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I guess so. The thing is, society often changes word meanings like this. I just wonder what the slangs will be when I have kids, so I can be out of tune with the times.
Hell, I have used words like Rad an Ace alot. I AM out of touch as it is.
Rad as it gets.
That's so 80's
That's an odd one, because using Dick as an insult is the same as calling someone a nob or a cock. It's insulting someone based on the meaning of the word referring to a penis, rather than the meaning of the word referring to the name, or the door handle, or the rooster. I think calling something gay however, is using the homosexual meaning of the word as an insult, especially among teenage boys.
Whenever I used it, it would be "Oh that's so GAY, we missed the bus!!". Though now, a subtle 'bollocks.' is just lovely!
No.
But I am tempted to get a mullet.
ive said 'get of me, u bummer!' before. (though thats more of a reference to the series 'spaced'.)
to me its a private joke between friends. i have no gay best friends. i dont say it in public, i wouldnt say it to a gay bloke unless we were good mates, i wouldnt say it to anyone unless we were good mates. it wont offend anyone cos i dont say it around people who would be offended. but i can still say to someone i know to 'stop being a queer'. is it any different that saying 'stop being such a girl'? no! and people always say that.
i take the piss out of lads who drink blue WKD by calling it a 'pint of girl'. is that really offensive?
i also tell racist jokes. so what? everyone does. doesn't make us all racists or homophobes. im sure there are many jokes for gay people aimed at straight people and there are many white jokes common among other races. i have an indian mate who takes the piss out of me for not being brown!
if people are getting offended by them its because they are too sensitive.
if i heard 2 gay guys telling a joke about straight men, or saying 'ooh dont be so straight', would i be bothered?
would i heck as like....
this topic is as pathetic as that 'jade goody is a racist' thread. everyones so friggin sensitive.
it not as if there arn't real nasty bastard homophobe and racist gangs going around beating and murdering people every fucking day. theres more things to be worried about that the occasional use (or mis-use) of the word 'bummer', imo.
No, they don't.
i'd find it very hard to believe you if you said no.
So what? It's a joke. I think the thing with jokes is they are all the same, everyone has a line. If you cross mine I will punch you in the face.
Whether it be race/age/sexuality/weight - it could be anything.. jokes are jokes, some are close to the bone etc but there we go.
Anyway, I think using this word in a negative term is definately not on. I don't agree with it, although I do think it's easy to pick up these terms when so many people use them, it takes a while to consciously stop yourself doing it..
Yeah but I'm sure heterosexuals have not been discriminated against for the sexuality as gay people have.
and i bet a lot have put up with a lot worse than someone saying 'thats gay'. little throwaway comments should be insignificant.
anyway, im aware people get offended by stuff, so i dont say 'get of me, u bummer!' to anyone but my friends, who all take the mick out of each other and are used to it.
saying 'a black' differs from saying 'an asian' in they way that asia is where that person is from, whereas black is the colour of that persons skin, and could in theory be from anywhere in the world.
How is impersonating a nothern accent racist?
It depends what someone means by "race".
As you are probably aware, even the academic "experts" can`t agree, if indeed they accept there is such a thing.
Good point.
So in conclusion, it offends some gay people, but then should gay people be more tolerant of the word? Well, they shouldn't have to be, and if it's something that offends them then we should try not to use it. N*gger used to be a perfectly used word, it was just slang for negro, which means black (literally), then it became derogatory, insulting.
I think it's in the mind of every good person that they want to use their language so it least offends the most amount of people, even if people are being overly sensitive, the English language has lots of words so why risk it?
Errmmm...
What about all the "British asians" who've never set foot in Asia?
It used to be a common term for a shade of brown. It related, i think, to the river Niger as it's brown due to all the mud/sand that's in it.
I take that as you're not sure you believe me?
- Wikipedia Article
It is the case with most insults that they don't begin as insulting, more descriptive, and an emotional attatchment to that word is made. Even many English swearwords are just the literal words from saxon for something - fuck, means to have sex, shit means to defecate, etc. etc. Just like how now where 'gay' may be considered offensive in some cases, whereas before it was just a descriptive word.
The n-word has for several years meant only one thing, and pretty much to one group of people. Recently it's been reclaimed by black people, but mostly it's still a derogatory term. 'Gay' seems to mean very different things in a variety of contexts to different people. I think a lot of the kids who use the word 'gay' as an insult don't directly link it to homosexuality. They just use it because their friends do, and in that sense it has been removed slightly from the negative portrayal of homosexuality.
Of course that isn't always the case, and as long as any word describing a group of people is also used as an insult that word will be offensive to some people. It also reinforces negative stereotypes: if a child has never met a gay person, and their only contact with any reference to gay people has been in a negative manner, then it's probable they will have a negative view on gay people purely because of that association.
how is it different from impersonating a gay or an indian?
well that means they have asian origin or families. whats your point? or are you just picking? being 'asian' implies a lot more than skin colour.
How does one impersonate "a gay"?
Bent wrist, overly camp voice... use your imagination! 'OOoh DARLING! I'm so GAY today!' or something to that effect I'd think!
So why do you only use those words and phrases around your 'best mates'? It seems to display a degree of sensitivity on your part - which contradicts the above.
by playing to the stereotype, acting feminine if their a guy or masculine if they're a chick.
dont play dumb. and dont twist my words.
definitions of sensitivity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_%28human%29
i show number 2, i feel a lot of people show number 3.
is that still confusing?
That's impersonating a camp person. Not all camp people are gay, not all gay people are camp.