Serious Do People Even Use "Gay" as a Derogatory Term Anymore?

Raidx

Banned deucer.
From what I`ve seen "gay" as a derogatory term isn`t as prevalent as it use to be. Like sometimes I`ll occasionally see someone say "that`s gay" or "pokemon is so gay because i got haxed" on the showdown server but most of the time it`s just trolls. Back when i was in school (especially middle school) almost everyone said "that`s so gay" casually with no regard to anything.
 

Duck Chris

replay watcher
is a Pre-Contributor
Man not to be a total internet warrior but like this has been one of the things I've been most surprised with after returning to smogon.
I play smash too and there it's just not said.
But here oh boy, it's everywhere.
why are you using this gay set
Baton pass is so gay
etc.

Kind of grinds my gears a bit
 

OLD GREGG (im back baby)

old gregg for life
The people who use insensitive words without realizing that their words could potentially be hurtful should get a pass, in my book. It is okay to excuse someone who doesn't know any better. The people who use these insensitive terms just to be insensitive and offensive aren't very nice or considerate; believe it or not people like that exist. When it comes to proving a point, some harsh words might need to be heard to illustrate more vividly what one is trying to express. It is up to the interpretation of the individual if harsh words are to be taken with a grain of salt or taken to heart. When someone says something mean and offensive to me, I try not to make a big deal of it. Sometimes its hard not to make a big deal of it.

Thing is words are just words, at the end of the day. So what if someone calls you a bad name or slanders you in a lewd fashion?
As long as people are free to express an opinion, you will always be free to disagree. You might not like it that people can say things you don't like to hear, but you need to appreciate that. Not appreciate people saying negative things, but appreciate the right of people to say negative things. If someone has offended you with words, you can always give them back some of your own words and let them know how their words make you feel! Sometimes you just have to let it go and be the bigger person.

As far as implied negative connotations associated with words such as gay, cancer, autistic, etc....
Nobody should be getting outraged by what any self-absorbed teenager has to say; if a person is well into adulthood and still saying immature things like this, there may be no hope for that person and therefor nothing you could do would probably have a positive result. Teenagers are attention-whores and will say stuff like this just because it might get a rise out of some folks, as long as this type of trolling is acknowledged then I can't see it going anywhere in the near future.
 
I only use that with my most intimate friends as a joke, I would never dare to use that as an insult to anyone else. But yes, I still hear that often, unfortunately.
 

Deck Knight

Blast Off At The Speed Of Light! That's Right!
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
To be honest I'm fascinated that the term remains resistant to all the PC hectoring associated with using the word, then again most people using it haven't hit puberty so reflexive response to social control hasn't really set in yet.

Media saturation of gay characters who are basically the comic relief (ever since Jack from Will and Grace in the 90's) might possibly lead young people to associate it with tongue-in-cheek humorousness rather than anything sexual.

When some internet twerp says "x is so gay" they probably mean funny/stupid/clownish. I doubt anyone using it is thinking "aha! homosexuals are bad people, this thing I am commenting on reminds of bad people, so I will call it gay!" They are probably thinking "lol that looks silly and reminds me of the clownish kid from Glee. I'll call it gay cause I know it will get a reaction!" Compound this with the internet enshrining irreverence as a value (Trolling) and you have what you see.
 
From what I've seen, the term "gay" is actually more often than not used in a positive connotation these days (and has been since at least the early 2010s). Even among straight men / straight women it's often used as a term of endearment (whether this is bad or good, I personally have no clue). While the f-word slur that used to exclusive to homosexuals is now used more as a general insult to describe a shitty person, and at times has nothing to do with sexuality. It's interesting to see how these terms all evolve over the years, and how new ones replace them.
 

Thanys

Banned deucer.
I think that defining something like Gay as something out of everyday life is wrong, a shirt written "That's gay", the way to dress, the musical tastes, animes, Gay is not what you do, gay is not what That seems to be, gay is a feeling for a person of the same sex, I believe that these things do not occur much on the internet, and yes, maybe it is decreasing.
 

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