I didn't say homosexual...I said gay. Gay has many meanings...happy, homosexual and stupid. While "stupid" gay may be slang it is still widely used and has nothing to do with "homosexual" gay.
The political correctness in the world is too much for me to handle sometimes.
The gay=stupid thing doesn't come from anywhere but the idea that gay=wrong. These days, the only time people use gay=happy is when they're singing the Flintstones theme song, or "Deck The Halls". Its meaning has fully evolved.
I don't usually preach from the PC pulpit -- I'm all for calling them Christmas Trees, because that's what they friggin' are. But this is one that, if some kid uses it in class (e.g. "That's so gay"), I halt everything and we have a little chewing-out session. The way I see it, there's a decent chance someone in the room is strugging with their own sexuality, and it doesn't help if people around them are saying that being queer is bad. Lord knows it's happened before in my class.
You show me how it clearly evolved from the thought that being homosexual is wrong and I will stop using it.
Don't you think alternatively the term "gay as in silly or stupid" could have evolved from the fact that "gay as in happy" was an old fashioned term that teenagers decided to use to describe things that they thought were silly or not cool, or old fashioned??
There are many slang terms that have several meanings like BAD, and SWEET and HOT.
I have never used the term gay to mean that only homosexuals would like it. This is silly.
Why are people preaching to you about gay? It means whatever the hell you mean for it to mean. That's the way it works nowadays. Anyone who wants to redefine a word gets to. No one gets to judge you. That's the PC rule, although it never gets applied to anything or anyone that the PC police don't like. Fuck'em anyway.
it's your blog, honeypants, i am pretty sure that you can use the word gay however you damn well please. and it's pretty gay for anyone to tell you otherwise.
oh and my thing says 'charming hottie rendering intense stimulation and thrilling yeses'
Honeypants? Oh, i gotta remember that one! I think it fits, though...good call, Christy. Don't let people tell you how to speak. She can tell her students how to speak. And her children. And her whipped husband, who's gay. Sorry, that was childish. ha ha ha
We bandy-about the adjective "Nazi" pretty freely around these parts, calling people Soup Nazis and such. But, in Germany, calling someone a Nazi is tantamount to slander or libel. To them it means something much different; they have their own connotation very freshly attached to those four letters, and it's strong.
When a situation comes up in class where a student says something is "gay," and I call them on it, we inevitably start talking about its connection to homosexuality. A lot of these kids think being gay is absolutely a negative thing. (Maybe they're trying to put up a tough front, in front of their friends.) The things they're describing as "gay" are negative as well. Therefore, when they're using "gay," it's an insult, clearly linked to homosexuality.
Or, perhaps not. Hell, I was raised around the expression "to Jew someone down," which meant "to bargain with someone." Did I know then that it was an incredibly racist slur? No, but it sure makes me cringe when I realize I must've used it in passing when I was a teenager.
To give this a twist, though... how do you feel about the word fag? Or what about calling someone a retard? How about nigger? Raghead?
It seems like I'm painting an extreme picture here, but believe me, it can be a slippery slope when the ramifications of words aren't fully realized.
Nigger is only okay if you are black and you want to use it. Nigga is better. But still only if you are black.
Raghead is kinda confusing so no.
I'm not playing anymore JTL. And I think you should realize that you are not going to stop people from using that word in a silly way just by chewing out one group of kids. How old are these kids anyway? Do they need to be having discussions about homosexuality with you? Or maybe they should just be learning math and english.
JTL obviously picked the wrong career. He wants to be a preacher on Mtv. I'm sure all the toddlers' parents are thrilled to know that a 28-year-old is preaching the gospel according to Paula Poundstone to their children.
17 comments:
Oh look. I'm first in line for THAT!
That's great! I put mine on my wildvisions site :)
Oh that's too much fun!
I'll post mine tomorrow.
:)
M~
I'll be right behind zona boy on that line.
I can see it now. You, me, a bottle of Chianti and some fava beans! LOL. Have a great day
Would you mind not using "gay" as a put-down? I realize it's all in jest, but words do actually mean something.
Thanks.
I didn't say homosexual...I said gay. Gay has many meanings...happy, homosexual and stupid. While "stupid" gay may be slang it is still widely used and has nothing to do with "homosexual" gay.
The political correctness in the world is too much for me to handle sometimes.
The gay=stupid thing doesn't come from anywhere but the idea that gay=wrong. These days, the only time people use gay=happy is when they're singing the Flintstones theme song, or "Deck The Halls". Its meaning has fully evolved.
I don't usually preach from the PC pulpit -- I'm all for calling them Christmas Trees, because that's what they friggin' are. But this is one that, if some kid uses it in class (e.g. "That's so gay"), I halt everything and we have a little chewing-out session. The way I see it, there's a decent chance someone in the room is strugging with their own sexuality, and it doesn't help if people around them are saying that being queer is bad. Lord knows it's happened before in my class.
You show me how it clearly evolved from the thought that being homosexual is wrong and I will stop using it.
Don't you think alternatively the term "gay as in silly or stupid" could have evolved from the fact that "gay as in happy" was an old fashioned term that teenagers decided to use to describe things that they thought were silly or not cool, or old fashioned??
There are many slang terms that have several meanings like BAD, and SWEET and HOT.
I have never used the term gay to mean that only homosexuals would like it. This is silly.
They've got you pegged!
I think.
Why are people preaching to you about gay? It means whatever the hell you mean for it to mean. That's the way it works nowadays. Anyone who wants to redefine a word gets to. No one gets to judge you. That's the PC rule, although it never gets applied to anything or anyone that the PC police don't like. Fuck'em anyway.
it's your blog, honeypants, i am pretty sure that you can use the word gay however you damn well please. and it's pretty gay for anyone to tell you otherwise.
oh and my thing says 'charming hottie rendering intense stimulation and thrilling yeses'
interesting.
Honeypants? Oh, i gotta remember that one! I think it fits, though...good call, Christy.
Don't let people tell you how to speak. She can tell her students how to speak. And her children. And her whipped husband, who's gay.
Sorry, that was childish. ha ha ha
We bandy-about the adjective "Nazi" pretty freely around these parts, calling people Soup Nazis and such. But, in Germany, calling someone a Nazi is tantamount to slander or libel. To them it means something much different; they have their own connotation very freshly attached to those four letters, and it's strong.
When a situation comes up in class where a student says something is "gay," and I call them on it, we inevitably start talking about its connection to homosexuality. A lot of these kids think being gay is absolutely a negative thing. (Maybe they're trying to put up a tough front, in front of their friends.) The things they're describing as "gay" are negative as well. Therefore, when they're using "gay," it's an insult, clearly linked to homosexuality.
Or, perhaps not. Hell, I was raised around the expression "to Jew someone down," which meant "to bargain with someone." Did I know then that it was an incredibly racist slur? No, but it sure makes me cringe when I realize I must've used it in passing when I was a teenager.
To give this a twist, though... how do you feel about the word fag? Or what about calling someone a retard? How about nigger? Raghead?
It seems like I'm painting an extreme picture here, but believe me, it can be a slippery slope when the ramifications of words aren't fully realized.
Retard is okay.
Fag is a cigarette.
Nigger is only okay if you are black and you want to use it. Nigga is better. But still only if you are black.
Raghead is kinda confusing so no.
I'm not playing anymore JTL. And I think you should realize that you are not going to stop people from using that word in a silly way just by chewing out one group of kids. How old are these kids anyway? Do they need to be having discussions about homosexuality with you? Or maybe they should just be learning math and english.
JTL obviously picked the wrong career. He wants to be a preacher on Mtv. I'm sure all the toddlers' parents are thrilled to know that a 28-year-old is preaching the gospel according to Paula Poundstone to their children.
Hallelujah.
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