Okay, this probably ain't the right place for this, but I don't feel it's serious enough for either of the Alleys.

You know in chatrooms or MMORPGs or online gaming in general or on a forum, you'll read someone saying, "That's so gay.". Man, it just ****ing bugs me! :mad: :nolike: What's wrong with just coming out and saying, "I hate that" or "it sux!!!11!"? :confused:

I'm not offended by the word gay at all. My point is it's now become a real peeve for me to read someone saying that something is 'so gay' instead of using a clearer term - ie: hate, sucks, bites, etc. I understand in a chatroom, there isn't time to type out a bunch of words before the moment passes. But in a forum, can't you take the time to come up with a better word? An explanation is even better - I'm willing to read why you think <insert noun here> is horrible or eats it or whatever.

Am I the only one here who feels this way? :square: Is there anybody else out there in Cyberland that this bothers majorly?

Yes it bother me, and it should bother everybody . I mean it's aimed at a whole community of people, it's just plain stupid. People who says that openly says that being gay is wrong and stupid. Let's say an '' Average canadian who used ''gay'' as a pejorative way in forum '' (let's call him X 'kay?)

see another person saying in a pejorative way '' That's so canadian '' Let's just say X will be offended, (and rightly so)

Then my point is saying '' That's so gay'' is technicaly the same.

It really doesn't bother me.
It's pretty dumb to use as a swear word, (although it can also be used correctly. IMO, for example, calling pink clothes or tight leather pants (for men) 'gay' isn't inaccurate.).
Err, back on topic: it's stupid, but to get upset every time something stupid is said/done is to young from heart failure or something similar :p
:borg:

It bothers me, surprising as this may be to some.

I'm having really fun when I play, for example, Alien Versus Predator 2 online and use the minigun, and when I rack up a 20-4 score, they start saying that I'm gay and all.

That's when I start be demeaning.

First of all, most gamers are teens. Most teens dislikes to be called bigots. Profit!

Second, saying stuff like "Yeah, I really like the cock" or "Crap, should tell my girlfriend then, she should know it" is fun.

And most of them don't even kknow what the word "gay" originally means....

@Olefix: That's so canadian.

Now *that* has a ring to it! :idea:

My typical response to someone saying something like that is "how?" I'm still not sure what's funnier: the dimwits who are too befuddled to answer, or the idiots who try to justify it and just end up making even bigger jackasses out of themselves. :lol: But every once in a while, someone will just look embarassed and slink away; those are the ones I'm proud of.

This is the gayest thread i've ever seen. :D

/me punks Pac man

You're so canadian! ;)

Glad to know it bugs other people. I never took it as an insult to me or gay. It's just one of those expressions which can be better said with other words. I'm gonna take a cue from Fel and start asking for an explanation!

Rutkowski - a person after my own heart. :thumb:

.... damn you, Ofelix, I actually told someone "That's so Canadian" !!! :eek:

It's annoying that it gets misused like that.

Why use "gay" when there's plenty of other wonderful expressions of dissatisfaction and swear words instead, and which won't start an argument (well, not a debate, at least)?

As an aside: not sharing a border with them, the only things I can see being so Canadian are saying "eh?" or "aboot" or getting annoyed at having one's accent confused with a US one by ignorant non-Canadians.

/ducks inevitable thrown boot from irate Canadian.

[ September 28, 2005, 03:40: Message edited by: NonSequitur ]

@Olefix: That's so canadianHow did I know he was going to say that?

/me throws a boot atr Non Sequitur.

We only pronounce it aboot when we're making fun of Americans or when we're talking about something to put on our foot...

Olefix Who is that?

No Bion, you're like so canadian Ah!

/me smiles at Gnarff before catching second thrown boot with face

Too true; in my experience, it's been closer to "abowt" than "aboot".

Degrassi has a lot to answer for, it seems.

I used to be annoyed when hearing people use "gay" to describe something, but now I'm starting to catch myself using it too. I guess I'm hearing it too much :(

I have to admit I'd rather hear gay than swear words though.

the only things I can see being so Canadian are saying "eh?" I'm Yorkshire, and we say Eh? at least 100 times a day :grin:

It's nice to see I'm not alone in my passionate hatred of "It's so gay" users and their ilk...

I happened to enter an Arena server playing NWN online not that long ago, and was inmediately dispatched by another player with a level 40 dwarf. He kept standing by my level 1 dead character, waiting for me to respawn. My battered corpse tried to start a conversation with him. It was nearly as interesting as talking to a bucket of cold water. He kept saying things like "You're gay" and "u suxx".

His strangest reply was "Why are you so fat?"... :confused: I guessed I was probably being pwoned by a very young lad, so I decided to test his patience, like I do with my little cousins when they misbehave :evil:

So I kept respawning. And respawning. And respawning. And everytime I typed a lengthy comment about how I had been killed, like "oooh, you used the flat of the blade now, that was nasty". When you can type 80+ words a minute, this can be fun. :D

After a while, he was already typing things like "Will u ever f*** go?" and so. An interesting comment was something on the lines of "u f***** rolplayers killin' our fun...". Silly me, for a moment I thought that it was me the one ending on the ground without a chance to defend myself... :rolleyes:

So I kept the rant. After half an hour of continuous respawning and bantering (this was getting quite interesting) there was quite a crowd around laughing at the situation, and the lad was getting more and more frustrated. I have to say on his behalf, that he kept killing my character continuously during that half hour.

And I thought I didn't have a life...

It's serious enough for AoDA. We've had this discussion there before, actually.

Oh, okay. I don't go into either of the Alleys if I can help it, which is why I didn't know it was already talked about.

The last online game I played, I got so sick and tired of 'hearing' the useless crap - the 'gay' comments, the swearing, the 1337 jargon, the cybering, etc. - I quit playing. Then, a friend showed me how to turn the chat off. Ahhh, bliss! :cool:

I've never cared for use of an individual identifier (or group identifier) as an insult or swear word. Gay is just the latest homophobic swear word -- I had hoped that would not happen (there are enough negative words associated with homosexuality).

The origin of gay may come from the 1890's (also termed the gay nineties) which was a period of sexual promiscuity. A brothel was referred to as a 'gay house.' Hence, gay meant promiscuous -- homosexuals have always been stereotyped as promiscuous. Another possible origin (from wordorigins.org):

The most likely explanation is that it derives from gaycat or geycat, a slang term for a tramp or hobo who is new to the road. Gaycats were commonly in the company of older tramps, implying a homosexual relationship. The term, according to Lighter, dates to at least the 1890s. Gaycats were employed as lookouts while other hoboes committed crimes. The term is used in 'Bringing Up Baby' (1938) by Cary Grant when explaining why he's dressed in a woman's bathrobe.

Some other terms are far more sinister. The term fag or faggot is used in the UK to mean a cigarette. Derived from a burning/smoking stick, which is also called a fag. The use of the term with homosexuals recalls the old practice of burning homosexuals at the stake. Quite gruesome.

Considering that "gay" had a meaning -- and was used as a derogative -- long before homosexual activists laid claim to it, I see very little to be upset about.

It is the same with people who object to the use of the term "niggardly," which etymologically has absolutely nothing to do with the word "nigger."

Further, saying "that is so gay" is far from a recent invention. It has been around for decades.

True, some of the people you cite are no doubt using it to refer to sexuality. But if you take the long view of language it may not get under your skin so much.

Actually, the most common meaning for 'gay' in English used to be 'merry' or 'carefree'. It originally comes from the old French 'gai' (meaning cheerful).

There is a traditional Scottish ceilidh dance titled 'The Gay Gordons', that some young people I know refuse to dance because of what they think it means... :rolleyes:

I knew that :p ! Everyone must have heard the South Park song: 'Get in gay (with the children here)', no (rainforest episode) :shake: ?

Well, my opinion is that yes, it is somewhat stupid. But I think Rutowski pretty well described the person from whom you might expect to hear this comment.

IMO, things like that are just a means of expression. Typically the one saying it doesn't even realize the true meaning of the words. It's meant to be midway between milquetoast and profanity.

And really is there much difference between saying "That's gay!" and "That sucks!"? Sucks what I wonder... ;)

I can definately say that I am among the people who say that something is gay, meaning that I dislike it. I don't mean any offense to homosexuals, but it's just the way the word is evolving. Gay used to mean happy, but over time it changed to target specific people. Maybe the word is just changing again.

Oh, and does not saying "That is so Canadian!" mean exactly the same thing as "That is so homosexual?"

:)

Ok, sorry. I could not resist.

St. James, That's just the Liberal party. I'll leave it there before this thread gets moved to AoLS...

It originally comes from the old French 'gai' (meaning cheerful). Old? No my friend, it's still a correct word today. Unfortunately in french also ''gai'' has become a prejorative word associated with homosexuality. What's more some people (especialy younger one) use the english spelling ''gay'' over the correct french one, and they see it as a mistake. I mean WTF?! They're using out of context AND mispelled? Can they be more stupid. Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself.

I think BTA has a point, I wonder too what people ''sucks'' when they say '' It sucks '' ... Lolipops? Fruit? :hmm:

PS: That's just the Liberal party :aaa: Now That's canadian! :lol:

I'm with reepnorp. I know it's not politically correct or even polite, but I don't meant to offend any particular group, in this case, homosexuals, by it. it's just an expression that many people happen to use here..

There is no harm in saying "this is SO gay." It's just an expression, if a bit gay one. :p

(So yes; ditto to what BTA said.)

The old, proper meaning of gay is another reason why I don't like the expression. You don't say "that's so cheerful" when something surprises you in the bad way, is weird or whatever such. Perhaps, if the expression has been around for decades, it used to mean something close to "that's rich!" I don't know. I'm no good with regional dialects. :p "Gay" is not the only one. I remember young lads calling things "Chinese", meaning weird or nonsense. Didn't like that one, either.

I think anything putting down a race, religion, ethnicity is wrong. In this case, I would also think that it is in appropriate to slam the gay community in such a manner.