Does gay as a derogatory term offend you?

[chadachada123]

It's not worth the effort to try and combat its use anymore. There are kids that use the term without even knowing that it's old definition refers to homosexuals, in much the same way that saying "that's a Gyp" does not have any meaning in reference to the Roma people to the vast majority of people that say it.

Trying to fight it is just a waste of resources. I, too, have a gay friend that uses that and "******" fairly frequently, because he understands that context is extremely important. Making fun of inanimate objects using slurs, though? There's no reason to attach extra weight to whatever slur ends up being used.

It would be polite to not use it in front of someone that has expressed disapproval, but I see no problem with its general use in today's culture.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Thing is "Gay" used to mean "happy", and then homosexuals took the word to mean their sexuality. Now others are using it to mean "lame". You cant complain that the words usage has been changed, you already changed its original meaning already.

Either way, i dont think its needed, you dont need to use remarks pertaining to a persons sexuality, religion or race just because you think something sucks or that you got beaten by someone in a game.

 

[BodomBeachChild]

Short answer: No. Long answer: Nope.

 

[mitchell271]

Yes, it does bother me that people use "gay" as an insult. For starters, it should be more of a compliment; it means you're comfortable with who you are as a person. Plus, all my gay friends are awesome! I love how some people are all for same-sex marriage and still use gay as an insult. Hypocrite much?

 

[babinro]

As with any word it entirely depends on the context.

It's sad that people still have the mindset that being gay is somehow horrible.
This has especially been reinforced in Diablo 3 chat channels recently.
It doesn't actually offend me though.

As early as 10 years ago I used to always use the term gay for something I didn't like. I never used it as an insult towards someone though. I've since avoided/stopped using the term altogether as it comes across as ignorant IMO.

 

[SodaDew]

I'm straight, and can understand why some people would be offended by it due to the stigma the word has developed. But I personally use the word gay to just as a quick way for saying homosexual, and don't mean any offense by it. I've never heard anyone once in conversation say their a heterosexual, they just say straight. Their shorter easier words to use in conversation.

 

[Quadocky]

Yes because it contributes to the notion that homosexuals are somehow lesser whether you mean to or not.

 

[jpoon]

No offense ever taken from me, I find that shit hilarious usually. Gotta disparage someone, ya know...

 

[BENZOOKA]

Not at all. I just think it's juvenile. As well as a tell from a lack of intelligence in some cases.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I have a very colourful vocabulary, but I tend to avoid gay as a demeaning term as a courtesy to the LGBT community. I think that people who use 'gay' as their exclusive word for something that they dislike are dumbshit ****-bubbling fucksticks.

When someone says "gay", "******" or "retard" I get the urge to rip their throats out. So I suppose that counts as being offended.

Why so sensitive? Are you a gay retarded faget or something.

I'm sorry, that was mean.

 

[Mr F.]

Yep.

It does.

Nuff said.

Its not the term, it is the fact that the term is used.

 

[KefkaCultist]

Spoiler: This video comes to mind.

No it doesn't offend me at all unless it's directed AS AN INSULT at me. Hell, I'll still say something is gay occasionally (a lot less than I used to though) and I even sometimes call my friend a ****** when he's being one (see above video).

 

[Torrasque]

I made a thread about this a while ago, but I'll just put my TL;DR opinion here:
I hate when it is used out of context, especially for inanimate objects like, "Man, did you see that camper with the shotgun? He has been there all game! HE KILLED ME AGAIN! THAT IS SO FUCKING GAY!"

No, it is not gay. It is stupid, annoying, retarded, etc.
In no way is his sitting there in that corner homosexual. In no way is your going over there and dying the same way repeatedly, gay.

I understand that in today's world, gay = stupid/bad; I get that society has changed that word and it's context, but that doesn't mean I have to like it or agree to it. So long as 'gay' is in the transitional stage of meaning two different things (homosexual & bad) I will try my best to not use it.

I have nothing against calling people I dislike 'faggots', but I still use that term sparingly.
Maybe I'll look for my thread later... It explains it better.

 

[Relish in Chaos]

Haven?t we done this song-and-dance before? Context is important, a word?s only powerful when you give it that power, blah blah. Yeah, I?m heterosexual and I use ?gay? as a light-hearted derogatory term among friends. And they liberally use ?nigga? around me and to occasionally insult me, a black person, and I don?t give a shit. It?s not as if I was in the slave trade, was I? So I have no valid reason to be offended, other than the media and everyone else saying, ?You shouldn?t say the n-word because some black people, who actually never shared the experience of slaves, might not like it.?

I do consciously rein myself back when I?m around actual gay people, though. I rarely use ?******?, though, and have all but stopped using ?tranny?, because they?re more obvious slurs.

It?s not about insecurity or homophobia (for most people, at least). It?s just that people don?t think that much about it. It?s habit. When you hear people around you using it regularly, you pick up on it and then things spill out without you really noticing the true meaning of the word. You don?t have to be sexist to make fun of your friend for ?screaming like a girl?. You don?t have to be religious to tell someone to ?go to Hell?.

Maybe I?m a dick for using it, maybe I?m not. Of course, I can?t truly know how a gay person would feel to hear someone using the name of their sexuality as an insult, but, to be honest, I just don?t care. I?ll say what I want, and to even it out, you have every right to say what you want. ?Retard?, ?coon?, ?pussy?, ?cocksucker?, ?fatty?, whatever. They?re just words.

 

[Mikeyfell]

It offends me. I'm not gay, but I'm still offended when people use "Gay" to mean "Bad"

The example I use to defend my stupid point is "What if I went around saying, 'Wow, (insert crappy thing here) is so Jewish.'"

On the other hand calling a person a fag, instead of asshole or douchebag doesn't bother me because the point of that is to offend and not explain an opinion. And if someone is being that much of a dickhead they're probably homophobic enough for "fag" to really get under their skin.

 

[Vidiot]

Wow... it's barely past noon and this is the second time I've been made to feel ancient.

I grew up in a small redneck town where there was no difference between "that's so gay" and "that guy is gay" when it came to word connotation. People in my high-school thought I was gay because I couldn't get a date, and as a consequence, I've been stabbed, shot at, and beaten more than I feel would have been my fair share. This attitude is no better than when my friend would have his grandpa over and he would describe things as "n*gger music, n*gger car, n*gger movie" just to name a few. He didn't directly mean anything about black people, he was expressing his distaste for that style of clothing, music, and the fact that he hated anyone with brown or darker skin had nothing to do with it in his mind.

It's an attitude that comes about when hate has boiled dry a long time ago, and all that's left is bitterness toward a particular group. The negative connotation comes from the words roots as a racial slur, otherwise it wouldn't necessarily be a negative word.

I find that these days the use of the word gay makes me just as uncomfortable as that old coot did.

 

[HHammond]

A little bit.

As a few people have stated, no matter how desperately you try to justify using the word in a derogatory fashion, no matter if it's that you don't really mean or the word has come to mean something, there is still some very, very unfortunate undertones. Namely, that being gay is something that is wrong. In a world where there are so many kids who feel ashamed because people tell them being gay is wrong, where kids are bullied and even kill themselves, using the word "gay" contributes and is extremely harmful.

HOWEVER, I shall now get off my soapbox and say that I do use the word very occasionally and only for comic effect. As I am gay I do occasionally use it in a sarcastic "GAAAAAAAAY!" ironic sort of way. I only do this in my circle of friends though because as a group we're all fairly... well of the 17 of us at least 6 of us have had some sort of gay/lesbian interaction.

 

[TeletubbiesGolfGun]

...

...

Not really.
It's used so commonly, the term has practically lost all meaning.

I yell 'that's so hetrosexual' all the time, most people laugh.

So no, laugh at everything, or laugh at nothing, If a person is using it aggressively, I usually take issue with their intent, not the words they're using. In text it's more difficult to pin point so should be used very very sparingly and in company you know face to face usually.

Words are a tool to convey emotion remember, so try to pin point that emotion first before you go all 'GRRR censorship'.


Words are words are words. They're powerful, but only if you let them have that kind of power.



I'd be glad to share my negative experiences with insecure homophobic cretins to validate my point and 'street cred' but I don't think it serves much purpose, this is my own take on how I see the world, you don't have to agree with it, but I would hope it does invoke a little thought about how reacting to words negatively can increase the power they wield over you.

both of these here.

context is everything to me, you could say "shitty tit anal fuck huge gay dick in a ******" and if your context was "oh hello there, quite a lovely day, isn't it?" i would concur.

i'll pull the reigns in around people i don't know usually, unless they are in fact being a fag, then i might just troll them for lulz sake, but otherwise i couldn't care less.


"that's so heterosexual", lol, i'm going to have to find a creative way to use that...

 

[SpectacularWebHead]

I take offence to the wider subtext that being gay is a bad thing. I'm Bi, Btw.

 

[LetalisK]

I think I generally only use the term "gay" when I'm appealing to the gay stereotype[footnote]"That's a pretty magenta....wow, that was kinda gay"[/footnote].