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 (small) (custom).jpg "Image") In a world where being able to be heard is getting increasingly difficult and where language is clearly evolving around us, so do our uses of well established words. Take for example the words used to describe homosexuals: queer, poof, homo, batty and most common of all, gay. Our world is one of associations and therefore we label what we see around us. However, do we ever stop to consider the suitability of our language? In modern society is the word gay a term of endearment or is it infact passively aggressive?
Gay of course has a duality of meaning. It is used to express happiness and used to define homosexuality. It therefore has become colloquial and is widely used to label a whole section of society. However, if gay can mean happy, why is it uttered negatively and more recently to suggest something inferior?
We have all been there; standing in the playground at school or walking down the street when somebody has yelled out “hey, gay boy!” How has this made you feel? I am guessing you did not assume that you were being commended for your happy demeanour but instead recognised that you were being noticed as bearing resemblance to a homosexual. It is sadly true that the word gay has been adopted by those who wish to offend and insult those of us who are attracted to the same sex as ourselves.
Popular culture of course plays a large part in the assimilation into the language of slang terms and phrases. To this we must place a large duty of care over those in the entertainment industries and therefore under public scrutiny. As a case in point the Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles recently described a ringtone as being “gay” and sparked his bosses to defend him as not being homophobic but using the word quite differently, (for in their minds the word gay has recently been attached to meaning “lame” or “rubbish”). Whether or not Moyles is homophobic is not a matter to be discussed here but what I think is more interesting and would like to consider, is why gay should ever mean lame or rubbish.
How does a word change its meaning? This is a complex consideration and perhaps an over simplification. A word may never change its meaning, simply adopt new ones. Therefore the word gay has gone from meaning happy, to meaning homosexual and worryingly, more recently seems to being used to describe anything that is inferior or “rubbish”. The danger in this is that if connections are made across the meanings homosexuality can be seen as “rubbish” or inferior, or perhaps this is where the latest meaning came from?
If new meanings are born then they must be the product of something else. Therefore for gay to mean “rubbish” it must have initially been associated with and then attached to things that are rubbish. Of course this is not a giant leap to make. Homosexuality is indeed a social sub group and gay men and women are in a minority, perhaps then in recent times, along with the prejudices faced by us all at different times and in different forms the word gay has been hijacked and moulded into something far more sinister.
Let us not deny that we self label ourselves as gay, it is not the association between the word and homosexuality that is offensive. It is now that the word seems to be evolving in its meaning that we should stand up and contest it. Especially as a gay youth coming into a society where you may have to defend your ambitions and sometimes even your existence it is quite right that you do not allow others to label you as inferior.
Obviously, being labelled as inferior implies that the accuser is superior. However, it is most likely that the reverse is true. What with the power of the pink pound at its strongest and great social liberation gay men and women are constantly proving that they are no worse equipped than their heterosexual contemporaries. One only has to look around at those gay men who are making great successes of themselves in the arts and entertainment industries. Gay men and women are suddenly successful and therefore, perhaps as an act of defiance heterosexual individuals are trying to suppress any sense of success or betterment? Whatever the motivation behind such linguistic evolution, don’t let the word gay mean “rubbish” or “lame” make it mean “strong” and “proud”. Only registered users can write comments.
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