is 'gay' an insult?

[TheDave]

not an offensive one, just a jokey "xbox is gay" type one :unsure:

[tesco]

i use it is as a joke insult.
not meant to hurt anyone, and i have nothing against gays.

[ofbz]

same here... use it as a joke all the time... but i don't use it in front of gay people....

[orcutt989]

"Gay" makes no sense. It is like "That is so Jewish". Or, "That is so Canadian".

[vidcc]

It all depends on who or what you call "gay". Say it to me and it's not an insult even though i am a hetrosexual. It's not an insult because i don't find it offensive.

Say it to Jerry Falwell and it is an insult. For those that don't know who he is Falwell (http://www.falwell.com/?a=) . He said that God allowed the attack on the USA because....


"I fear... that [September 11th] is only the beginning. ...If, in fact, God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve ... I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle ... all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say `you helped this happen.'"

[Rip The Jacker]

"Gay" is not an insult, but often used as an insult.

[Barbarossa]

I think we should work to getting the word gay back to it's former meaning - "happy and carefree"..

[TheDave]

i had a bi friend and we made gay jokes all the time :blink:

[Busyman]

edited

[Busyman]

i had a bi friend and we made gay jokes all the time :blink:
...about the size of your penis or how wide your ass opens? :blink:


:lol: :lol:

[Cheese]

People who laugh at their own jokes are ghey.

[Busyman]

People who laugh at their own jokes are ghey.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm laughing at yours now. Is that a switch?

[BawA]

yes, its insult...

[Illuminati]

For chavs, neds, CS geeks and similar teenagers (especially down the 13YO end of the scale), it is.

For anyone else who likes to display a bit of intelligence, it isn't.

[TheDave]

come to think of it i cant remember any specific jokes, maybe i just bullied him :shame:









j/k btw

[Afronaut]

A finnish word for gey is Homo.
If it is used between ppl who dont know ech other, it is an insult.

Some folks, like Illuminati so well put usues the word Homo between then
as a joke. The key thing is, you have to know who you're calling "homo".

Kids forget sometimes things when they're amongst adults.
Hell, I should be more carefull when I speak, i use a lot of swearing also.
I think if you go to a mall and scream your loungs out "Homo" for no apparent reason,
I dont think you'll get a lot of friends with it.

I think is is one of the Bad words to watch out.
be carefull when to use it, sort of.

Also, it can be rather funny somethimes...
:D

[Jon L. Obscene]

Yes I think it is, it's a word associated with Homosexuals and in your context is presented with a derogatory manner.

No different to saying something is black or pakistani.

Having said that if no one is around who will be offended like you and your mates at home then anything goes if you're all happy with that, it's the only place freedom of speach is truely free.

Jonno :cool:

[Darth Sushi]

not an offensive one, just a jokey "xbox is gay" type one :unsure:
That depends who you're telling. If it's Pee-Wee Herman, it's ok. If it's Mike Tyson, you should be a least an Olympic sprinter :rolleyes:

[sArA]

I think we should work to getting the word gay back to it's former meaning - "happy and carefree"..


I agree...I have always felt it is such a shame that the real meaning of the word was appropriated by homosexuals (for good reason at the time I am sure) and is now used as an insult or joke as well as a description.

Its original meaning is a far better use of the word imo...I am sad that I cannot be gay without being considered homosexual.

The problem is, there is no good substitute for 'gay' as a description of a happy state of being and so it has been lost in favour of clumsy explanations such as happy and carefree but which don't really get the meaning across in context.

[j2k4]

I agree...I have always felt it is such a shame that the real meaning of the word was appropriated by homosexuals (for good reason at the time I am sure) and is now used as an insult or joke as well as a description.

Its original meaning is a far better use of the word imo...I am sad that I cannot be gay without being considered homosexual.

The problem is, there is no good substitute for 'gay' as a description of a happy state of being and so it has been lost in favour of clumsy explanations such as happy and carefree but which don't really get the meaning across in context.

To sum up, then:

To call someone "gay" in any context other than sexual preference is, in the main, an insult.

Please note this, all of you who purport to sanction the definitional two-step when discussing words such as "assimilation", or "ignorant", etc.

Dictionaries are wonderful things if not abused; the PC crowd can go suck eggs, and I do not mean that in any figurative sense. ;)

[manker]

Gay can also be used as a compliment.

It is epitomised in the dire TV programme 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' where homosexual guys make fat straight blokes look presentable, but the notion that gay folk are better groomed and better with colours was initially hinted at on programs such as Changing Rooms and since has progressed to the stage where to be a male on an interior decor program you literally have to be a homosexual.

Recently I overheard the missus say to her friend on the telephone that I'd bought her a great outfit and that in general my taste in clothes for her is only bettered by her friend Alun - who is gay.

So my choosing an outfit being likened to a gay person's choice in clothing was a compliment, no?

[j2k4]

Gay can also be used as a compliment.

It is epitomised in the dire TV programme 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' where homosexual guys make fat straight blokes look presentable, but the notion that gay folk are better groomed and better with colours was initially hinted at on programs such as Changing Rooms and since has progressed to the stage where to be a male on an interior decor program you literally have to be a homosexual.

Recently I overheard the missus say to her friend on the telephone that I'd bought her a great outfit and that in general my taste in clothes for her is only bettered by her friend Alun - who is gay.

So my choosing an outfit being likened to a gay person's choice in clothing was a compliment, no?

If you choose to take it that way, sure.

Seems to me to also be a nod and affirmation to gays' general abilities in the arena of adornment: If it's ugly (no matter what it is), a gay person can make it look better.

Somehow I see objections being raised to this type of generalization, much as blacks were upset when it was noticed that, by and large, they were physically superior athletes.

I think the whole issue is gay-

Lord, what an ugly house!

Call the Homosexual Contractor's Guild immediately!

[manker]

:lol:

Well, I haven't noted any objections yet, J2. Apart from by straight interior designers, who presumably find the whole concept rather irritating and career inhibiting.

Btw, being a chap of taste and discernment I felt it necessary to change my hairdresser for a gentleman with a slightly more fey stance and a much higher vocal intonation. http://img44.exs.cx/img44/3793/snooty.gif

[j2k4]

:lol:

Well, I haven't noted any objections yet, J2. Apart from by straight interior designers, who presumably find the whole concept rather irritating and career inhibiting.

Btw, being a chap of taste and discernment I felt it necessary to change my hairdresser for a gentleman with a slightly more fey stance and a much higher vocal intonation. http://img44.exs.cx/img44/3793/snooty.gif

The objections will come, trust me; when it becomes obvious that such stereotyping (for that is precisely what it is, yes?) is a pure-D insult.

As to your last, go for the more freely-flowing nasal version, and get one who speaks with palms raised and facing outward.

They're supposed to be much more serviceable (or so I've heard). :P

[vidcc]

As to your last, go for the more freely-flowing nasal version, and get one who speaks with palms raised and facing outward.

They're supposed to be much more serviceable (or so I've heard). :P
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Al_Jolson_Jazz_Singer.JPG

he was gay? :unsure:

[Jon L. Obscene]

Gay can also be used as a compliment.


Thats a very unstable statement imo, many offensive phrases and words can be used as compliments, but only to certain people , from certain people, not generally.

It all really boils down to who says it to who and in which context, if a little old lady said "You're very gay today :) " you would take it as her meaning you're happy, if a drunk twat in a pub said "You're gay" you would take offence, or most people would take some form of offence.

I've always said it's not possible to determine what offends, someone can call me a "twat" and I'll laugh, someone I don't know says it and I would'nt like it.

I honestly don't think it's possible to say "Gay in insulting" or "Gay is not insulting"
Some will be offended, some wont it comes down to either knowing someone or being able to read a person so you know roughly what you can say to them.

Jonno :cool:

[h121589]

"Gay" is not an insult, but often used as an insult.
yup :D

[j2k4]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Al_Jolson_Jazz_Singer.JPG

he was gay? :unsure:

Jolson?

Not that I'm aware of, but where he is concerned I don't claim any special awareness.

Well-spotted, BTW-apart from any specific knowledge about his sexual peccadilloes, he would seem to fit the described parameters perfectly. :D

[CoolMac]

That depends on the person, if i were gay i wouldn't be insulted to be called gay.

[brenda]

People who know me know that that I do not mean any offense by using the word, or many other words for that matter. When in the company of people who don't know me I am someone else entirely and try to be alert to my use of language so as not to offend.