The "H" word now seen by many as mildly offensive and dated

[Water Buffalo]

What would you prefer to be called? I am sure you would find being called anything offensive, but we have a name for literally everything, so....

The OP was not about my personal issue with the word homosexual. I don't really have much of an issue with it, except that I do understand anti-gay people often intentionally use it as a coded way to disrespect gay people. Such as saying homosexual marriage instead of gay marriage. Words do have power. It has been observed that the U.S. gay marriage movement gained a lot more traction when the choice was made to say marriage EQUALITY more than gay marriage. The current word for gay people is GAY, as if you didn't know. Duh. For some time there was a trend to self describe as QUEER, as a way to own a slur word and turn it around. My impression is that this trend is well over.

Well, i have learned something new today. Gay is not offensive, but homosexual is. I actually would have thought it was the other way around, but what do i know, i am not gay.

[Jingthing]

What would you prefer to be called? I am sure you would find being called anything offensive, but we have a name for literally everything, so....

The OP was not about my personal issue with the word homosexual. I don't really have much of an issue with it, except that I do understand anti-gay people often intentionally use it as a coded way to disrespect gay people. Such as saying homosexual marriage instead of gay marriage. Words do have power. It has been observed that the U.S. gay marriage movement gained a lot more traction when the choice was made to say marriage EQUALITY more than gay marriage. The current word for gay people is GAY, as if you didn't know. Duh. For some time there was a trend to self describe as QUEER, as a way to own a slur word and turn it around. My impression is that this trend is well over.

Well, i have learned something new today. Gay is not offensive, but homosexual is. I actually would have thought it was the other way around, but what do i know, i am not gay.

You've radically simplified and exaggerated this. It is not a slur word per se and this was never asserted here. It is used by anti-gay political forces to disrespect gay people. It's nuanced. Not black and white.

In your comment, you've actually introduced an interesting point. The word gay certainly can be used in an anti-gay way (as so many people do hate gays). Similar to the word Jew. Jew is a much more extreme example of this odd phenomenon; it really does become a hurtful slur in some usages. Depends on context and tone of voice.

But no the word itself GAY is not an offensive word to gay people.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[ChrisB87]

What would you prefer to be called? I am sure you would find being called anything offensive, but we have a name for literally everything, so....

The OP was not about my personal issue with the word homosexual. I don't really have much of an issue with it, except that I do understand anti-gay people often intentionally use it as a coded way to disrespect gay people. Such as saying homosexual marriage instead of gay marriage. Words do have power. It has been observed that the U.S. gay marriage movement gained a lot more traction when the choice was made to say marriage EQUALITY more than gay marriage. The current word for gay people is GAY, as if you didn't know. Duh. For some time there was a trend to self describe as QUEER, as a way to own a slur word and turn it around. My impression is that this trend is well over.

Well, i have learned something new today. Gay is not offensive, but homosexual is. I actually would have thought it was the other way around, but what do i know, i am not gay.

You've radically simplified and exaggerated this. It is not a slur word per se and this was never asserted here. It is used by anti-gay political forces to disrespect gay people. It's nuanced. Not black and white.

In your comment, you've actually introduced an interesting point. The word gay certainly can be used in an anti-gay way (as so many people do hate gays). Similar to word Jew. Depends on context and tone of voice.

But no the word itself GAY is not an offensive word to gay people.

So pretty much any word can offend if perceived to be meant in a negative way. Not much hope for the person saying it really, is there? I think people don't hate gays as much as you think they do.

[uptheos]

I'm heterosexual, I like sex with women

Men who prefer sex with other men are homosexual

What's the issue?

I think hi-jacking the word gay is a bigger deal.

The OP explains the issue.

The topic, again, is NOT about "hijacking" the word gay.

If straight people really want to harp on with that complaint (gay has now been a mainstream descriptor of same sex orientation for DECADES NOW, when exactly do such whines desist?), please do so on another forum, not the GAY forum which exists as a pro GAY environment, and by inference not a place to complain about the very word -- GAY.

You do reinforce my feeling that because the word heterosexual is definitely not going away, homosexual it's technical clinical opposite isn't going away either. I wonder why the article writer did not at least comment about that aspect of this.

But I think the word is in decline and agree it will continue to be.

I didn't realise that asking a question or stating an opinion on the gay forum is subject to rules, other than keep it polite.

To be perfectly honest, sometimes a topic pops up on the 'new content' and I fail to realise which forum it came from, so in that regard please accept my apologies for interloping.

However, back to the H word, yes it is in decline and agree that it will probably be phased out in time, but I still don't see what's wrong with it, men who have sex with men are homosexual. I presume you have no objection to using the word homophobe. Is it the sex part of the word that makes you uncomfortable? The sex part in heterosexual doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. Would you feel happier with gayphobe?

A person's sexuality makes absolutely no difference to my life and a rose by any other name........

[OMGImInPattaya]

What would you prefer to be called? I am sure you would find being called anything offensive, but we have a name for literally everything, so....

The OP was not about my personal issue with the word homosexual. I don't really have much of an issue with it, except that I do understand anti-gay people often intentionally use it as a coded way to disrespect gay people. Such as saying homosexual marriage instead of gay marriage. Words do have power. It has been observed that the U.S. gay marriage movement gained a lot more traction when the choice was made to say marriage EQUALITY more than gay marriage. The current word for gay people is GAY, as if you didn't know. Duh. For some time there was a trend to self describe as QUEER, as a way to own a slur word and turn it around. My impression is that this trend is well over.

Well, i have learned something new today. Gay is not offensive, but homosexual is. I actually would have thought it was the other way around, but what do i know, i am not gay.

Good on you...check back periodically to get the latest on queer culture and word play. Bi/Curious maybe?

[Jingthing]

So pretty much any word can offend if perceived to be meant in a negative way. Not much hope for the person saying it really, is there? I think people don't hate gays as much as you think they do.

Some words are more loaded than others.

Your personal comment I will ignore.

You are assuming I said something I didn't say. I didn't say how much. How can anyone know how much exactly?

I didn't attempt to quantity the global level of hatred against gay people. It's obviously something that exists, considering that being gay is illegal in most of the world, that would be a clue for you.

Maybe you and your friends are cool with it, good on you and your friends.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

I'm heterosexual, I like sex with women

Men who prefer sex with other men are homosexual

What's the issue?

I think hi-jacking the word gay is a bigger deal.

The OP explains the issue.

The topic, again, is NOT about "hijacking" the word gay.

If straight people really want to harp on with that complaint (gay has now been a mainstream descriptor of same sex orientation for DECADES NOW, when exactly do such whines desist?), please do so on another forum, not the GAY forum which exists as a pro GAY environment, and by inference not a place to complain about the very word -- GAY.

You do reinforce my feeling that because the word heterosexual is definitely not going away, homosexual it's technical clinical opposite isn't going away either. I wonder why the article writer did not at least comment about that aspect of this.

But I think the word is in decline and agree it will continue to be.

I didn't realise that asking a question or stating an opinion on the gay forum is subject to rules, other than keep it polite.

To be perfectly honest, sometimes a topic pops up on the 'new content' and I fail to realise which forum it came from, so in that regard please accept my apologies for interloping.

However, back to the H word, yes it is in decline and agree that it will probably be phased out in time, but I still don't see what's wrong with it, men who have sex with men are homosexual. I presume you have no objection to using the word homophobe. Is it the sex part of the word that makes you uncomfortable? The sex part in heterosexual doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. Would you feel happier with gayphobe?

A person's sexuality makes absolutely no difference to my life and a rose by any other name........

This is getting weird.

Please read the OP.

Why are you personalizing this?

I never said the word homosexual makes me uncomfortable.

I never said it was a slur word.

I only agreed, and it is obviously true, that political enemies of gay civil rights intentionally refuse to use the word gay and use the word homosexual instead as a way of coding their disrespect for gay people and gay civil rights.

I am happy to advocate for points I have actually made and agree with. I am not up to arguing for points that exist purely in the imaginations of other posters.

Cheers.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[wolf5370]

In my experience, people who complain all the time about gays "hijacking" the word gay USUALLY harbor "issues" with gay people in general. Nobody is stopping people from using the older meaning of gay.

The older meaning STILL EXISTS!

¹gay

adjective \ˈgā\

: sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex

: of, relating to, or used by homosexuals

: happy and excited : cheerful and lively

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gay

You do KNOW why most people don't use it anymore now that the dominant meaning of gay is about sexual orientation identity? Because they think gay as in the sexuality is a bad thing, something to be ashamed of , something to be embarrassed about, leading to stigmatization or worse. So go ahead, say you're having a gay old time in any way you want. What are you afraid of?!? People thinking you love the same sex? Does anyone SERIOUSLY think if you say Make the Yuletide Gay that you are proposing a Christmas gay sex event? So why not say it if you want to say it? I hope this point is clear. Nobody has "stolen" anything. MANY words have multiple meanings. Yes, you can disagree all you want. But I'm militant on this. It's an idiotic, trivial, insensitive, and petty thing to complain about. You can use the word GAY any way you bloody like. The gays did not stop you from using the word and will never stop you. If you don't use it any more in the older meaning, that is YOUR doing. Don't blame others. Blame yourself.

There was a thread here years ago (nice guy called Michael (yes he was gay) started it - he went back to the States about 2007-ish I think). Anyhow, the thread was about the use of the term "Gay" - and its etymology. In reality the word was used as a slur in England in the 30s and on. It was taken from the "Turvy Shows" (not sure about spelling there!) which was an old time drag show. The men, badly dressed and doled up as women, would sing (usually in males voices) for entertainment - one of the most famous songs was "What a gay day" (meaning what a nice day). It was first used as a joke, something like, on seeing a effeminate looking man, someone would say "I bet he thinks it is a gay day" or something similar. As often is the case, the joke became a slur. Eventually the gay community took the work for there own (just as black people in part of the USA have taken the N word). Larry Grayson (UK TV comic and presenter) and Frankie Howard (another comic/actor) often used the term in its old fullest sense "Oh what a gay day!" - both were openly gay and used it as part of their comical device.

Any word can be used offensively pretty much, its all about intent.

So it wasn't "hijacked" - it was an intentional insult that has become owned by the intended insulted community. I guess you could say, "If you don't want us to catch it - don't throw it!"

Edited March 25, 2014 by wolf5370

[ChrisB87]

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So pretty much any word can offend if perceived to be meant in a negative way. Not much hope for the person saying it really, is there? I think people don't hate gays as much as you think they do.

Some words are more loaded than others. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

Your personal comment I will ignore.

You are assuming I said something I didn't say. I didn't say how much. How can anyone know how much exactly?

I didn't attempt to quantity the global level of hatred against gay people. It's obviously something that exists, considering that being gay is illegal in most of the world, that would be a clue for you.

Maybe you and your friends are cool with it, good on you and your friends.

Just because most world powers don't legalize gay marriage doesn't mean the mass population agrees or disagrees. I can agree with you that most of the powerful people are probably anti-gay, but i would be interested to see a world vote on gay marriage. I expect most heterosexual people wouldn't care if gay people could marry. I would say there is no real global level of hatred.

[Jingthing]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

So pretty much any word can offend if perceived to be meant in a negative way. Not much hope for the person saying it really, is there? I think people don't hate gays as much as you think they do.

Some words are more loaded than others. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

Your personal comment I will ignore.

You are assuming I said something I didn't say. I didn't say how much. How can anyone know how much exactly?

I didn't attempt to quantity the global level of hatred against gay people. It's obviously something that exists, considering that being gay is illegal in most of the world, that would be a clue for you.

Maybe you and your friends are cool with it, good on you and your friends.

Just because most world powers don't legalize gay marriage doesn't mean the mass population agrees or disagrees. I can agree with you that most of the powerful people are probably anti-gay, but i would be interested to see a world vote on gay marriage. I expect most heterosexual people wouldn't care if gay people could marry. I would say there is no real global level of hatred.

You misread my comment entirely. I didn't say gay marriage. I said being GAY was illegal! Actually, more precisely gay sex acts. I do think you must live in some kind of bubble or not read the news if you don't think anti-gay hatred is not at significant levels in the world. In a number of countries, mostly in Africa, also India and Russia, this has actually gotten WORSE recently. In other countries of course, mostly in the west, things have been getting better. But this is off topic, can we please stop going down this off topic rathole? Thank you.

Joe Biden, vice president of the United States mentions the large level of gay criminalization laws in the world, including some having the death penalty:

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[uptheos]

I'm heterosexual, I like sex with women

Men who prefer sex with other men are homosexual

What's the issue?

I think hi-jacking the word gay is a bigger deal.

The OP explains the issue.

The topic, again, is NOT about "hijacking" the word gay.

If straight people really want to harp on with that complaint (gay has now been a mainstream descriptor of same sex orientation for DECADES NOW, when exactly do such whines desist?), please do so on another forum, not the GAY forum which exists as a pro GAY environment, and by inference not a place to complain about the very word -- GAY.

You do reinforce my feeling that because the word heterosexual is definitely not going away, homosexual it's technical clinical opposite isn't going away either. I wonder why the article writer did not at least comment about that aspect of this.

But I think the word is in decline and agree it will continue to be.

I didn't realise that asking a question or stating an opinion on the gay forum is subject to rules, other than keep it polite.

To be perfectly honest, sometimes a topic pops up on the 'new content' and I fail to realise which forum it came from, so in that regard please accept my apologies for interloping.

However, back to the H word, yes it is in decline and agree that it will probably be phased out in time, but I still don't see what's wrong with it, men who have sex with men are homosexual. I presume you have no objection to using the word homophobe. Is it the sex part of the word that makes you uncomfortable? The sex part in heterosexual doesn't make me feel uncomfortable. Would you feel happier with gayphobe?

A person's sexuality makes absolutely no difference to my life and a rose by any other name........

This is getting weird.

Please read the OP.

Why are you personalizing this?

I never said the word homosexual makes me uncomfortable.

I never said it was a slur word.

I only agreed, and it is obviously true, that political enemies of gay civil rights intentionally refuse to use the word gay and use the word homosexual instead as a way of coding their disrespect for gay people and gay civil rights.

Cheers.

I think the word homosexual probably does makes you feel uncomfortable and I have other reasons for drawing that conclusion. There's nothing wrong with feeling uncomfortable about something, it's the way we are and I feel uncomfortable about many things. Anyway, I certainly didn't and don't want to offend you and I'm sorry if you think I have. As that appears to be your perception, there is nothing more to be gained by continuing. I'm now out of here and will certainly try not to wander in again........ It's all yours.

[Jingthing]

I think the word homosexual probably does makes you feel uncomfortable and I have other reasons for drawing that conclusion. There's nothing wrong with feeling uncomfortable about something, it's the way we are and I feel uncomfortable about many things. Anyway, I certainly didn't and don't want to offend you and I'm sorry if you think I have. As that appears to be your perception, there is nothing more to be gained by continuing. I'm now out of here and will certainly try not to wander in again........ It's all yours.

No sir, it does not. Please don't insist you know the inside of my brain. That is very annoying.

I started the topic because I found it interesting. I didn't start the topic because of any kind of personal reaction to the word homosexual. In fact, I use it sometimes myself even though I do recognize it is used sometimes by anti-gay political forces to code disrespect to gay civil rights. Obviously, I don't use it in that way.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[David48]

... the word homosexual.... except that I do understand anti-gay people often intentionally use it as a coded way to disrespect gay people.

what are 'anti-gay' people?

[David48]

Hey JT ... where are the other Gay/Homosexual members of this Forum commenting on this thread?

Appears you might be the lone rider on this subject.

Maybe your friends will ride by with some supportive comments.

[robertthebruce]

Here is my Two Cents worth..

I am GAY, and you can call me what you like, it does not bother me...., too old in the tooth for all that...

as said, Thats Me, but i am sure not all Gay people would share my views...

over and out..

[Scott]

OK. I am a gay male and I sometimes engage in homosexual activity. For me, being gay is about a lot of things having to do with my lifestyle, culture and friends. It is about my being. Homosexual is about the sexual behavior. I know a guy who has never had sex. He self-identifies himself as gay and he prefers the company of other gay men. I am not sure he is a homosexual because he has never had sex.

We didn't hijack any words. They were attached to us, and most of those were not particularly meant to be nice. I have no problem with the use of the word gay to mean happy, apparently some people do, including Hallmark greeting cards, but that's their problem.

[Jingthing]

Yes, again, for the 100th time, I am not PERSONALLY offended by the word homosexual. I have used it myself, I will use it in future, but I will still mostly say gay because that's the more current word.

I am of course offended by any political effort to fight against gay civil rights. It is now common for such anti-gay rights activists to intentionally avoid the word gay to signal their disrespect to gay civil rights. In that sense it is not the word homosexual in itself that is offensive, but the more complicated message from those political forces.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[sustento]

I'm now out of here and will certainly try not to wander in again........ It's all yours.

Déjà vu all over again...

[Jingthing]

Thanks to everyone who commented on the actual topic. (See OP.)

Next time you hear an anti-gay politician say the word homosexual with that certain tone that they tend to use, perhaps some more light was shed upon that phenomenon,

Of course gay rights advocates use words as well to convey political goals -- such as the example of focusing on marriage EQUALITY rather than gay marriage. It just plays better in Peoria, so why not?

[sustento]

Hey JT ... where are the other Gay/Homosexual members of this Forum commenting on this thread?

Appears you might be the lone rider on this subject.

Maybe your friends will ride by with some supportive comments.

Notable by their absence...

[Jingthing]

Notable by their absence...

I love you too!

[Jingthing]

Déjà vu all over again...

So you did a lot of acid in the 60's too, mate?

[Donnie Brasco]

I generally refer to them as "breeders." But a little more confusing now with all these anti-queer gays running off and getting married and raising families.

Breeders huh ?

Well much in the same vein, when gays get too uppity or there is a clear and present danger of confusion, I use the word "homo".

And loads of my gay friends and acquaintances use it too when they see that there's little chance of an individual having much else to his identity.

It's contextual.

"Sometimes, 'fuggedabowdit' just means fuggedabowdit. . . . "

[sustento]

"Why do fools fall in love, Why do birds sing so gay?" - Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, February 1956

And I could go on and on.

aaaa.jpg

Love the jumper!

[Jingthing]

Homo (not homosexual) is usually a slur. But so is breeder.

Hetero (short for heterosexual) is certainly not a slur.

That's interesting, I guess, why is homo a slur and hetero not a slur?

In my experience, homo (and much worse) is used by straight people A LOT more than breeder is used by gay people.

But I can't prove it!

A more loaded question is whether it is somehow more acceptable for a minority group that doesn't enjoy equal civil rights to use slur words about the majority than the other way around?

On the topic of slurs, what other slur words are there for straight people? I can't even think of any more. Please help. There definitely aren't many compared to for gay people.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Love the jumper!

Oh yes. Oh yes! That song is better than ever!

I reckon any "serious" comments about the OP are over and done already ... so this is good now!

Edited March 25, 2014 by Jingthing

[ToddWeston]

Homo (not homosexual) is usually a slur. But so is breeder.

Hetero (short for heterosexual) is certainly not a slur.

That's interesting, I guess, why is homo a slur and hetero not a slur?

In my experience, homo (and much worse) is used by straight people A LOT more than breeder is used by gay people.

But I can't prove it!

A more loaded question is whether it is somehow more acceptable for a minority group that doesn't enjoy equal civil rights to use slur words about the majority than the other way around?

On the topic of slurs, what other slur words are there for straight people? I can't even think of any more. Please help. There definitely aren't many compared to for gay people.

You've got to be kidding me, you are the first one to cry poor me I'm gay and and NOW you want get into a mud slinging slur naming game, oh vey Dude that is inappropriate on so many levels.

And can you please keep in mind some of us do have and enjoy full civil rights, if you're making a reference kindly mention the country for easier reading.

[Jingthing]

Fair enough. In the majority of the world though gays do not enjoy full civil rights, and even in Britain gays are a small minority group and subject to homophobic attitudes in many aspects of life.

[Jingthing]

Also note I was directly replying to Donnie Brasco so viewing my response to him without that context is very misleading.

[Jingthing]

This is an interesting source. It's a special list because it's about suggestions for media usage which is different than they way people talk in real life.

On this list homosexual is clearly marked as offensive.

Well I can see it listed that way on such a media list, I don't think it has yet become actually offensive in real life speaking.

The other weaker item of LIFESTYLE (gay or homosexual) is interesting to me as well. I agree with it's inclusion on the list for media usage. In real life, it's a very dated word anyway and is rapidly dying.

http://www.glaad.org/reference/offensive

Offensive: "homosexual" (n. or adj.)
Preferred: "gay" (adj.); "gay man" or "lesbian" (n.); "gay person/people"
Please use "gay" or "lesbian" to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. Because of the clinical history of the word "homosexual," it is aggressively used by anti-gay extremists to suggest that gay people are somehow diseased or psychologically/emotionally disordered – notions discredited by the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association in the 1970s. Please avoid using "homosexual" except in direct quotes. Please also avoid using "homosexual" as a style variation simply to avoid repeated use of the word "gay." The Associ­ated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post restrict use of the term "homosexual" (see AP, New York Times & Washington Post Style).

Can of worms, I know, it has been brought up before and rejected but shouldn't the word LIFESTYLE be removed from this very forum, which is after all a type of MEDIA? The word really makes me cringe when referring to gay people. It is so dated, and at least according to GLAAD ... offensive.

Community forum for alternative lifestyle in Thailand.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Jingthing