[Ben]

Gay people who say ‘gay’ *don’t* use it as a term of derision. There are plenty of traits overrepresented among gay people — effemininity, for example — and the term gains those connotations. ‘That hairstyle is really gay’, to them, doesn’t mean ‘that hairstlye sucks’ or ‘that hairstyle has sex with other hairstyles that are the same gender’ but something along the lines of ‘that hairstyle reminds me of hairstyles I’ve seen gay people wear’ or even just ‘that hairstyle is kind of cool, in a sleek, forward way’. Amomg gay people, in fact, ‘gay’ is starting to be preferred to ‘homosexual’, which has something of a medical connotation. This is why we’re pissed off when people use it to mean ‘crappy’ — especially because its connotations in that usage are exactly the connotations we’re trying to detatch from non-heterosexuality (e.g. spectacularly uncool, totally non-self-aware).

User Detail :  

Name : Ben, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 21, City : Ann Arbor, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : pizza delivery, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Ashley20357]

It’s just turned into slang. I have many gay friends and some of them use it themselves. They are quite open minded, and don’t let it get to them.

User Detail :  

Name : Ashley20357, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 18, City : Pasadena, State : MD, Country : United States, 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, 

[Nick20026]

I think this is only common among people who disagree with homosexuality. Gay equals bad or weird or New Age-fruity. If it bothers you, just wait a week for a new slang term to become popular, or maybe you could man up and stop whining.

User Detail :  

Name : Nick20026, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : College Station, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : Soldier, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Kara26754]

I am a teenager, and the word ‘gay ,.. is just gay ,..sorry to offend any homosexual people, but Im from the South, being gay is just not acceptable here. So I’ll have to say being ‘gay’ just means stupid, or kiddish, or something for ‘younger’ kids. If you are a homosexual,..dont take it personally, but kids don’t always understand …so we just use words that trigger our thoughts.

User Detail :  

Name : Kara26754, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 14, City : Cooter, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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