# What's with homosexual insults? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 12, 2018, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831 "2018-10-12T01:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/21 "2018-10-12T18:55:44Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > A man saying this sort of thing to a woman is just as insulting and has nothing to do with gender. It means, “You are of such low status that you should perform a sex act on me that would demean you and show my superior status.” Such usage can be seen in the [parking lot scene](https://youtu.be/lwzvuiOqnP4?t=148) from _Thelma and Louise_ (warning: violence ensues after the relevant quote) This seems to largely support my argument, not contradict it. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/22 "2018-10-12T19:12:25Z")
Think of sex in prison for men. The man who penetrates is heterosexual and the man who is penetrated is the woman. Or “bitch”. Sexually submissive insults between straight men have this same dynamic; the insulter is in effect calling the insultee his bitch. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/23 "2018-10-12T20:16:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > This seems to largely support my argument, not contradict it. Depends on what your argument is. I interpreted your argument to mean that the insult was to suggest that a man was a woman. Is it an insult to suggest that a woman is a woman? ETA: My point is that being a man or a woman is irrelevant, and that what matters is suggesting that the person is sexually subservient to you, degrading them. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/24 "2018-10-12T21:26:54Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Depends on what your argument is. I interpreted your argument to mean that the insult was to suggest that a man was a woman. Is it an insult to suggest that a woman is a woman? To a misogynist? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![spidercat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@spidercat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spidercat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/25 "2018-10-13T04:26:58Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > No. Women don’t do that. > Men doing it is a sign of immaturity. IMO. I’m a grown woman and I’ve definitely told people of both genders to lick my asshole during arguments. I don’t claim to be particularly mature, however. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![spidercat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@spidercat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spidercat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/26 "2018-10-13T04:36:10Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > and homosexual behavior as an institution was at least tacitly and often actively accepted in Greek, Roman, Gallic, Celtic, and of course British history. Pretty much every historic culture has made allowances for homosexual behavior even if not acknowledging it as such. Ah yes, in the words of Claudius, loosely translated, courtesy of Wikipedia, believe it or not: > [@](#): > > I will sodomize you and face-fuck you, > bottom Aurelius and catamite\* Furius, > you who think, because my poems > are sensitive, that I have no shame. > For it’s proper for a devoted poet to be moral > himself, [but] in no way is it necessary for his poems. > In point of fact, these have wit and charm, > if they are sensitive and a little shameless, > and can arouse an itch, > and I don’t mean in boys, but in those hairy old men > who can’t get it up. > Because you’ve read my countless kisses, > you think less of me as a man? > I will sodomize you and face-fuck you. > > - “a boy kept for homosexual practices.” Even more loose and summarized, “you think I’m gay because I write poetry? Why don’t you suck my dick then?” wikipedia source: [Catullus 16 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_16) ---
**Author:** ![spidercat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e8cbc/32.png) [@spidercat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spidercat)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/27 "2018-10-13T04:49:14Z")
(sorry, too late to edit, and I apologize for so many posts in a row, but I meant to say he wrote particularly ROMANTIC poetry, as they were all poets) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/28 "2018-10-13T06:51:32Z")
Nothing beats the classics! That is Gaius Valerius, by the way, not Claudius. Writer of immortal verses such as “Once our brief light sets we / Sleep one infinite age, a night for ever / Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred / then a thousand others, then a second hundred / then again another thousand, then a hundred” and “Give back my notes, rotten whore / You dirty whore, give them back” ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/29 "2018-10-13T08:25:14Z")
I’m not sure I have encountered this and my company are not composed entirely of gentlemen. However it does sound rather boganish. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/30 "2018-10-13T08:39:00Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > For women, who aren’t as straightjacketed into gender roles I guess it doesn’t matter as much. But when women do insult each other it seems to be more for being sexually loose or masculine. And very often, we directly use the same insults as guys even though they don’t apply. It’s kind of like how people saying “oh my God” doesn’t mean they believe in one or more gods; words don’t always mean what the sum of their roots means, and expressions don’t always mean what the sum of their words does. Note that guys also apply those same insults to women or to female characters. I still want someone to explain to me: if all WoW paladins are gay, and my paladin is a chick, does that mean my paladin is a lesbian? And if all WoW paladins blow dick, and my paladin hasn’t changed bits since the previous question, is she actually bisexual? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/31 "2018-10-13T14:15:04Z")
I think they’ve very much lost any direct meaning. As Nava said, me saying “christ on a bike!” has nothing to do with religion. Me saying “fuck you” to either a man or a woman has nothing to do with sex. I suspect that is very much the case for the majority of people who use these phrases. Sure, there may be _some_ people use them in a more considered way but really, there’s rarely any more thought behind it than there would be in saying “ow you fucking bastard” when you hit your thumb with a hammer. No meaning, just exclamation. ---
**Author:** ![vperry1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ee7513/32.png) [@vperry1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vperry1)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/32 "2018-10-15T07:42:54Z")
Very interesting, Freudian stuff. Thanks for your thoughts. Now, if I could only figure out how guys touching each other’s asses means, “Nice catch out there.” ---
**Author:** ![KMS94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KMS94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KMS94)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/33 "2018-10-15T15:17:05Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I overheard my daughter say “suck my dick!” as an insult (yes, she’s a young adult). I’m not proud of that, but I know for a fact it isn’t only said by males. There is a scene in Lake Placid (1999) where Betty White tells a man, “If I had a dick, this is where I’d tell you to suck it.” Betty White is a bit of a firecracker, though. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/34 "2018-10-15T17:47:12Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I think they’ve very much lost any direct meaning. > > As Nava said, me saying “christ on a bike!” has nothing to do with religion. Me saying “fuck you” to either a man or a woman has nothing to do with sex. I suspect that is very much the case for the majority of people who use these phrases. > > Sure, there may be _some_ people use them in a more considered way but really, there’s rarely any more thought behind it than there would be in saying “ow you fucking bastard” when you hit your thumb with a hammer. No meaning, just exclamation. Good point. It still leaves the question of how and why such expressions originated, but I think you’re right that they’ve taken on a life of their own, and plenty of people use them without any thought to their literal meaning, just in imitation of other people they’ve heard using them. That also doesn’t necessarily make them okay to use, any more than it’s okay for someone to thoughtlessly use the n-word or the r-word or an ethnic slur as a generic term of insult. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831/35 "2018-10-15T19:41:02Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > That also doesn’t necessarily make them okay to use, any more than it’s okay for someone to thoughtlessly use the n-word or the r-word or an ethnic slur as a generic term of insult. I don’t know what “the r-word” is but certainly even the other one has found a context in which it can used without being an ethnic slur. It is just the natural evolution of the English language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-homosexual-insults/822831.md?page=1)