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US Ad Council: Hey Kids, Saying "Gay" is Gay
The Green Eyed Monster
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
i blame hip hopRegistered User regular
A Push To Curb Ugly Phrases.
Anti-PC Police -- sound your sirens below!!
Man, I'm glad it's being done. It's lazy speaking, it's derogatory, and kids should knock it off. I'm sick of the lazy justifications for poor behavior.NYT wrote:FOR the first time since the Advertising Council was founded in 1942, the organization — which directs and coordinates public service campaigns on behalf of Madison Avenue and the media industry — is introducing ads meant to tackle a social issue of concern to gays and lesbians.
The campaign, which is scheduled to be announced by the council in Washington on Wednesday, will seek to discourage bullying and harassment of teenagers who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The campaign, created pro bono by the New York office of Arnold Worldwide, urges an end to using derogatory language, particularly labeling anything deemed negative or unpleasant as “so gay.†That is underlined by the theme of the campaign: “When you say, ‘That’s so gay,’ do you realize what you say? Knock it off.â€
There will be television and radio commercials, print and outdoor ads and a special Web site devoted to the campaign (thinkb4youspeak.com). Some spots feature celebrities, the young actress Hilary Duff and the comedian Wanda Sykes, delivering the message.
Anti-PC Police -- sound your sirens below!!
The Green Eyed Monster on
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But then I realized what the subtext is to these ads. They're saying that using the word 'gay' is hurtful to gay kids. Obviously that's a bad thing... because you don't want to hurt a gay kid's feelings. So the subtext here isn't "don't use 'gay' as an insult," but "don't insult gay kids."
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Well, yeah, that. But they're going, "Think about how gay kids might feel." They're humanizing homosexuals, which directly combats the dehumanization that is a necessary component of prejudice.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
"That's so NAMBLA."
It rolls off the tongue.
I started making a habit of saying "lame" instead. It's worked out well, but "lame" is a pretty lame word itself anymore. So "is freaking horrible" gets used more often.
PSN : Bolthorn
That's offensive to handicapped people.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I felt like a complete ass, and have never since used it to describe something I didn't like.
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
"Gay? Did it at least buy you dinner before it tried to have anal sex with you?"
And, as it would be no surprise to most people here (since I think the average IQ of a person who frequently refers to things being 'gay' is probably just north of 'retarded') most of the responses I get to that question are along the lines of "....huh?"
Don't call them retarded, that's offensive to mentally handicapped people.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I'm ambivalent about this. I once called someone the f-word, not meant in reference to homosexuality at all, and then realized that I very well could have offended anyone listening and not just the guy I was talking about. So I try not to use them anymore.
It hearkens back to a time when "gay" to most people meant strange and weird and "queer" and not right and so forth.
But Feral has accurately pointed out how many here already seem to have no problem with words that use physical (lame) or mental handicaps (retarded) as insults. The cynic in me can't help but recognize the "cause du jour" vs. an actual ethical standpoint.
you know what
i like this
i hate nambla and i feel comfortable using their name as a derogative slur
and man saying "dude you're so fucking nambla" is pretty offensive, i think it carries more weight
;_;
I find the word fag hilarious to use in the right situation. It's even funnier coming from a gay person.
"Where did you find that shirt? You fag."
It's offensive because the term 'retarded' is offensive?
Or it's offensive because even retarded people have more common sense than to use 'gay' as a derogative?
(Doesn't matter, I actually agree with either explanation)
I'm still pro-puss times one thousand.
(sorry to O/T)
The word just pops off my tongue. Like,
"Hey man, want to hit up the movies tonight?"
"I have to be up tomorrow, nah"
"Dude, you're being such a little faggot :x "
It's one of the staples of the way I talk and I've been trying hard for a while now to suppress it. It probably doesn't help I talk so quickly.
2. What about "that's so gay" to derisively note something that is really gay, eg, a parade of Liberace impersonators?
3. At what point does the word take on a 3rd meaning separate from "happy" or "homosexual" and simply exist as a homophone to those other meanings? Should handicapped people be offended by "that's so lame"?
like, obviously i don't swear at work, but i don't just mean i don't use ethnic or sexual slurs, i don't even use fuck or shit at work because it's unprofessional and unacceptable in my workplace to talk like that.
but around my buddies, i do in fact use ethnic, sexual, racial, and other slurs and offensive language in a casual and joking fashion.
for example, if bemoaning the extreme cost of an item with my close friends, i may say that it is "so fucking jewish".
this isn't some kind of slur against the jewish people. it is, in fact, slightly ironic because i myself am jewish and i am simultaneously adhering to a stereotype of jews being cheap bastards who bitch about the prices of things.
i feel it's reasonable to expect people to adhere to different sets of conversational standards: the style they use around their close friends, the style they use around casual acquaintences, the sort they use at work, etc.
i have friends, close friends, who are homosexuals. i have used the word "gay" or "faggot" around them (but not necessarily directed at them) in a derogatory fashion. they themselves have also done this. it doesn't hurt their feelings, it doesn't upset them, because they know i am their friend and that is not my intent. i'm using casual and intentionally abrasive language, often for comedic effect.
i wouldn't do the same around a casual acquaintence, or a co-worker, because i don't know their feelings on the subject and it is not my intention to alienate them or hurt their feelings.
so, like other slurs and perjoratives, i don't see an inherent problem with using words like "gay" or "fag", depending on their context. however, in the most common usage of these words derogatively the intention is to offend or insult someone, and that's not cool.
"...and not the good kind where two naked dudes make out!"
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
-- You could accurately say, "Lowering the CO2 in the test chamber retarded the plant's growth," meaning it slowed it down, made it worse, made it lesser, so it's really not too odd to extend and apply that as an adjective or a metaphor with negative characteristics.
-- You could accurately say, "After the tackle, the runner came up a little lame," meaning he had hurt his leg, was slower, and was then a less effective runner. The word is synonymous with "impaired."
"Gay," on the other hand, has no root connection to impairment, hurt or pain, or being lesser, aside from social prejudices against homosexuality. It's not at all an apt comparison Feral is making.
1. I'm ok with 'queer' being used to describe something odd... because that's the literal definition of the word. The fact that it was ever used to describe homosexuals/lesbians is what was insulting.
2. Dude... if I saw a bunch if Liberace impersonators parade by me, I would probably say; "OH MY GOD... that is so gay!" Nothing wrong with that, it's just pointing out a fact.
3. Frankly, if we're to apply this standard to everything then yes; 'lame' should be insulting to the handicapped and crippled. But it's not AS bad as 'gay' being used as a derogative, because 'lame' is literally defined in a number of different ways... one of which is: weak; inadequate; unsatisfactory; clumsy. Since there is no definition of the word 'gay' that fits a derogitive connotation, then it becomes a much bigger infraction and insult.
I'm on shaky ground here. Hyper-PC certainly won't work. It's infeasible. However, it is, I think, these most subtle uses of the word that could normalize stigma. Or normalize the acceptance of homosexuality. Hell if I know.
Like, if you jokingly call yourself a 'fat disgusting slob,' there's a limit until those thoughts start to sink in, right?
Am I close at all?
No, probably not.
Now should I be worried this could happen with anti-"using the word gay because you have the vocabulary of a sign language-using gorilla" ads? I'm not saying kids will start beating up gay people because a teacher told them not to, but I can certainly picture a myriad of smarmy 12 year-olds saying "dude, that poster is gay" in some failed attempt at irony.
Next topic.
When you say somebody is "retarded" all that means is that their development is slowed. So using it as a derogatory term is offensive to people who have developmental disabilities. If you had diabetes and I started referring to things I didn't like as "that's so diabetic!" how do you think you would feel?
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Using "retarded" or "lame" as a pejorative implies that people who are developmentally disabled or physically handicapped are lesser people. If you believe that using "gay" as an insult is insulting to gay people, then you must also hold that using "retarded" as an insult is insulting to retarded people.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.