Is the whole world homosexual? Why does my son call his friends gay when they obviously are not?
2007-05-21 06:36:48 · 32 answers · asked by lee c 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
That question is so gay. ;-)
Words change meaning constantly, especially when they get appropriated by young people. Gay had meaning before it was applied to the homosexual community and it will continue to have other meanings despite its close association with homosexuals.
Word and word play is an important part of youth acculturation. The homosexual community, schools and others overseeing youths should not get so bothered when young people use "gay" in a way that is clearly not refering to homosexuality.
And saying "That's so gay" is not a recent invention. We said that 30 or more years ago when I was a kid.
2007-05-21 06:42:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Gay used to mean Happy,
then came Homosexuality,
now it means bad, well, not good!!
Don't ask!, my 16 year old does the same, my usual answer is, 'i'm glad she/he's happy' !!!
Language Teacher..... it has been my experiance that todays youth are ALOT more tollerant of homosexuality than other generations. Also, retard is definately not good form! It is not used as a derogatory term for those with bonifide mental health problems or learning disabilities. My daughter and friends use it instead of wally or twit! having just done a quick survey none of them think that it's nice to use it in relation to a health condition!!!!
2007-05-21 06:45:26 · answer #2 · answered by :~Debbz~: 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To use the word gay to describe a homosexual person has not so long been fashionable - I don't know, perhaps about thirty years or so.
Before that the word gay meant fun-loving, bright, carefree, funny, merrily or colourful.
Some older people still use the word for these attributes, and are astonished if they are misunderstood.
Perhaps gay comes back to it's old fashioned meaning in nowadays youngsters.
McGonagall
2007-05-21 06:49:21 · answer #3 · answered by McGonagall 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep honey that's * tosses thrice a one hundred lb bag of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies * that's no longer absolutely everyone yet his on fault he can no longer comprehend customary questioning ! BTW hi wifey ! As for Dr Phil I ROTFLMGDAO each and every time i'm getting yet another digital mail from his so referred to as relationship provider that's a genuine crock considering the fact that each and every of the ladies human beings indexed are from international places different than the U. S. making it a marriage for citizenship scam .
2016-11-25 22:09:03 · answer #4 · answered by declue 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just used for slang as many other words are today. Gay most likely means that he/she is stupid so to speak or that whatever they are talking about is stupid. For example: I wouldn't jump off that cliff, that is the gayest idea I've ever heard. It doesn't mean that whatever the topic at hand is means that it is homosexual. I have a teenager and she uses that in her everyday conversations as well. At times I find myself saying too.
2007-05-21 06:42:48 · answer #5 · answered by Punkie Brewster 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
"Gay" is the direct descendant of "lame". No. not "lame" as in "The horse has a broken leg; it's lame," but rather as in "uncool," "inferior in some way."
I remember my generation used to call things "wicked retarded." The next generation popularized "gay." Nowadays, if I need to be PC I say "lame"...but it doesn't quite have the "ring" that the other words have.
2007-05-21 10:48:48 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it is the most emasculating insult to dish at someone lol. Especially for a young guy who doesnt really get a whole lot of action. You're gay!
Not that theres anything wrong with that
2007-05-21 06:39:45 · answer #7 · answered by theDrake 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because it's a word that gets a lot of reaction from people, whether they're "gay" or not. There are a lot of words in the young people's language that I don't get--like saying something good is "the s**t." To me, if it's s**t, then it's bad.
Just one of those language quirks.
2007-05-21 06:44:27 · answer #8 · answered by Starfall 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Language evolves. Do you remember when "bad" meant good? Like that is one "bad" car! "Gay" in youth culture means "bogus" or "not cool" in addition to meaning homosexual. I heard this about 15 years ago and wondered what it meant too. Now we both know.
2007-05-21 06:41:02 · answer #9 · answered by Paul Hxyz 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
from a sociolinguistic point of view, the concepts of "gayness", "homosexuality" and "lesbain" are common in the youth's language..that is these concepts are fashionable as they show the youth's rebel against the traditions of the society. so don't worry it is just how society affects discourse and language
2007-05-21 07:01:25 · answer #10 · answered by zein_egypt 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋