# "That's so gay"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [August 31, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358 "2009-08-31T14:57:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/1 "2009-08-31T14:57:25Z")
From [http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/:](http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/:)
There are over 154,000 websites that use the phrase “That’s so gay” as of 8/30/2009.
This site is attempting to remove the pejorative connotations in using “TSG”.
But it also seems to want to remove the stigma surrounding the words “dick”, “balls” and “queer” (educating people to their actual definitions, not the slang usage)
What do you think?
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/2 "2009-08-31T15:03:31Z")
I think that the use of the term “gay” to mean bad is homophobic, and, at the very least, helps to reinforce in people’s minds, especially young people’s minds, the idea that there’s something bad about being gay, which is bad for straight teens and even worse for gay teens, so a concerted effort to reduce the use of that slang term is a good thing.
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### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/3 "2009-08-31T15:11:20Z")
That’s pretty gay.
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### Author:  [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/4 "2009-08-31T15:22:08Z")
Gay used to mean happy, then it meant homosexual, now it means stupid. Word meanings change.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/5 "2009-08-31T15:22:14Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> I think that the use of the term “gay” to mean bad is homophobic, and, at the very least, helps to reinforce in people’s minds, especially young people’s minds, the idea that there’s something bad about being gay, which is bad for straight teens and even worse for gay teens, so a concerted effort to reduce the use of that slang term is a good thing.
I totally agree . . . but the last time we had a thread on this, most people didn’t think it was offensive.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/6 "2009-08-31T15:30:34Z")
Thread moved to MPSIMS from Cafe Society.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/7 "2009-08-31T15:31:59Z")
> [@control-z](#):
>
> Gay used to mean happy, then it meant homosexual, now it means stupid. Word meanings change.
But the problem is, it now means homosexual AND stupid.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/8 "2009-08-31T15:32:56Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> I think that the use of the term “gay” to mean bad is homophobic, and, at the very least, helps to reinforce in people’s minds, especially young people’s minds, the idea that there’s something bad about being gay, which is bad for straight teens and even worse for gay teens, so a concerted effort to reduce the use of that slang term is a good thing.
It’s homophobic and stupid, but it’s also true that young people are the most accepting of gay people, so my guess is that this has little effect. It seems to me that kids really don’t think there’s a connection between the two ideas.
I’m usually skeptical of efforts to change the meaning of words because I don’t think you can change people’s attitudes by forcing them to use different words. “That’s so gay” is really moronic, so I won’t mind if it goes away, but I wouldn’t confuse it with more serious activism.
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### Author:  [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/9 "2009-08-31T15:34:48Z")
It bothers me that there’s apparently a lot of public dollars (which is to say your & my tax dollars) going into a campaign to get people not to use the phrase in that way… TV ads and whatnot.
Surely it’s not our most urgent + pressing of needs.
Besides, as referenced above — do we stop people from saying “don’t be a dick” because it’s… what, going to make young males feel insecure? Or is everyone to be mortally wounded should someone be accused of being “an ass”?
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/10 "2009-08-31T15:42:48Z")
> [@ministryman](#):
>
> But it also seems to want to remove the stigma surrounding the words “dick”, “balls” and “queer” (educating people to their actual definitions, not the slang usage)
I missed this, or maybe my brain forced me to look the other way so it didn’t short out. This is incredibly stupid and it’s a great example of why these kinds of feel-good programs always fail: it’s an insult to the intelligence of the kids and shows how clueless the campaigners are. They’re not trying to remove the stigma from those words, they appear to be trying to get people to stop using them. It’s never going to happen. Very young kids know these words have double meanings, that’s why they use them. It undermines their purpose; that’s not going to induce anything but giggles. You’d never be able to make them stop and I don’t know why anyone would bother to try.
In memory to George Carlin I note that one of the other naughty words is prick, with the alternative definition being “something you do to your finger.” Like the man said, “You can prick your finger, but you can’t finger your prick.”
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### Author:  [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/11 "2009-08-31T15:45:37Z")
This thread is ghey.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/12 "2009-08-31T16:05:19Z")
> [@johnspartan](#):
>
> It bothers me that there’s apparently a lot of public dollars (which is to say your & my tax dollars) going into a campaign to get people not to use the phrase in that way… TV ads and whatnot.
The campaign is being funded by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network through the Ad Council, both of which are private nonprofit organizations. Government money isn’t involved.
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> It’s homophobic and stupid, but it’s also true that young people are the most accepting of gay people, so my guess is that this has little effect. It seems to me that kids really don’t think there’s a connection between the two ideas.
While it’s true that there’s more acceptance of gay people among young people than older people, if you look at what the organization found prior to setting up the campaign, it found that half of all students have heard frequent homophobic remarks made at school, that 90% of gay students have been harassed because of their sexuality in the past year, that a third have been the victims of physical assault because of their sexuality in the past year, and that gay teens attempt suicide about four times more often than straight teens. This is a serious problem.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/13 "2009-08-31T16:14:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> While it’s true that there’s more acceptance of gay people among young people than older people, if you look at what the organization found prior to setting up the campaign, it found that half of all students have heard frequent homophobic remarks made at school, that 90% of gay students have been harassed because of their sexuality in the past year, that a third have been the victims of physical assault because of their sexuality in the past year, and that gay teens attempt suicide about four times more often than straight teens. This is a serious problem.
I’m usually skeptical of numbers that are found in polls conducted by groups with an interest in seeing certain results. But without getting into numbers, I know it’s a real problem and that gay teens are more likely to be harrassed and try to kill themselves.
But none of that happens because kids say “That’s so gay” when they think something is stupid. It’s because of active prejudice, not thoughtless language. I think this is a bad choice of focus.
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### Author:  [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/14 "2009-08-31T16:22:01Z")
> [@ministryman](#):
>
> From [http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/:](http://www.thinkb4youspeak.com/:)
>
> There are over 154,000 websites that use the phrase “That’s so gay” as of 8/30/2009.
>
> This site is attempting to remove the pejorative connotations in using “TSG”.
It seems like they’re trying to do the opposite–that is, inform us that saying “That’s so gay” IS harmful/bad.
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### Author:  [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/15 "2009-08-31T16:31:31Z")
> [@ministryman](#):
>
> What do you think?
Regarding the first part, I think [Penny Arcade](http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/8/17/) sums up my view. I support their goal, but I think it’s doomed to failure.
The other part is just stupid.
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### Author:  [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/16 "2009-08-31T23:17:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> But the problem is, [gay] now means homosexual AND stupid.
Actually, don’t they mean something is _lame_ rather than stupid (not that it’s any less hurtful)?
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### Author:  [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/17 "2009-08-31T23:23:07Z")
I thought that people were trying to say “that’s so ghey” to differenciate the two?
Or was that just some of the UCD LGBT society having me on?
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### Author:  [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2009, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/18 "2009-08-31T23:34:22Z")
This reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite gay characters – The Alchemist from _The Venture Brothers_:
“But being a magic super hero that keeps chasing the same guy? It’s completely GAY. And that’s coming from a guy that voluntarily has sex with men!”
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/19 "2009-09-01T00:51:57Z")
> [@NDP](#):
>
> Actually, don’t they mean something is _lame_ rather than stupid (not that it’s any less hurtful)?
Hey don’t drag the physically disabled into this!
Yes, essentially a good idea, but very difficult to foresee its effectiveness in practice.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [September 1, 2009, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thats-so-gay/508358/20 "2009-09-01T01:35:37Z")
> [@Laudenum](#):
>
> I thought that people were trying to say “that’s so ghey” to differenciate the two?
That only works in text, and changing the spelling doesn’t change the meaning of the word.
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