Gay, Defined - 1008 Words

Liz Schmidt Kate Brady English 101 October 9, 2012 Formal definition: Gay (adj.) merry: happy and carefree; brightly ornamental or colorful; homosexual. (n.) A homosexual. (â€Å"gay†) Synonymous definition: Gay (syn.) merry, lighthearted, joyful, cheerful, sprightly, jolly, happy, joyous, gleeful, jovial, colorful, bright. (â€Å"gay†) Negative definition: Gay (adj.) unhappy, lacking color, heavyhearted Because of the literal definition of the word, people that are homosexual are often seen as â€Å"colorful† and â€Å"cheerful†. Etymological Definition: Gay (n) usually male, homosexual. In middle English, it meant â€Å"excellent person† â€Å"noble lady† â€Å"gallant knight† or â€Å"something gay or bright†; â€Å"ornament or badge† (â€Å"gay†)2 Stipulative†¦show more content†¦It’s a bad habit that most people probably picked up from hearing others say it. However if you say it wrongly you may be seen as homophobic. How can there be a double meaning of both â€Å"homosexual† and â€Å"stupid† for the word â€Å"gay†? Imagine if instead of â€Å"gay† people said â€Å"that’s straight† about an object they didn’t like. Wouldn’t it be wrong, to basically call someone’s sexuality bad or stupid? It sounds silly, but the inappropriate usage of the word â€Å"gay† is implying that you think there is something wrong with being gay. It’s obvious that someone who is gay is going to be offended if they hear someone using the word the wrong way. They could take it as insulting, or they could just be a little annoyed. Either way, it’s not right. I once worked with a girl who was homosexual. Sometimes I would easily forget that she was in the room and catch myself saying â€Å"that’s gay† about something totally random. I never really noticed that it could be offensive until a co-worker said something to me. She asked me, â€Å"Don’t you know Emily’s gay?† When I said yes, she then told me that I should stop saying â€Å"that’s gay† in front of her. At this point, I felt really bad about it and definitely wanted to stop saying it completely. Saying â€Å"that’s gay† is such a bad habit of many young people. I guess Emily understood that it was just a bad habit for me, but not everyone will be that understanding. Furthermore, the word â€Å"gay† should be used solely for meaningShow MoreRelatedGay And Homosexual Identity : Is It Defined As A Person?1495 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a homosexual can be defined as a person â€Å"characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desires toward another of the same s ex† (Merriam-Webster). Nonetheless, movies, books, television shows, and other forms of media evidently display that we have become a society that defines homosexual identity in relation or opposition to heterosexual identity. 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