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Using the word "gay" in the sense of "lame"

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Sayu, Jul 29, 2014.

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Do you mind when people use the word "gay" in the sense of "lame"? Do you use it

  1. I'm a woman and I can't stand it!

    20 vote(s)
    16.3%
  2. I'm a woman and I don't like it but it doesn't bother me too much when I hear it.

    8 vote(s)
    6.5%
  3. I'm a woman, I don't mind, but I don't use it.

    3 vote(s)
    2.4%
  4. I'm a woman, I don't mind and I sometimes use it.

    3 vote(s)
    2.4%
  5. I'm a man and I can't stand it!

    34 vote(s)
    27.6%
  6. I'm a man and I don't like it but it doesn't bother me too much when I hear it.

    18 vote(s)
    14.6%
  7. I'm a man, I don't mind, but I don't use it.

    18 vote(s)
    14.6%
  8. I'm a man, I don't mind and I sometimes use it.

    13 vote(s)
    10.6%
  9. Other (comment, please).

    6 vote(s)
    4.9%
  1. Sayu

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    Do you mind when people use the word gay in this sense? For eaxmple:

    A: I missed the bus and had to wait two hours for the next one.
    B: Aww, man, that's pretty gay.

    My boyfriend and I use it quite frequently in our conversation. We don't mean to offend gay people, as we both support the LGBT community. It's just... a word. What about you? Do you mind/use it?
     
    #1 Sayu, Jul 29, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 29, 2014
  2. happydavid

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    I don't like or hate it.
     
  3. Sayu

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    Oops, sorry, forgot to put the "I don't mind and use it frequently" option.
     
  4. HM03

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    It depends on the person using it, the situation etc.
    I don't like gay in that context, but I'm not extremely upset by it or anything.
     
  5. Hexagon

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    I don't like it, and never use it, but there are worse things people could say. I frown at people when they do it.
     
  6. Candace

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    I don't like and I hate it when people say it. Is your vocabulary really lacking that much where you need to use a word like "gay"? Seriously? :dry:.
     
  7. Greeley

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    I honestly don't mind it. It doesnt bother me at all. If somebody said "Don't be gay" meaning "Don't be lame" it wont offend me in the slightest.
     
  8. Nychthemeron

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    stranger: that's so gay
    me: do you want to fight me

    I saw this thread and I had to resist the urge to grind my teeth. This fuels my anger.

    Hexagon is correct - people say worse things. But these people are spouting homophobic shit. They're using 'gay' as an insult, and if I may, 'lame' shouldn't be an insult either, as it's a word that means, in a way, 'disabled'.

    But, alas, no one's going to stop using these words. If I'm completely honest, it's become apart of my life. I would never use it, but others will. The point of an insult is to be offensive - who am I to say that it shouldn't be?
     
  9. imnotreallysure

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    I don't care, and I am guilty of using it myself on occasion - although I try not to. Force of habit I suppose.
     
  10. asdfghjk

    asdfghjk Guest

    I use it if there is a gay couple on tv or if I am same sex boning in video games after which I make a huge idiot grin for whoever is unkucky enough to share a space

    otherwise i get kind of upset hearing it especially from kids, i have gotten better but i still grt uncomfortable
     
  11. Black Raven

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    Same for me.
    I never use it, I don't like it, but I don't mind it -too- much.

    I mostly just frown when people use it, and sometimes I tell them to stop using it in such context, if they're especially annoying.
     
  12. OGS

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    I don't suppose it really offends me per se, but I don't tolerate it--this is one that I actually do speak up about because unfortunately a lot of people use it who don't even consider themselves homophobic. The reason I don't let it go is because there are people out there every day who finally make the decision that they can't be gay and happy, that they can't be themselves and still have people like and respect them, that something fundamental to them is abhorrent to the people around them in a way that they can not overcome. Some people--far too many--actually kill themselves and some of them just shut down inside and initiate a sort of long, slow death of the soul. Some of them have had something truly dramatic and awful happen to them, something they simply can't ever recover from, but for most of them it is a death of thousand cuts--a comment here a sneer there and they all add up and then one day there's just one too many and it's over. The idea that anyone who doesn't consider themselves homophobic would willingly be a part of that process turns my stomach--I think it's beneath contemptible and I always speak up when I encounter it.
     
  13. Pax

    Pax
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    I don't really like hearing it but I also understand and accept that it's become a normalised word in society (in this context). Back when I was going through secondary school 10 years ago it was a word in constant use amongst my age group and it didn't really seem to be considered all that un-PC at that point. When kids got sent out of class they would object "That's so GAY!" and even the teachers wouldn't bat an eyelid.

    So yeah, usually I feel a flare of annoyance when I hear it, but I'm never going to jump down someone's throat or hold a grudge against them over it.
     
  14. Simple Thoughts

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    I like it and I use it.

    Then again I believe in word degradation. Gay meant happy then it meant homosexual and now it's on the path to being a term for lame...words change in meaning all the time. It's nothing new, and I don't see the point in fighting a shift in terminology.
     
  15. Acm

    Acm Guest

    I don't get as bothered by it as some stuff, but I don't really like it. It depends on who's saying it though
     
  16. idream

    idream Guest

    It annoys me but I don't find it especially offensive.
     
  17. Kaiser

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    When I hear people use "gay" in that sense, I tend to chime in with:

    "So, it's a good thing?"

    The looks I get, LOL!
     
  18. Chiroptera

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    "I don't like it but it doesn't bother me too much when I hear it."

    The use of the word "gay" on this context is the reflex of the prejudice on society, i think, even if not used with that purposed.

    However, it is pointless to fight against the use of the word on this context, as the problem is deeper than that. People will probably react negatively if you try to change what they are saying, instead of teaching them the real meaning of the word.
     
  19. BelleFromHell

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    I do find the way it's used to be insulting, but I find the ignorance of the people who use it that way to be more insulting.

    TOTALLY AGREE. Are people really so ignorant that they have to use a synonym for homosexual/happy to describe something that is stupid/lame? Do they know how many words there are in the English language that are synonyms for stupid/lame?

    Calling something that is lame "gay" makes about as much sense as calling a fainting goat "purple".
    [​IMG]
     
  20. C06122014

    C06122014 Guest

    I hate when people use the word that way and I usually say something my friends don't like word used that way either so I almost never hear it :slight_smile: