Reminds me of a joke
I heard this on South Park once (paraphrased):
Dude, last week I saw two guys kissing in the park. Up until now, that was the gayest thing I have ever seen.
The word gay is interesting today. Webster’s definition aside, it can mean happy; it can mean homosexual; and, more recently, it’s slang for uncool. I had a former coworker (did I mention I work in a terribly politically correct field?) who expressed to a group of us concern that her teenaged son used the word gay to mean stupid or unhip. If he didn’t like something, he’d say it was gay.
I inform my coworker that I do the same thing. Everyone was shocked. I’m not known about the office for being particularly politically correct, as you may have gathered.
Why am I babbling incoherently about the word gay? Because of this:
A 7-year-old boy was scolded and forced to write “I will never use the word `gay’ in school again” after he told a classmate about his lesbian mother, the American Civil Liberties Union alleged Monday.
Even though he’s using the word in the non-slang fashion (his mother is matter of factly gay), he was subject to discipline by the overzealous thought-police.
A teacher who heard the remark scolded Marcus, telling him “gay” was a “bad word” and sending him to the principal’s office. The following week, Marcus had to come to school early and repeatedly write: “I will never use the word `gay’ in school again.”
What exactly is the “good word” to describe the kid’s mother?
December 2nd, 2003 at 12:10 pm
Apparently to them, “degenerate”.
December 2nd, 2003 at 2:39 pm
The proper PC approved term is lesbian. Gay is reserved for use solely within the homosexual community. Heterosexuals are forbidden from using the term, even when speaking about the emotion, rather than the sexual orientation. Queer has been returned to the list of partially acceptible wordds, but must be used with care, particularly in intonation and context, lest one be found guilty of sexism.
Dyke is completely unacceptible. In fact, I feel I should turn myself in for actually writing it. And I shall report you as well for reading it and not reporting it.
That’ll teach me.
PS: If he writes the word ‘gay’, isn’t he using it? How many times will he have to write it for each time he writes it? There seems to be a flaw in this school’s logic.
I’m shocked.
PPS: Isn’t it delicious? The ACLU is attacking a school for being too PC.
It was only a matter of time.
December 2nd, 2003 at 3:38 pm
Rich:
Isn’t it delicious? The ACLU is attacking a school for being too PC.
No, this is no different than the ACLU defending a student’s right to wear a T-shirt with a picture of Bush and the captian “International Terrorist.” It’s a free speech issue (and, to a lesser extent, an equal protection issue), not a political correctness issue.
Link.
December 2nd, 2003 at 7:20 pm
huh? The term “gay” refers to a relationship involving two men. The term “lesbian” refers to two women who are in a relationship. Technically, Rich is right in that the kid should have used the term “lesbian”, but not for the reasons that he outlined.
December 3rd, 2003 at 3:00 pm
We’re nitting about semantics here, but from my understanding, “gay” means homosexual, regardless of the gender involved. “Lesbian” always means two females, but I’m not aware of any non-disparaging term that specifically refers to homosexual males.