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Post by Orange on Mar 25, 2010 14:31:42 GMT -5
I saw this commercial on TV today
And I know there are a couple of gay members on the board so I ask you, do you take offense to the word gay, or are these commercials taking it a little too far?
EDIT - If this is too touchy of a subject, please feel free to lock but i was just curious as to what people thought about these commercials.
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MasonK565
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Post by MasonK565 on Mar 25, 2010 14:35:08 GMT -5
It is if you let be. And if you mean it to be.
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Viva
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Post by Viva on Mar 25, 2010 14:35:41 GMT -5
I don't think it's right for people that aren't gay to use the word gay derogatively, so, no I don't think they're taking it a little too far.
I don't see the difference between someone saying "That's f***ing gay." or using some other ethnic or racial slur as a substitute. It's still offensive and wrong.
But hey, I'm someone who finds use of the word "retarded" as derogatory and totally rude and uncalled for. I can't think of one person with mental disability or illness that would take kindly to being called a "retard" yet it's one of the most popular insults. It's totally go-to.
There's no difference in my eyes. Words that hurt people when used negatively, shouldn't be used. Common decency and all that.
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Mar 25, 2010 14:37:01 GMT -5
To be honest, I never understood why "gay" was ever used to describe something "lame" or uncool in the first place. I don't hear it used that way as much lately, though.
You could argue that the makers of those commercials are being a bit naive in thinking they'll turn the tide, but I definitely agree with their message.
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Post by Lair of the Shadow MaDaBa on Mar 25, 2010 14:37:35 GMT -5
Pretty sure it's supposed to be ironical, considering Wanda Sykes is a homosexual.
But yeah, it's based on the context.
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"Hollywood" Cactus Matt
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Post by "Hollywood" Cactus Matt on Mar 25, 2010 14:43:49 GMT -5
Based on that commercial, I'm gonna start calling lame things "sixteen-year-old boy with a cheesy moustache." ;D And honestly, "gay," as well as other words of its ilk, are certainly offensive to some people and should be avoided. My sister and her partner are both gay (ha, see what I did there?) and I would never dream of offending them in such a way, since I consider my sister to also be a good friend of mine. Some of it comes down to "knowing your audience," and some of it is just plain human decency. Personally, I don't like it and I think it comes across as ignorant as hell (and as the above poster said, the same goes for "retard") but if that's how you wish to present yourself - as an ignorant person who just blindly follows the trends -- be they negative or positive -- of your peers - then knock yourself out. Just don't be offended if I tell you that your use of the word "gay" in such a manner is very [whatever your culture is] of you.
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Post by Red Impact on Mar 25, 2010 14:50:36 GMT -5
Honestly, I've never met a gay person who thought the word was offensive in normal context. I thought it was just like calling a person black or hispanic.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 14:54:10 GMT -5
In normal context it is simply another word for homosexuality.
In the context that something being gay because it's wrong or broken or annoying or whatever, ie, if it is being used to connate negativity, then yes, it is offensive.
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Post by Young Game on Mar 25, 2010 14:54:43 GMT -5
I'm actually more curious about the word "Poofter". Is that considered offensive?
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MasonK565
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Post by MasonK565 on Mar 25, 2010 14:55:23 GMT -5
In normal context it is simply another word for homosexuality. In the context that something being gay because it's wrong or broken or annoying or whatever, ie, if it is being used to connate negativity, then yes, it is offensive. Yeah, he pretty much summed it all up right there.
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Phosphor Glow
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Post by Phosphor Glow on Mar 25, 2010 14:55:27 GMT -5
It's not at all offensive in normal context, but when used as a derogatory term, it's just as bad as any racial or ethnic slur. It sucks and shouldn't be used, but I don't think anything's gonna change that anytime soon unfortunately.
I don't get super offended by it or anything but I still don't like it.
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erisi236
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Post by erisi236 on Mar 25, 2010 14:56:50 GMT -5
"Gay" doesn't mean lame or stupid, "Ghey" is the word you're thinking about.
They just happen to sound mildly similar.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 15:04:28 GMT -5
I'm actually more curious about the word "Poofter". Is that considered offensive? Yes, because it is used as a derogatory term. It isn't like someone is saying 'what a cute little poofter' and mean it like they are being friendly, it's used as a term of insult, so yeah, it's offensive. However, as with alot of things, it really does depend on the person. I'm from the school of thought that personally, I don't insult easily and a few words and name calling wont insult me, but sure, others might go off on one with just one derogatory remark, or even the use of a word like the 'C bomb' can get some people going. Language is a very powerful tool, you can make people do whatever you want or hate you utterly with just a few correctly put words. We should know that, this is a wrestling forum, where people change from heel to face off the back of a few speeches all the time.
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Post by ani on Mar 25, 2010 15:16:38 GMT -5
It's all context.
What bothers me is that people like Wanda Skyes would like to just outright ban the word....which last time I checked, that's physically impossible to do.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 15:20:28 GMT -5
Well, you can make a word illegal and make uttering it punishable by law, but I think it would come down again to more contextual laws. Like the N word isnt illegal, but saying it can cause you get to into trouble for racial insitement of hatred or something like that (at least in the UK). They could do the same with the word gay so that it became the 'G word' but frankly, I think that would give the word more power.
If all words were acceptable and could be used at any time and by anyone, then none of them could hold as much power as some of them do now.
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Post by Brandon Walsh is Insane. on Mar 25, 2010 15:38:31 GMT -5
It's all about context, you mother sniffer.
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Post by losthead on Mar 25, 2010 15:49:44 GMT -5
You lint licker
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Cranjis McBasketball
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Mar 25, 2010 15:53:11 GMT -5
No. Words always shift with the times. Gay means happy, originally, then it got attached to homosexuals, now it's offensive.
Take the word retard. It's a perfectly acceptable word and it describes a condition. A person has a retardation of some normal function. Shame was attached to the word, now it's considered to be offensive. Lots of people still use and lots do not. The field shifted on that word to where people said, "These people aren't retarded, they're specially challenged or gifted or abled or what have you".....So now, it'd be very rare to hear an insult like, "He's retarded." Now you're far more likely to hear, "He's special".
Special has replaced retarded almost entirely as the insult. Keep coming up with things you want to call yourself or others and the words will all shift to reflect that.
When someone says, like washing windows, "this is gay." They don't mean, "this is two of people the same sex who are a couple", they mean "lame or uncool" Of course, moving that back it may mean they find homosexuals to be lame or uncool, but that's not really the aim of what they are saying.
If you don't attach shame to words, they don't carry the power to hurt or offend. You can't be free from any of those of things and by the way, it's not your right to be not be offended.
I don't know what any of this rambling means, but uh, there it is.
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Legion
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Post by Legion on Mar 25, 2010 16:02:49 GMT -5
I think, Game, the problem with the way that gay has made the transition is that the word didnt leave general usage and then come back to mean something else, like with the transition from happy to homosexual (ironically originally adopted by homosexuals themselves to try and leech from the meaning of the original word), instead the word has had an over lap; things aren't gay because that word means bad or whatever, things are gay because the homosexual overtone makes it bad or whatever. It's that that makes it offensive to some people.
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Cranjis McBasketball
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Post by Cranjis McBasketball on Mar 25, 2010 16:04:36 GMT -5
I think, Game, the problem with the way that gay has made the transition is that the word didnt leave general usage and then come back to mean something else, like with the transition from happy to homosexual (ironically originally adopted by homosexuals themselves to try and leech from the meaning of the original word), instead the word has had an over lap; things aren't gay because that word means bad or whatever, things are gay because the homosexual overtone makes it bad or whatever. It's that that makes it offensive to some people. That may be, sir. No word is offensive to me, so, I'm really the wrong guy to be asking.
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