Hi, I cant thing of anything better to say!

I posted something like this in my lj, but I made it private. I believe this is something that needs to be addressed at the boards. Please take this for what it is, and not some 'longing for the old days' nonsense.

The problem, I believe, is the use of the term 'gay'. No, not in the sense that the joke is getting old. Lately, I've been disgusted by the use of it. Some people can think of nothing better to say than 'this game is gay'.

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ofcurse eva 01 rei's one looks horible (but rei tough...) and asuka's eva is totaly gay, and eva spoiler*

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X has got to be the worst FF game i have ever played, the main character is a whimp, most of the others are gay

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FFX because of Yuna but >snip< Tidus makes is the downside of it

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this one was edited by staff.

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Yea, but um from what you said, baloki that s gay

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Now, I have nothing morally against using the word 'gay' as a substitute for 'sucks'. I use it all the time, jokingly. But only when I'm with people who I know it wouldnt offend. I can think of quite a few people, some of them homosexual, some of them not, who it would seriously offend or hurt. We cant use the 'f-word' around here, because it's, admittidly, offensive. Though I'm sure many of us say it all the time... but most of us wouldnt use it in front of our mothers, it would offend them.

No, I'm not trying to get on the 'this is potentially offensive and thus it should be banned' bandwagon. There's nothing I hate more. But, I think in a society where the whole homosexual issue is a big one, I don't think we should condone what is considered by many to be 'hate speech'. Maybe in our private lives, but not on a public board... especially when there's so many other words to use.

Now, of course, warning the post is the answer. But should we make it a big no-no here, or what? Am I over reacting because I ate too many chocolate-covered pretzels? I figured (and was encouraged) to take it to you, the people, and I do wanna hear how everyone feels.

And please note, I'm not saying that we should censor the word gay constantly, obviously it has it's place, but I don't think the examples used above constitute it's use.

I agree completely with you there. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the word "gay" used in any derogitary or in place of a swear word always offends me, moreso than swearing (actually that doesn't offend me) even though I'm not gay. I find any sort of discriminatory propganda offensive, particularly racism.

There are far better words to use in disgust than "gay".

Yeah, I agree it shouldn't be used in that context but however, I don't actually think it offends homosexuals. Whenever something comes up, I mention my best friend, who is a homosexual, and he couldn't care less if anyone referred to something as gay, or even to him as gay, and the other few homosexuals I know are the same.

So meh, I don't think it should be used that way, but I'm not sure that it offends them. But I guess everyone is different, so I imagine some will be.

It definitly depends on the person. Some of my homosexual aquaintances do get offended by it, some dont. And it does depend on whose using it. I call my friends all sorts of names I would never call a stranger, lest I hurt their feelings. Things are different between friends, but I can only imagine what someone scrolling through these boards think when they see such things.

It entirely depends on the people, and because this is a message board and many different people with many different points of view read it, it becomes something of a different matter.

Yeah. I have a habit of using it in the place of "sucks" at times, but I don't do it in places where people can be offended. I'll say it if it's in my house, but not infront of a load of people.

People should just relax. I hate uptightiness.

Would I get offended if someone said: "This game is hetero!" certainly not. And if I was gay, that wouldn't offend me at all.

I really dont feel I'm being uptight. But I dont see why it's neccesary to be used when there's a plethora of other phrases that will fit just as well.

The word 'nigger' (excuse my use of it) is used a lot between people, and while it wouldnt offend them depending on who's using it, I certainly wouldnt go around spouting it left and right.

I wasn't saying you're uptight, silly.:) Yeah, it might be stupid to say "gay" of certain things, but oh well.

Yeah, I agree about word 'nigger', but I don't know why I see it different. I guess because we know it's very racistic word and people gets offended by it, but I just have never really thought that --so many-- gay people would get offended because of word 'gay'. No one's so far got offended, but yeah.

Usually I swear too much and I should cut it down.

True true. I dunno what bothers me more, the scant potential to offend, or just that it looks so bad on a message board. One of my pet peeves is people who cant think of anything better to say, I guess.

I could say a few 'gay' things about your signature though, but we'll leave it at that :p

I don't we should let PC-ness strict freedom of speech, but that's me. At any rate, I don't think it's a big deal. People should look at content of what's being said before getting pissed or whatever. I don't see the big deal.......

It does depend on the context, but like the examples I pointed out above, it doesnt seem really neccesary, ya know? Stupid, even.

And I do hope I'm not coming a cross as being angry or anything about this, just to clarify before I head off to sleep.

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Originally posted by TheAbominatrix
I could say a few 'gay' things about your signature though, but we'll leave it at that :p

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Vincent Kennedy McMahon happens to be most masculine manly man and straightest person on this planet.:mad2:

In my Eng Lang lessons, we did language and discrimination of marginalized groups. In fact, the word 'nigger' was originally just another word to describe that kind of person, and wasn't meant offensively, until small-minded people used it in that way.

It's the same for the word 'gay', really. It was originally used as a describing word for homosexuals (And still is, actually, as the homosexuals I know use it to describe themselves), but now idiots (Usually school children) use it as an insult and so it has taken on these negative connotations.

It's a shame language is being ruined in this way, really.

Blame on South Park.:) <3

The RO server I play on is full of immature little kids who use "gay" as every other word, so you can bet it's very annoying.

I think it shows how intelligent they are, if they can't think of a better word to use. "That's GAY!"

I just think it's a stupid thing to say when referring to stuff like games and game characters because it just doesn't make sense. Tidus is gay? Okay so why did he kiss Yuna? Come on people, if you are going to insult something at least get a better insult than that. :rolleyes2

The use of the word in a negative way irritates me. I hear it at school all the time, and online too. And I know that most people who use "gay" to describe something they think sucks aren't even homophobic. They'll hastily tell you that they have gay friends, so it's cool. But they're still attaching a negative connotation to being homosexual.

So yeah, I think that people could definitely make better choices about what words they use. I'm not going to get angry at anyone who uses the word in that way and lecture them about it, but it does bother me.

Makes one wonder why nothing is ever 'lesbian'.
Hm.

Spiff - then that would bring up why in society it seems that to be a lesbian is fine while being gay isn't. *Shrugs*

I agree completely with Abominatrix on this one. Lately I've found myself to get rather irritated with the, "This is gay!" sort of attitude.
However, I'm also a hypocrite cause I laugh at it at the same time. I'm not quite sure why I do though.

Perhaps it's more of the fact that people tend to freak out over the issue. I find myself referring to my friend as gay just because he's overly attentive on his manly-ness. I guess it's just amussing seeing him flip out over it.
. . . I'm double-sided on the issue but I can say that the ussage should be cut down a fair amount here at the boards.

Two options, a) I remove profanity from posts whenever I find it, b) people grow up. So I remove profanity from posts whenever I find it.

. . . and you do a good job at it Unne. I just wish people were decent enough to censor themselves at times, you know?

Opposite of this thread is the term "Straight."

People use "straight" to signify that something is cool, or ok with them.

Yo, I'm gonna head to the car wash now.
That's straight.

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Originally posted by Del Murder
I don't like when people use the word gay in frustration, but I don't think it's much of an insult anymore. I think the word gay has taken on a third meaning. Just like before it referred to homosexuals it only meant 'happy', and queer only meant 'odd'. Words and language constatnly evolve.

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I'll edit it if it's used as an insult. Or maybe I'll just edit it whenever I see it. :)

Linus . . . I never actually thought of that and it's sad cause I use that term too.

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Originally posted by Yamaneko
I'll edit it if it's used as an insult. Or maybe I'll just edit it whenever I see it. :)

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That's what I used to do. :p You'd see a lot of the little kids in the FFX forum calling Tidus "silly".

Everything you do is going to offend someone. Using the word "gay" as a substitute for "sucks" is less likely to be offensive to someone than a lot of other things. Its not a particularly smart thing to say, but its nothing I'm concerned about.

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Originally posted by Gau
That's what I used to do. :p You'd see a lot of the little kids in the FFX forum calling Tidus "silly".

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I assume by silly, you mean "gay". Overuse of that term annoys me to no end, as it is simply not descriptive in the least in some situations. Of course, the example you give is perfectly in context. Tidus looks like the stereotypical gay man, with his flagrant colour scheme and girly long hair. There are perfectly "normal" gay guys, some I've known and associated with freely, being non-discriminatory, but some are simply over-the-top affeminate, and this is usually the image called upon when using "gay" in context. It should not, however, be used to replace "stupid" or "sucks", as it is a display of vocabulary handicap.

*Dylan

Why not disallow any form of non-specific criticism at all? Forbid such treasures of the English language as "that's gay", "this sucks" or "that stinks". They really don't accomplish anything, anyway. It's a waste of board space, and I'm sure I lose an IQ point every time I see a post of such a caliber. Only allow specific criticisms. Replace something like "T1dus iz ghey!!1" with something to the effect of "I find Tidus' voice to be irritating at times". Specific criticism is actually worth reading.

I remember someone made a thread like this a long long time and and Unne said something like "We should say pants instead." But really, who cares? Why make such a big deal out of something like this? When you call something "gay" as in it sucks, you're not intentionally trying to insult gay people, it's just a figure of speech. You're pants.

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Originally posted by Buddha
I remember someone made a thread like this a long long time and and Unne said something like "We should say pants instead."

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"Christ, pants is more of a swear than 'penis.'" -Kishi

I am annoyed that a lot of people don't have the time to come up with a more well-crafted putdown than "gay," though. Even though I often find it amusing, at the same time. ;D

This thread is so pants.

I call things/people "gay" when I really dislike them/it. I do this because I think it is the highest insult you can give someone/thing because it is completly wrong. God gave Eve to Adam. He didnt give Evan to to Adam

However this is just my opinion and I'm am entitled to it as is everyone else to theirs. Thats one thing I love about this site, every one can have their own opinion.

I remember someone made a thread like this a long long time and and Unne said something like "We should say pants instead."

I don't recall saying that.

A friend of mine takes offence to this on a count that he's bisexual. If I even say something like "This movie is gay" he gets pissed about it. I don't see why though, todays society isn't using the term to make fun of homosexuals the way I mentioned is about on the same wavelength as to say "This movie is lame."

Kishi, Unne, what's the difference?

People should learn the difference between the words 'gay' and 'ghey.'

Gay - homosexual, as in "I believe gay marriages should be legalized under the Consitution," or "Richard Simmons is gay."

Ghey - stupid, trite, annoying, etc... as in "That post was the gheyest thing I've ever seen," or "Richard Simmons is ghey."

You have a point. I never knew there was a difference.

I'm offended.

That's pretty ghey, dude.