Gay, Defined

Liz Schmidt Kate Brady slope 101 October 9, 2012 Formal commentary audacious (adj. ) merry riant and carefree brightly ornamental or colorful homophile(prenominal). (n. ) A homosexual. ( comic) Synonymous interpretation Gay (syn. ) merry, lighthearted, joyful, cheerful, sprightly, jolly, happy, joyous, gleeful, jovial, colorful, bright. ( festive) Negative definition Gay (adj. ) unhappy, lacking color, heavyhearted Because of the erratum definition of the name, people that are homosexual are often seen as colorful and cheerful. etymological Definition Gay (n) usually male, homosexual.In middle English, it meant excellent person noble lady gallant dub or some matter gay or bright ornament or full-grownge (gay)2 Stipulative definition Gay (adj. ) being homosexual Illustrative definition Two men walking down the street belongings hands. Thesis statement The subject matter of the intelligence agency gay has changed vastly over time, which today, can be offensive. Liz Schmid t Kate Brady English 101 October 9, 2012 The definition of the word gay has evolved greatly over time. What you consider gay today is emphatically not what was considered gay 200 years ago, or even 50 years ago. 00 years ago, the word was use as a precondition of promiscuity. It was similarly used as a slang term to call someone a young hobo. (gay) Today, we use the word mostly as homosexual or referring to someone who is attracted to the same sex. At the same time, the younger age group of America is victimization the word gay as a guidance to express dislike toward something. A common way would be saying thats gay when a friend tells them their team lost the game. This misuse of the word can often lead to sining the homosexual community. The meaning of the word gay has changed vastly over time, which today, can be offensive.How did the meaning of the word gay once turn from being merry and happy to homosexual? It all started around the 1630s, when people often used it as bot h splendid and ostentatiously dressed and calling a brothel a gay house. It is believed that the word was used this way up until nigh the early 1900s. The slang meaning (homosexual) began to appear in psychological writing in the previous(a) 1940s. At first, the word was used entirely among homosexuals themselves, by mostly male prostitutes referring to each other, but also female prostitutes. gay-rights movement) It seems to me that nobody ever really used the term as its true meaning merry and happy. However, there are songs in old musicals where they use it that way, so I jibe that meaning wasnt completely extinct. Although the merry and happy meaning of gay wasnt really used a whole lot in the past, we do see the bright and colorful meaning in many Christmas songs. One well-known example is in Deck the Halls. The lyrics are Don we now our gay apparel this most likely implies that they were dressed in bright colors.Without doubt, the word gay has a numberless history and has been used so many different ways in the past. A teenager walks into their pet store, and immediately spots something they love. They see that the price is much more than they have currently, and furiously groans, Fifty dollars? Thats gay When someone says thats gay about something that they find just plain stupid, why have ont they just say thats stupid? The improper use of this word may offend the homosexual community because it is a lot like calling them stupid. From my observation, this whole thats gay thing started recently, within the last few years.Mostly young people started saying it about nearly everything that they found idiotic. Its not even homophobic people using the word this way, its anybody. Its a shitty habit that most people probably picked up from hearing others say it. However if you say it wrong you may be seen as homophobic. How can there be a double meaning of both homosexual and stupid for the word gay? Imagine if instead of gay people verbalise thats s traight about an object they didnt like. Wouldnt it be wrong, to basically call someones sexuality self-aggrandising or stupid?It sounds silly, but the inappropriate usage of the word gay is implying that you withdraw there is something wrong with being gay. Its obvious that someone who is gay is going to be pained 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, its 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 thats 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, Dont you know Emilys gay? When I said yes, she then told me that I should obturate saying thats gay in front of her. At this point, I felt really bad about it and definitely wanted to stop saying it completely. Saying thats gay is such a bad habit of ma ny 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 gay should be used solely for meaning homosexual. The other day, I was conversing with a friend about some news in the media. She had told me that Brad Pitt makes 250 million dollars in just one sitting.I laughed, and replied, thats gay. After I said that I realized I should definitely stop saying that because it doesnt even make any aesthesis if you think about it. The meaning of the word gay shouldnt be stupid, although it is for many people. The definition has changed greatly throughout the years, which may cause some people to take offense by it. industrial plant Cited gay-rights movement. The Columbia Encyclopedia. 2008. Credo Reference. Web. 8 Oct 2012. gay. Websters Dictionary and Thesaurus. 1997. Print. gay. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, 2012. Web. 8 Oct 2012.