morfe
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so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 12:04
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Anyone here (across pond cuz's included) bothered by the increasing tendency of modern Americans using 'gay' as an adjective for something ineffective, stupid, unattractive, pathetic &c?
"Morfe, you're just being gay" will not suffice as an answer ;-)
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PMM
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 12:50
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Lost philological battle there, Morfe. People were upset when 'Gay' was hijacked as a synonym for homosexuality in the first place, although I think its present evolution is founded in homophobia to a great extent, on which basis I do disapprove.
I also think a perfectly good word like 'pants' is misplaced as a synonym for rubbish, but there you go.
Apart from that, I'm perfectly happy. Gay even.
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Rhiannon
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 12:52
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I didn't realise it was an american thing? Some of my friends use the word in something like that way. In fact I admit it's rubbed off on me and I've used it myself. But I wouldn't connect it with being 'sad and pathetic'. More (can I think of an example) - I know my friends will have used it about cars for example. Maybe the new beetle, or something (ok I know nothing about cars). When they've/I've used the word it's not about being pathetic but more being ostentatious and flashy, but in a misplaced uncool way.
Am I digging a hole? Ok it's not a positive meaning but it's not a nasty word either, more descriptive of an attitude. I'm sure they don't use it with much reference to the sexuality meaning of 'gay'. And let's not forget that words can have more than one meaning. I mean 'gay' fairly littered my school reading books as a child, as in A Gay Frock, and I would still use the word in that way on occasion.
Get out of this one rhiannon.
I have no idea how they use the word in america. Do elaborate. And I'll get my coat.
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ratcni01
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 13:14
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My kids use it from time to time in a negative sense, I don't lecture them about it, they have picked it up from the school playground. I have explained to them what I think, that it's not an appropiate use of the word etc.
Mind you they are too young to turn it into a big issue, and they use words like dan and sick for good things, in the negative they use bob and bowl (although this latter is more used in the context of replacing the word ner, as in "so ner :-P" replaced with "so bowl :-P", and is getting passe!)
Not heard gay used by any adults ... yet
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Rhiannon
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 13:25
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So are your children using it to mean "ineffective, stupid, unattractive, pathetic " like Morfe suggests? I'm sure I haven't heard it used in such a way to just mean 'crap'. perhaps my so-called-adult friends are genuinely using it in a more complicated way. Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into it - they obviously don't do it in a serious way, they put a 'silly voice' on to say it. (I'm sure some people will be offended nevertheless).
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Rhiannon
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dan, sick, bob, bowl.
God I really am getting old.
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morfe
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 14:54
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"Lost philological battle there, Morfe"
Have to disagree there PMM, in that I asked only IF it bothered people :-)
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morfe
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 15:12
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"I have no idea how they use the word in america. Do elaborate"
Sorry for not putting examples Rhiannon, I'm being tardy as usual!
a quick google found me these:
"yall are so gay for being racist i like ppl for who they are not by the color of there skin so yall can go fuck yalls self "
Rather a good example of how twisted-up language and meaning can become ;-) Fancy being called gay for being racist? I guess there's progress! I guess...
Apparently we in the UK have been slower to pick up on this one than we did skateboards and 'attitude'. In the US some say as far back as the 70's 'gay' was a general pejorative/derogatory term that was 'apart' from being homosexual although seems to be used in a strange parallel way (pejoratively). I do get the feeling that lately it's taking on a meaning all of it's own, just as 'happy, joyful' was beaten into submission by homosexually 'gay', maybe 'gay' will eventually mean 'crap' and 'homosexual's will be called 'people'??
Here's some articles that bear that out.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=233696
http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2004/09/09/views.html
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Lawrence
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 15:14
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No. The high school I went to everyone used the term. It didn't necessarily have to do w/ homosexuality.
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Cleira
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Re: so gay?
Oct 15, 2004, 21:07
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I use the word gay regularly, but in a very positive way. If I were to describe something (eg an outfit) as gay it would be my way of complementing it. It wouldn't necessarily be an indication of good taste, mind you.
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