is 'gay' an insult?

[Cheese]

People who laugh at their own jokes are ghey.

[Busyman]

People who laugh at their own jokes are ghey.

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...

[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

[Darth Sushi]

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

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

[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.