Why is that I have to change my vocaburlary because of someones orientation?

Question

the word gay has many meanings and it meant something else before it was a term homosexuality, i don't even refer to homosexuals as gays, I don't think that people should waste their time getting offend over something that is really nothing

Answer 1

I suppose you wouldn't *have* to, but wouldn't it be kinder to do so? You wouldn't want someone calling you a rude name just because they could, now would you so think of how someone else would feel. Look at the last sentance in your question :
"I don't think that people should waste their time getting offend over something that is really nothing"
That's fine until it's on the other foot, isn't it, until someone calls you a nasty name, insults you until you want to cry, or puts you down in front of a whole lot of co-workers. Then the shoe's on the other foot and your self-esteem drops into your shoes.
Think about someone else, my Dear One, rather than yourself.
Think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes and were insulted and reviled -- then make your judgement.

Answer 2

I actually understand what you're trying to say, and unfortunately our PC culture is jumping all over you which shouldn't be surprising.
First, the term "gay" is different than "bi*ch," because the alternative meaning is still negative. If someone did call her a bi*ch, and then said, but I meant a female dog, that just means you were called a dog.
Years ago a gay friend of mine jumped all over me when I said, "Ok, that was kinda queer." I was called homophobic, derogatory, etc. etc. She absolutely went ape, and even after I explained myself, she wanted nothing to do with the explanation.
Most intelligent people here already know what my explanation was:

I was responding a very odd and wierd situation that had just happened. The #1 definition for queer is, "a strange or odd situation from a conventional viewpoint." They "gay" definition of "queer" is the #5 definition under slang.

I find myself running into this more and more as I use my vocabulary. Some people are very narrow-minded, and once they believe a term has been popularized in one-way, that it's the only way it can be used. "Gay" meant happy, and is still the #1 definition for the word in the dictionary, long before our modern connotation of the word (which is #5, #6 and #7 in the dictionary).

I do think you should be careful around shallow people, and if you are using the term as "That's so gay," and meaning it as something homosexual is "worse," then you do deserve what you get. However, people should be allowed to use a word that has many, many multiple meanings how they feel fit. I know I certainly can't help it when people misinterpret my words to fit their agenda.

Answer 3

You don't have to but just expect that some people are going to think you are rude. Gay meant happy. Nothing wrong with that. As far as I know, using the word 'gay' instead of lame, stupid, dumb, etc. actually came from making fun of 'homosexuals'. I honestly don't know the history behind using the word 'gay' to describe someone who is homosexual. It's interesting.

Apparently, the more 'ancient' meaning of the word 'gay' was to be quick or sudden. That morphed into meaning 'happily excited'

Answer 4

People get offended because others twist the meaning. Gay hasn't meant Happy for a long time, times change, now its a derogatory term, so you shouldn't say it. People say "Thats so gay!" all the time, and with the current deffinition it doesn't really mean stupid. Unless something is quite homosexual, don't say it like that.

Answer 5

Wrong, the word gay does not have many meanings. It has the archaic meaning of "happy", and it means homosexual. It does not mean "bad" or "lame" and it never has, until recently. People started using it as a synonym for "bad" in reference to the view that homosexuality is something negative or undesirable. Americans now are using the title of a group of people as a synonym for the word "bad", how is that "no big deal"?

Answer 6

some one from britian is called a brit, a scottish is called a scot, so why is it offensive to calle some one from pakistan a paki?
truth is, even words that should be innocent and make orginally have been innocent such as gay/ *****/ bastord etc but they have been used as a degenrative term, and altho you should in a perfect world be allowed to use the word gay to mean happy etc people can easily mistake you for someone being homophobic etc
languages develope, the words that were innocent are no longer innocent! keep with the times hun :)

Answer 7

Let me ask you something. If you were black. and I said that something was black, in a derogatory way. Would you get miffed. What if you were married and I used wife as a derogatory term, would you get a little miffed. Well it's the same principle. If you don't want to get a lot of negative reactions, don't make negative comments.

Answer 8

Watch South Park. They had an episode on this topic before. I mean back many years ago people of different races were called things that we cannot use not. Think about it.

Answer 9

Best Answer:Raynebow, cuz she hit it right on the head. Obviously you have very little sense when it comes to giving a hell about others feelings. But whatever. If u wanna go around being a rude a.sshole, then so be it.

Answer 10

Just for your information, slang and colloquialisms aren't considered a proper "vocabulary" so if you decide you still want to sound like some kind of insensitive, ignorant, street trash, that's your choice. You asked, you were told.