Well, you could start over-aspirating the h, like some people do to distinguish where and wear. But, even without this, it’s pretty obvious in context, just like other homophones.
I personally think it’s a bunch of people getting too upset about something they can’t fix. There are nearly as many people with OCD as male homosexuals, but I don’t get up in arms about it being used to describe anal retentive people.
The point of the campaign is that they’re not homophones, they’re the same word. While I think the campaign is futile, I agree with them on that point.
I think they have it wrong, because they are using the wrong definition and synonymns for gay, and causing more harm than good by defining it in their constructed, hateful, value-added example… Gay is much more subtle and contextual than “dumb” or “stupid” and doesn’t mean the same thing at all. Gay doesn’t mean “stupid”, it means “strange and off-color, or queer”, something that is “gay” is different than stupid or dumb, it is a gradation of speech that doesn’t imply hate. Their definition misses the mark, and they are creating a connotation that doesn’t exist. It’s PC at its worst, entirely made up…
I don’t think that definition helped your case very much.
You’re right that “strange” is also part of the definition, but “dumb” is also included. It’s always spoken in a dismissive manner. And I don’t think the campaigners are saying “that’s so gay” means “I hate that.” They are saying it is hateful to use “gay” as a term for something you think is stupid and weird.
Why, what’s offensive about something that is queer?
Queer:
Cite? From a credible dictionary, if possible?
Queer is also used to describe alternative sexualities, and it’s often pejorative. So I thought it was funny that your attempt at a definition of “that’s so gay” included another derogatory word that also means gay.
Webster’s is not going to include a slang term of recent coinage used by high schoolers. We are attempting to pin down the connotations of the word here.
But let’s look at Urban Dictionary. I’m leaving out the “happy” and “homosexual” definitions for obvious reasons.
We could go on and on through hundreds more entries but I think it’s clear many other people understand that “stupid” is one of the connotations of “that’s so gay.”
Queer, as a description for an inanimate object or a thing is not perjorative, Gay in any context is not perjorative. You guys already won this one… why drag the word through shit of wholecloth?
Yea, that’s what I thought, you couldn’t find anything more credible than an open source fucking dictionary like, of all things, UrbanDictionary. I’ve seen it already, and all of those definitions are political hitjobs done by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network through the Ad Council,
Queer can be neutral and even gays often use it in a neutral or positive way. I was pointing that when you said “gay” isn’t pejorative, you defined it using another word that’s often pejorative - and like I said, this didn’t help your case.
Who is “you guys,” and what the hell does the last half of this sentence mean?
What source would you recommend? I tried dictionary.com and the first ten online dictionaries that came up in a Google search for “dictionary,” and none of them addressed this definition at all. They featured the “happy” and “homosexual” definitions only.
As I said above, dictionaries usually don’t include this kind of recent slang. Maybe the OED would deal with this meaning, but I don’t own a copy of the OED. Absent that I think an open source dictionary is the best way to go. Some people have axes to grind, it at least gives you a sense of what people think the word means. It’s a better cite than your say-so.
I’d ask you to cite this, but owing to the fact that you made it up, I realize you can’t. So I’ll be polite and not ask.
This is funny… recent coinage? I first heard it used in this context some 30 years ago…
Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2005.
“Gay. a general pej. epithet, stupid, ugly, eccentric.”
ETA: That link didn’t work exactly right. Stupid Google Books. It’s on page 571.
When someone says says, “That’s so gay” in that context, it’s not complementary, and it’s not even neutral. It’s used derogatorily.
I beg to differ, I’m a queer guy that sometimes does some gay shit, but I am neither queer nor gay, nor am I even homosexual.
So wait, what’s your position here? That gay doesn’t mean homosexual, or that it’s never used in a negative way? You’re not really making sense.
devilsknew are you honestly claiming that you’ve never heard those terms pejoratively, and directed at people who are homosexual in that manner?
Nope, never heard the terms used perjoratively… only ironically and as neutral descriptors.
I’m inclined to think you misunderstood. But in any case you’ve now seen cites from several dictionaries and an up-to-date Internet citation as well.
You can have my “dick” when you pry it from my cold dead hands.
Oh that doesn’t sound right.
He was being funny.
He was saying (to use a combination of slang and literal use):
He is a strange guy (queer) that does some pretty stupid things (gay shit), but he is not a homosexual.
Understand now?