "to have sex with". But if I say "**** you" I'm not saying "I'm going to have sex with you." It is used out of context.
Additionally, I'm absolutely bemused as to how we as a society are more offended by words than we are by the rape of civilians in Iraq by British soldiers; we're more shocked by the murder of one British soldier on British soil than we are by the over 100,000 civilian deaths in Iraq caused by British soldiers.
Sweet, sweet hypocrisy.
Indeed, but I guess that's another topic entirely...
I do see where Tommy is coming from (I think). Although he understands that there are different contexts to the word and that people using the phrase "That's gay!" don't generally intend to convey a disrespectful notion towards homosexuals by using that word (IE. To offend), he's upset/angry over the fact people have chosen that word to act as a derogatory term, somewhat adding to the negativity already surrounding the word 'gay'. Pay particular attention to his statement about having to deal with homophobia; to me that sounds like he's experienced the word passed around so negatively and thoughtlessly.
I don't even know if what I said makes any sense. I've never really been any good at debates.
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That's exactly it, haha. I don't have a problem with being called a **** or someone using it because I can see why it's a bad thing to be a ****. It's not like using the insult "you have a ****!".
There is a difference between the two phrases "You are gay" and "You are a ****", and no it's nothing like the example you provided. There's so much more to it than that. When you use a part of me, whether it my sexuality or skin colour, and use it in a negative way, you are making it seem bads. The difference with **** is that it's something the majority of people either have or are interested in. Homophobia is still around and not widely accepted. Using "gay" in a negative way is not something I look at as a joke because of that. If you were comparing the phrases "you have a ****" and "you are gay" then I'd understand what you are saying a little more.
If somebody says it as a one time thing obviously I won't hate them. If I've told someone I don't like it and they continue to do it directly to me or in a way of getting to me then I will dislike them for disrespecting me. If someone told me not to say "retarded" then I wouldn't in front of them (which has happened before, and so I didn't use the word infront of them).
I don't use the word 'gay' as a derogatory term, because I can understand how it would be hurtful.
I do, however, use the word 'retarded' quite frequently. I don't really understand how anyone could take offense to that, unless I specifically call a person retarded.
I suppose that's generally because, when I say something is retarded, I mean it literally. What I mean is that it's a stupid idea, that makes no logical or rational sense. If I say a car looks retarded, what I mean is that the design seems underdeveloped - like not much thought was put into it. SOPA and PIPA were retarded, in that they weren't going to accomplish what the creators intended. The wars we're fighting right now are retarded, because we're fighting without much of a good reason, and with no obvious victory in sight. It's like a retarded monkey initially came up with the idea. If I hear that someone tried to play a DVD with their VCR, **** straight, I will call that retardation.
If I say something stupid is gay, that's a bit different. That implies that stupid == gay, which isn't true.
I do, however, use the word 'retarded' quite frequently. I don't really understand how anyone could take offense to that, unless I specifically call a person retarded.
I suppose that's generally because, when I say something is retarded, I mean it literally. What I mean is that it's a stupid idea, that makes no logical or rational sense. If I say a car looks retarded, what I mean is that the design seems underdeveloped - like not much thought was put into it. SOPA and PIPA were retarded, in that they weren't going to accomplish what the creators intended. The wars we're fighting right now are retarded, because we're fighting without much of a good reason, and with no obvious victory in sight. It's like a retarded monkey initially came up with the idea. If I hear that someone tried to play a DVD with their VCR, **** straight, I will call that retardation.
If I say something stupid is gay, that's a bit different. That implies that stupid == gay, which isn't true.
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When I was in my penultimate year of high school, one prick in my English class, James, piped up and said "I don't get why calling something gay is so offensive? It's just a word". Strangely enough, this guy later discovered that he liked men a fair bit, and it turned out that he was gay... what a surprise. Back on topic, the teacher explained why it was offensive, but this guy still didn't understand. As a last resort, she encouraged our whole class to say "That's so James!" whenever we wanted to describe something negatively. It worked, he was majorly ****ed off, and I think he understood her point after that.
Even more on topic, the gay community labels themselves as the gay community. Out of respect, I don't use gay as an insult or as a negative word to describe something. I use ****got as an insult quite a bit. If the gay community called themselves the ****got community, then out of respect, I wouldn't use it as an insult (but please don't, because it's my favourite insult). That's pretty much where I stand.
Even more on topic, the gay community labels themselves as the gay community. Out of respect, I don't use gay as an insult or as a negative word to describe something. I use ****got as an insult quite a bit. If the gay community called themselves the ****got community, then out of respect, I wouldn't use it as an insult (but please don't, because it's my favourite insult). That's pretty much where I stand.
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I used to say this when I was younger as I didn't really think about it other than a word, but I have realised that it can offend people after I saw some people getting upset about it so I stopped saying it and just say "That's ****" or something instead.
