I don't get offended by it but just find it annoying in a shallow sort of way. It sounds like the person saying it is just too lazy to find a better term for whatever they find so disdainful.
It doesnt bother me and I use it sometimes. I will sometimes tell a mate that they look gay as a joke. I hear it said so often that I now use it out of habit.
I don't care, and I've probably used it that way a few times myself. I've heard much worse things; why get angry over a fairly innocuous statement?
Even here, where English is not a native language, I hear it. They use it in Dutch sentences and I hate it. I'm glad my friends don't use it!
I used to hate it, but i realized that there was nothing i can do to stop it. Now i just ignore it and try to forget about it. i have a classmate that uses it frequently in that sense, and just deal with it. hes kinda backed down a bit though, since i came out. all of my classmates are backing down a bit
It doesn't offend me. I just think if people wish not to offen anyone, then just use a different word. It's not that hard just to avoid the confusion completely. If you want to really use it BECAUSE you think it might be offensive, then it would annoy me.
Such usage of the word "gay" bother me - I find that it's just a word, which so happens to have three meanings, i.e. "happy", "homosexual", and "lame". I would be displeased if someone used it hatefully, intentionally alluding to the LGBT community, but otherwise, I'm fine with it. Anyway, whereas this holds true for English, it doesn't for Macedonian. In Macedonian, we use the word for "gay" not only in the sense of "lame", but also to denote unbecoming/impolite behaviour - for example, if someone leaves without saying goodbye, that would be called "gay", as would intentionally not answering a telephone call or lying to someone to protect oneself. Using "gay" in this latter sense really bothers me, especially when it's said in regard to something I don't actually consider objectionable. For example, if I don't want to help someone cheat during an exam or if I don't want to go out with someone because I'm tired and they tell me "don't be gay", I would be irritated. Sometimes I feel like replying "well too bad, I am", although I know that wouldn't make much sense - I would basically confirming that whatever she was criticizing really applies to homosexuals. By the way, I think that in English, the equivalent of this would be "don't be a pussy", though this implies some cowardliness/weakness whereas the Macedonian "don't be gay" doesn't.
It doesn't bother me enough to where I would speak up about it, but I don't say it in that sense anymore. There are much better ways to describe something as being "lame" or "stupid" without having to call it "gay".
Whenever I hear someone say something is gay meaning stupid, I usually tell them Yeah, Im pretty sure that ____ isnt a homosexual. It is one of my biggest pet peeves when someone says that something is gay by using it in a bad way. Unless they are happy (which cmon who uses gay to mean happy anymore) or a homosexual dont say something is gay if they are not.
I really don't like that use, but it has become something I have heard so much I have caught myself regurgitating it upon occasion. Usually feel like an ass afterwards too.
Using "gay" in a derogatory way is pretty gay. But seriously, it's not a cute habit to get into. Though, I don't get bent out of shape if someone does use "gay" that way.
When I hear people use it, it signals to me that they're probably homophobes and/or transphobes that I would do best to avoid. Either that, or they're twelve.
I REALLY dislike it. It has a really negative subconcious impact on young kids at school & teens. It was used a lot in my school and it just made the possiblity of being 'gay' all the more negative. It is just really unnecessary & homophobic. Like imagine if when people said 'That's So gay' the word 'gay' was replaced by a ethnic minority or even a religion...how insulting would that sound? Actually just 40-50 years ago certain ethnic minority names would actually be used in such a way...probably still are in some places. I don't usually get bothered anymore though, heck my friends use it sometimes. But I hope it stops being used so that young kids who might be gay don't have to see the word being used in a negative light.
Man, I use it. I dislike that I use it just like I dislike the fact that I curse. I, don't feel offended by it, it is just inexact language. I've been thinking actually about Winston Churchill and his HUGE lexicon and how his language was beautifully precise. What bothers me about my using it is that it doesn't MEAN anything. It's so ambiguous that when we say it we aren't actually saying anything at all because it has varying meanings to everyone. Which is unfortunate considering that we speak a language with an enormous if not the most amount of adjectives. I am trying not to use it.
I picked the most popular option. I don't like this use at all. Is it that lameness is in some way is connected to NOT being heteronormative - perhaps less coordinated, more nerdy, less socially capable, or something along those lines? Read this link on Wikipedia. In paragraph 2, it says that the word gay didn't even come into use until the mid 20th century, so this meaning is a relatively recent concoction. We all know that it meant being happy and jolly prior to that. I referred to this article when looking up LGBT celebrities I admired in a previous thread. List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, it means "lame" or "foolish." I think the word gay is getting lamer and lamer all the time and a replacement is needed.
i was at my mom's a few months ago, and my great nephews were there. the younger one said he was playing with his dolls, star wars figures. his older brother, says "gaaayyy" the little fellas face just dropped and he looked down. i leaned in and "whispered" loud enough for everyone to hear, "thats ok he played with dolls too, he called them action figures but they were dolls" the older one looked shocked and the younger had a big grin on his face. i winked at the younger and just shook my head at the older and walked away. cracked up laughing when i was out of sight.
Thanks. You actually made me realise just how much more I need to hit people over the head when they use it that way. I've forgotten just how much pain and suffering is caused by it's misuse every day for a minute there. Well, I will up my efforts to stop people misusing the word so much.
