“You’re so gay.”
“That’s so gay.”
“Quit being so gay.”
I hear the word “gay” being used in various sentences daily, and it gets me every time. I just want to ask the people that use homosexuality as a derogative term how they would feel if someone took something so close to them that paralleled their identity and just exploited it in such a way that tore them apart. Now I know that the people who do this generally aren’t thinking the phrase all the way through, and in some cases are even pro-gay rights, but the same delicacy goes with using the word “retarded” to describe things other than a mentally ill person.
It just isn’t nice. I heard the phrase used this way a lot more during high school, I’ll admit, but even on campus, I overhear it in conversations as I walk by at least once a week. Sometimes even my friends will use the term. It’s just frustrating, and I guess I don’t understand the appeal.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “gay” is defined as: happily excited; bright, lively; given to social pleasures; homosexual. Nowhere in this definition is negative meaning of the word portrayed. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! The word gay originally means “happily excited,” so shouldn’t such an interesting word be used to describe such things? A lot of people don’t’ know this definition of the word, to be honest. Ever since the word has come to define being homosexual as well, it unfortunately isn’t seen much places except in literature, and young foul-mouthed citizens.
“That’s so gay.”
“Quit being so gay.”
I hear the word “gay” being used in various sentences daily, and it gets me every time. I just want to ask the people that use homosexuality as a derogative term how they would feel if someone took something so close to them that paralleled their identity and just exploited it in such a way that tore them apart. Now I know that the people who do this generally aren’t thinking the phrase all the way through, and in some cases are even pro-gay rights, but the same delicacy goes with using the word “retarded” to describe things other than a mentally ill person.
It just isn’t nice. I heard the phrase used this way a lot more during high school, I’ll admit, but even on campus, I overhear it in conversations as I walk by at least once a week. Sometimes even my friends will use the term. It’s just frustrating, and I guess I don’t understand the appeal.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “gay” is defined as: happily excited; bright, lively; given to social pleasures; homosexual. Nowhere in this definition is negative meaning of the word portrayed. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! The word gay originally means “happily excited,” so shouldn’t such an interesting word be used to describe such things? A lot of people don’t’ know this definition of the word, to be honest. Ever since the word has come to define being homosexual as well, it unfortunately isn’t seen much places except in literature, and young foul-mouthed citizens.
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