Is it wrong to say "that's so gay"?

I was just wondering this when I was browsing a few videos on youtube, and I wanted to see what TSR's opinions are. I admit I have said it a few times myself, just by picking it up from other people. I'm not too sure whether it's really offensive, since the word "gay" originally had a different meaning anyway (happy), but then going from describing homosexual people to saying something is lame or stupid, might be offensive. I really don't know. Do gay people (or even straight people) really find it offensive? Or is it just nothing? Discuss.

Just a couple of people's opinions, though they have low ratings so I guess a lot of YouTube users disagree with them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVicCD8FmMs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdgpgRgwM8c&feature=related

Reply 1

*MJ*

2

Yes.

People do it anyway but I think it's wrong. :smile:

Reply 2

Beautiful Nightmare

No... I always say it. It's cool ''fam''.

Reply 3

pamelaa

17

If I was gay I wouldn't be offended. I used to say it a lot when I was younger. When I said something was gay, I meant it was annoying/stupid, not that it was homosexual. It's taken on a new meaning, like you say.

Reply 4

Sephiroth

18

I don't find it offensive, but it takes a lot to offend me. It does annoy me however and it seems to be the thing that receives the most neg reps from me on here.

Used to live with a Muslin girl who would say "that's gay" to anything she didn't like. I wonder what she would have thought if I started saying "that's so Muslim" to anything I found bad. Was tempting to find out.

Reply 5

username297381

7

how could that ever be honestly interpreted as a homophobic comment

Reply 6

tehsponge

11

Wrong grammatically? Yes. Wrong as in politically correct wrong? Nah. I'm gay and I don't take offense to it; I just think the people using it as a synonym for lame/stupid; are either ignorant or have fallen into using it by influence from their peers. I've said it loads of times...

Reply 7

username234673

17

Using gay as an insult is homophobic slur.

Reply 8

Ribbits

15

I used to say it quite a lot in high school. I had a close friend who was a lesbian, and she used to say 'don't use it in that way!' but we had a constantly-ridiculing-and-making-fun-of-each-other kind of friendship so I ignored her because I knew she didn't really mind, especially since she was normally laughing too. Within a very short space of time, she started saying it in that context even more than I did, I think she still does. So evidently she doesn't seem to mind it or find it offensive.

But I no longer do.. or words like spaz (ie. 'don't spaz out!') and retarded. I stopped around year 11. I have made a concious effort to never say any of those slightly derogetory words again, because although I don't mean them in any cruel way - it doesn't feel right now in a moral sense; plus I'm just no longer 12 of course.

RE spaz, retarded et al: My sister was epileptic at the time. I honestly have never meant it in an offensive way or ever found a person who seemed even slightly offended by it. I think it is fine in some contexts and most people understand.

Reply 9

nolongerhearthemusic

13

Yes, homophobia is wrong.

Reply 10

Eiz

5

tehsponge

Wrong grammatically? Yes. Wrong as in politically correct wrong? Nah. I'm gay and I don't take offense to it; I just think the people using it as a synonym for lame/stupid; are either ignorant or have fallen into using it by influence from their peers. I've said it loads of times...

Agree with this. I don't think it is very offensive - its hard for it to be offensive because it just doesn't make any sense. 'That's so gay' - gay in what way? Happy gay or homosexual gay? Either way it doesn't work 'that's so happy', 'thats so homosexual'. Not exactly the brightest insults out there.

Its only an insult if it is directly meant as a homosexual insult, which is very rarely the case. Its just a throw away comment that people make which doesn't make any sense at all. There is no thought behind it when people say it. Should it be said? No because it is stupid. But not really offensive.

Reply 11

JW92

18

M|chael

how could that ever be honestly interpreted as a homophobic comment

If you used the word "black" or "Jewish" when you meant "crap", most people would agree that it could be interpreted as an offensive comment. Why should "gay" be any different?

Reply 12

nolongerhearthemusic

13

Pheylan

it's not really homophobia any more, just an expression

It is homophobic to use it in a negative way.

thats so gay

nolongerhearthemusic

It is homophobic to use it in a negative way.

No it is not. Homophobia is the irrational fear of gays. If you do not have an irrational fear of gays but say "don't be gay" how does that make you homophobic??

It is not wrong to use the word gay to mean something bad.

I use words like bastard, retarded, mong, and gay regularly. Yet I have nothing against people born out of wedlock, the retarded, autistic people, or homosexuals.
This may confuse some people, but it is because the meaning of words is intentional. Language constantly evolves and changes. So if I say "go **** a duck" or "suck my balls" I am not asking people to have sex with ducks, or to suck my balls, but is an expression used to communicate feeling.

If gays get offended by using the term gay in a bad way I'm not bothered. I don't mean anything bad by it. It is just the way language works.

EDIT: watch the video. Hillary duff doesn't know what she is on about and Chris Crocker omg he was talking so much crap I don't see how he can have so many subs. "look at Obama" wtf???

Reply 15

Ribbits

15

Eiz

Agree with this. I don't think it is very offensive - its hard for it to be offensive because it just doesn't make any sense. 'That's so gay' - gay in what way? Happy gay or homosexual gay? Either way it doesn't work 'that's so happy', 'thats so homosexual'. Not exactly the brightest insults out there.

Its only an insult if it is directly meant as a homosexual insult, which is very rarely the case. Its just a throw away comment that people make which doesn't make any sense at all. There is no thought behind it when people say it. Should it be said? No because it is stupid. But not really offensive.

Yes, this, especially children/teenagers. I said a lot of things (short phrases and more elaborate things) that made absolutely no sense because we were all easily amused and liked to laugh away our school days. I think it's not really that different to a stand-up act, sometimes it cuts close to the lines of bad taste and offense, but it's never meant in that way. It's just a part of being immature, or was for me.

Reply 16

micky022

16

CherryCherryBoomBoom

I was just wondering this when I was browsing a few videos on youtube, and I wanted to see what TSR's opinions are. I admit I have said it a few times myself, just by picking it up from other people. I'm not too sure whether it's really offensive, since the word "gay" originally had a different meaning anyway (happy), but then going from describing homosexual people to saying something is lame or stupid, might be offensive. I really don't know. Do gay people (or even straight people) really find it offensive? Or is it just nothing? Discuss.

Just a couple of people's opinions, though they have low ratings so I guess a lot of YouTube users disagree with them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVicCD8FmMs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdgpgRgwM8c&feature=related

Not really.

Reply 17

style

13

I used to say that alot in highschool, it was a common phrase. I'm not homophobic, it's just a phrase.
The first time someone told me it's homophobic, I was like 'realy.... I never thought of that'.
But then again I used to use alot of non pc insults; retard, cripple, schritzo/schizophrenic, spast1c.....
I probably still do occasionaly, and often do say retard/retarded.

Yes.

Why should my sexuality be used in a way to label something as bad?

It's as bad as when people used Jew in a negative way at college. That was stamped out by tutors pretty fast but calling things gay was ignored completely.

Is it wrong to say "that's so gay"?

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