[Joe30626]

I’m not sure why people do it, but it really bothers me. I think in protest I’ll start calling things I think are stupid ‘straight.’

User Detail :  

Name : Joe30626, Sexual Orientation : Straight, City : Dayton, State : OH, Country : United States, 

[Ken]

I’m a gay man but I frequently use the word gay to describe things. To me, something is gay if it is campy, light-hearted or even activist. I don’t think of it as an insult, rather a funny description. Gay people as a group tend to have different interests than others. If it seems that a particular event would appeal more to a gay mindset than a straight one, then why not call it gay?

User Detail :  

Name : Ken, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Uniter Church of Canada, Age : 23, City : Toronto, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jill30671]

Personally, I think it’s a sign of a lack of intelligence if you can’t come up with anything more than calling something ‘gay’.

User Detail :  

Name : Jill30671, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 18, City : Central, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Glorified Secretary & Peer Mentor, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Tom24146]

‘Gay’ is a word whose meaning has changed over the course of my lifetime. As a child, I used the word gay in exactly the way you describe–and I sometimes still do. Words have multiple meanings sometimes; gay used to mean ‘happy’ or ‘lively and fun’, and it still does in France (although they have borrowed the English meaning of ‘homosexual’ as well). It may seem that, when used as you describe, it is derogatory to gay people. In my mind, I can feel the distinction; if I refer to an event as ‘gay’, I am not automatically making the mental connection with homosexuality. If this happens, it is on a subconscious level, for I didn’t know that gay meant homosexual until later (my parents referred–rarely– to gay people as queer). Words have multiple meanings, and it is unfortunate that a mildly-derogatory word like ‘gay’ (‘That movie was so gay’) also refers to a group of individuals. As I said, the meaning has changed over my lifetime; that is the nature of language. We must choose our words carefully, yet also be sensitive to the policing of language.

User Detail :  

Name : Tom24146, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 34, City : Paris, State : NA, Country : France, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ed]

People use ‘gay’, mostly guys, to mean ‘stupid’, because of the image of being gay as being feminine and silly. And according to the male stereotype, being feminine is equivalent to being weak. Think about the stereotype of a ‘flamingly gay’ person, and you get images of someone to be laughed at, someone trivial. It’s the opposite of qualities traditionally associated with men, which are power and dominance. So when something non-sexual is ‘gay’, it’s a synonym for being trivial, nonsensical, or inane, which are the negative qualities males stereotypically associate with females. Actually, if you think about the use of the word ‘stupid’ itself, it’s rarely used to describe things that lack intelligence.

User Detail :  

Name : Ed, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Milpitas, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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