I haven’t seen the ad, but as a gay person, I approve. I think most people who use gay = bad haven’t really thought about the implications, and if the PSA makes them think, great. If they want to keep on using the phrase after that, up to them.
I saw this spot, but the person delivering verbal smackdown was a middle aged white lady…
They must have cut two versions of the ad, and I guess they are seeing if it would be more effective to use a nationally known gay comedian (Wanda Sykes) for this issue rather than some unknown random actress.
Unless the ad running in conservative Utah is geared to a diffrent audience—possibly to have someone (random middle aged white lady) they felt the majority Utah demographic identifies with???
There are a few different versions of this ad. Another shows a woman likening “gay” to “girls who wear skirts as shirts” which is what the girls in question are doing.
The “so gay” thing grates on my nerves. Anything that makes even a small number of people excise that particular nasty from their vocabularies is a good thing, middle aged white ladies, Wanda Sykes or anyone else as the spokesperson notwithstanding.
I think a lot of these PSAs (there’s a whole series) are quite cheesy, and some of them miss the point entirely. This one does a pretty good job, though, because it gets across that ‘gay’ isn’t actually a negative term unless people make it so, it’s a descriptor just like ‘Emma’ or ‘Jenny’.
As a student of language, I object to this political propaganda, as it misses the point entirely. I hereby petition Websters for the only correct and neutral thing to do- as alternate and included definition:
[5a]: (coll.) stupid, dumb b: of, or relating to, something of strange and dubious quality; queer <the clown’s tie was gay> Synonyms: Dumb, Stupid, Queer, Boneheaded
They should also label definitions 1-3 as archaic.
I especially point to queeras a linguistic cognate and precendent for gay.
I agree that the dictionary ought to cite your def. #5. As much as I dislike it, it is a genuine part of the language and it’s been around long enough to be recognized as such. Then, as I punch people in the nose, I can say, “That’s for number five, you melancholy!”
Yea, I guess ‘cognate’ was a bad choice. I was actually referring to gay as belonging in a similar, or the same, generic linguistic class as queer from a purely evolutionary basis, rather than as a strict morpheme. I don’t know what you would call that kind of relationship between words like gay and queer that share a similar evolution in meaning … anybody know if there is some term for this phenomenon, besides Synonym?
also, that example sentence is off, should be- <The clown wore a gay tie>
Has anyone ever heard anyone over the age of 18 use gay to mean stupid? I’ll admit it, I used it in that way in high school, but everyone I know stopped using it after about a year out of school.
Unfortunately, it occurs a lot in the young adult sector, too. College kids, those under 22 or so… some, of course, are more mature than others and realize the effect their words have on others, but some, dare I say, don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves. And that sense of self-centeredness and perhaps personal entitlement (I can say whatever I want, screw you people!) is lasting longer and longer…
I like it. I occasionally use ‘gay’ as a half-hearted insult, to my own chagrin. I swear it started off as pure irony, mocking any fool who would actually use it, but it made its way into my regular wheel o’ slurs, dammit. Doesn’t help that most of my gay friends drop the g-word on occasion. Still, it’s my problem