[Shaun]

What do you think of the title statement? Is it a constant undermining of homosexuality, or just a harmless turn of phrase?

[Braden]

I don't get that annoyed when people use the phrase...but I never use it

Why? What do you think?

[InOne]

It's harmless. I say things like "Oh, my computer is being gay" or whatever. Anyone who gets offended by anything like that has a serious chip on their shoulder.

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

i dont say that. i say omg thats so straight

[MTVN]

I suppose it's harmless, it's intention is never really to mock or undermine gay people, a lot of the time it's referring to something completely unrelated to homosexuality.

[Mystic Mock]

Originally Posted by MTVN

I suppose it's harmless, it's intention is never really to mock or undermine gay people, a lot of the time it's referring to something completely unrelated to homosexuality.

i agree mtvn.

[MeMyselfAndI]

not offensive at all

[Ninastar]

My friend who is gay, says things are gay, so surely it can't be that offensive. I used to say it all the time, but I say it less now. I don't think i say it at all actually

[Shaun]

I'm only indecisive because whilst I understand some homosexuals/bisexuals/whatever use it, and don't find it offensive - it's still using sexuality as an insult for something bad.

[Jack_]

It's not really 'damaging', but it does show the person using it up to be ignorant and in possession of a very limited vocabulary.

[Jords]

Harmless, its always used around school.

[Niamh.]

I don't know really, I've never used it myself but then again I'm not gay so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it if I were

[Ninastar]

I don't think anyone means to use it in an offensive way, its just how its come to be and everyone says it because its a good way of putting something across. even if it is really offensive

[Niall]

I'm gay myself and I even say it....so I think its harmless. It's just like the way gay used to mean happy. Words change over time I guess.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Jack_

It's not really 'damaging', but it does show the person using it up to be ignorant and in possession of a very limited vocabulary.

why? its just a turn of phrase. doesn't mean anything about your intellect

[Miss Ivy Balls]

I selected damaging.

If you say that then you're using the word 'gay' in a bad light. Gay has two meanings. Gay as in sexuality and gay as in happy.

There is homophobia out there so to use it to describe something bad is rather disrespectful to gay people whether it is intended or not.

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Thomas C

I selected damaging.

If you say that then you're using the word 'gay' in a bad light. Gay has two meanings. Gay as in sexuality and gay as in happy.

There is homophobia out there so to use it to describe something bad is rather disrespectful to gay people whether it is intended or not.

BUT a word can gain a new meaning right? I'm pretty sure people reacted this way when us gays started using the word to describe us as a group of people.

[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Tom

why? its just a turn of phrase. doesn't mean anything about your intellect

Because you're using a word in completely the wrong context. 'Gay' is a sexuality, not a descriptive word for bad things.

[Miss Ivy Balls]

Originally Posted by Me!

I'm gay myself and I even say it....so I think its harmless. It's just like the way gay used to mean happy. Words change over time I guess.

Exactly, but now it is sexuality so using the word gay is described to something bad.

This is soo gay.

Therefore, in another sense meaning homosexuality is bad/wrong etc.

It is just the way society is and I think people follow things, but totally understandable why someone would think it is offensive.

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Thomas C

Exactly, but now it is sexuality so using the word gay is described to something bad.

This is soo gay.

Therefore, in another sense meaning homosexuality is bad/wrong etc.

It is just the way society is and I think people follow things, but totally understandable why someone would think it is offensive.

True, I just think that most of us teens say it because everyone else does and not because we're all a bunch of homophobic idiots lmao.

[Miss Ivy Balls]

Originally Posted by Me!

BUT a word can gain a new meaning right? I'm pretty sure people reacted this was when us gays started using the word to describe us as a group of people.

I will take Jack's post for this:

Because you're using a word in completely the wrong context. 'Gay' is a sexuality, not a descriptive word for bad things.

What new meaning then? Gay is a sexuality not a word to describe something as bad, unless you think homosexuality is bad? Obviously you don't because you're gay yourself. When you say something is gay, you're saying it is bad. What other word does gay stand for? Not happy in this case because you're saying something is bad. As far as I'm aware the only other meaning of gay is sexuality.

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Thomas C

I will take Jack's post for this:



What new meaning then? Gay is a sexuality not a word to describe something as bad, unless you think homosexuality is bad? Obviously you don't because you're gay yourself. When you say something is gay, you're saying it is bad. What other word does gay stand for? Not happy in this case because you're saying something is bad. As far as I'm aware the only other meaning of gay is sexuality.

I tend to say more out of frustration/thinking something is stupid etc. I would say the new meaning would be someone showing discontent towards something. But like I said before, most people say because everyone else does. I personally wouldn't connect it to homophobia now although that was probably was the case when people started tossing the word around. The same thing has happened to many other words. Take the word negro for example. Even it is widely considered by most people to be extremely offensive today, many black people refer to each other in its modern form *****.

I think that the way gay is being used now by my generation will probably fizzle out as we get older. It might be passed down to the next, it might not. Personally I think it won't.

[MrGaryy]

I understand that most people don't say it with malice or intend to offend anyone but I just don't understand why they couldn't just use another word that doesn't run the risk of offending ANY minority group. surely thats easier for everyone?

but yeah I think it's damaging. ultimately it's breeding kids' minds into thinking that gay people are something wrong that should be looked down upon.

[KG.]

It doesn't bother me, but I don't really think it's right.. Maybe not damaging.

There would be outrage if we started calling bad or useless things 'black.'

[Shaun]

I think maybe I picked the wrong word - cause for offence is more appropriate.

I see it as quite similar to the N word. There are those amongst the LGBT community (I hate to call them a community since the majority of us don't sit around in pink gazebos sipping tea (though I'd like to)) who have kind of embraced the word in an empowering sense.

But they're naive to overlook the historically bad contexts the words have been used in.