Gay is derogatory? - A question on terminology

[Time Sage]

fucking hell m8 you make alot of threads with titles as questions :S
Gay is derogatory? - A question on terminology
Do you read for fun?
Do all the weirdos come out at night?
Afraid of the dark?
You last meal?
Blizzard's 10th Anniversary! - GIFT?!
World War 3? - Is it even possible?
How much have you spent on Battle Pets and Mounts?
Taxes - Do you have a solution?
Driverless cars? - Y / N
Turn yourself into a robot - Y / N

That last one lols... and that's just a few.
Either your one nosy bastard or your just one curious bastard i don't know lols

Anyway the word 'gay' gets so overused its just so boring now to hear it .I wish it vanished from everyone's head forever!!!
I had a message on twitch yesterday by some fanboi fucktard that didn't like what i had to say and all it said was ;

you are so GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! seriously who even uses that word now above the age of 11?!?

You, apparently. Along with nearly every gay male I know.

[SoundOfGuns]

Well... If i call you a cunt, do you think i connect women or their genital region with anything... stupid or... hell whatever context i am calling you that? And don't even let me start on taking the word "fuck" literally there, oh boy..

I get why it makes homosexuals feeling insulted. No doubt. After all, the world is still stupidly hostile towards men kissing i public for the bigger part (which is idiotic, but nvm) so, while its stupid to actually take that personal or assume everyone saying that considers gay-people lame, i get why its upsetting. Why its stupid? Because its a phrase. Gay is used because kids are idiots and insult people that is different then them. Which - in my opinion - shows these kids are closer to cavemen then civilized people as its a reflex to point out hidden predators... So, since homosexuals are indeed different from whats most common... and therefor its considered a bad thing and blergh, there you go. And that got around... be it due to the sound of the word or whatever and im sure a hell lot of people saying that do not even waste a second thinking about homosexuals or have any ill feeling towards them. Heck, im sure a lot of kids dont even know what gay means and catch up on it and by the time they know its locked in their wording... Im an idiot myself like that. If i got a dime for everytime i called someone a faggot when i was stupidly irritated i would be swimming in money but im probably as far from a homophobe as a straight guy can get for very logical reasons... But its something that got stuck and while i try to avoid it, its more often then not something i simply do not care about when im "triggered" to curse... and i am cursing like mad even when im just mildly angry despite being able to express myself quite well without it...

I think it should be taken to personal as its probably not meant derogatory in 70% of the cases. But i do think we should show some sensibility here too. Not asking to quit it and shoo everyone who uses it but... yea... At least keep in mind what it means, don't be surprised when someone takes offense and show some insight.

[Mormolyce]

But, I mean is it derogatory to homosexuals if you are expressing your dislike, not if it is just purely derogatory if used in that context.

You probably didn't mean it but it's understandable if they got upset on hearing you say it.

[Ryken]

It's funny how nearly every comment here is pretty much "obviously, yes it is" yet the anonymous poll shows 80% saying no its not. It's almost as if the people who are saying its not are afraid to post with their opinion because they know they're morally wrong!

[Resies]

"that's so gay" means the same thing at this point thats so retarded, that's so dumb, that's so lame, that's so idiotic

unless you also crusade on behalf of retards, people who are dumb, lame, or idiots, fuck off

my gay brother calls things gay

"wow that's so gay dude fuck that ability"

[Gandrake]

Nope, and I don't care what anyone has to say about it.

If I call something gay because I don't like it and someone has a problem with it then they can get over it. I don't hate homosexuals and I don't attack them physically or verbally for being such.

I think the biggest problem that I have with "gay" coming up in a conversation as an undesirable experience is the person who was clearly not taught that it is rude to butt in on someone else's conversation.

I sometimes get shit for it, but I think I'll be the one who decides whether or not I hate homosexuals instead of buying into the idea that I am being hateful by using the term as such. Political correctness is a joke and I take a shit all over it every chance that I get. It needs to crawl back into whatever troll's asscrack it crawled out of, curl up and die.

I think when I first saw that commercial about a customer giving the cashiers shit for calling something gay in a conversation by using their names to describe something they didn't really care for, for four months instead of calling something "gay" I would call it my name. You know, to show how many fucks I gave.

Unfortunately it didn't really stick because my name is usually associated with vigorous masturbation and sexually violating inanimate objects while inebriated.

[Kellhound]

I hate seeing the term used for any meaning other than "happy".

[Aitch]

It's funny how nearly every comment here is pretty much "obviously, yes it is" yet the anonymous poll shows 80% saying no its not. It's almost as if the people who are saying its not are afraid to post with their opinion because they know they're morally wrong!

No, the poll question is just poorly worded.

[Fang7986]

a word can only be derogatory if you let it

[Littleraven]

If you're using a word that represents a group of people as an insult, then yes. It's derogatory.

^this. /thread

[Suggs]

You, apparently. Along with nearly every gay male I know.

dam you must be 11 too because you wrote it in your post as well............

[Forgon]

No, the poll question is just poorly worded.

How should I have worded it?

[Ayla]

I think it varies by region. I always thought homo was derogatory. But yet here I saw the local free gay newspaper with the biggest headline of 'Raging homos' in bright pink....

[Forgon]

dam you must be 11 too because you wrote it in your post as well............

I don't he/she (??) was saying you are 11, but that you are above 11 who uses the word. As you last question asked.

[Itisamuh]

It depends on the context I guess, but I certainly use it that way. But I am anti gay anyway, so it makes no difference.

[Aitch]

How should I have worded it?

Do you think gay, in a non-homosexual context, is a derogatory term?

a word can only be derogatory if you let it

A word can only be offensive if you let it. Whether or not it is derogatory is pretty intrinsic to the meaning of the word.

[Zoaric]

I hate seeing the term used for any meaning other than "happy".

I know, right?

[SoundOfGuns]

More important problem at hand - is it derogatory for llamas to use the word "lame" to describe things we find dumb?

I heard lamas were spitting on that for ages and don't give a crap.

[Forgon]

Do you think gay, in a non-homosexual context, is a derogatory term?

But that's not my question?

I guess I am trying to say, is gay, no matter what context the speaker is meaning, is always equated to homosexual when used as a synonym for lame? And thus, is derogatory.

[Levyan]

The problem is that people who use the term gay in this fashion, who may not have intent to use it in a derogatory way, are being conditioned to associate the term gay with negative feelings (classical conditioning). This use being reinforced culturally (and not just by "young people") ties the dislike or aggressive feeling the person feels when saying "that is so gay" to correct use of the term. Even if an individual knows the difference between definitions, they are still likely to have to overcome a negative gut reaction every time they hear the word.