Talk:Gay

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Possible Weasel words

Does "the words gay man and lesbian are the most recommended words" amount to use of weasel words within Wikipedia's meaning? Recommended by whom? JamesBWatson (talk) 18:44, 16 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Early Usage of word Gay

I just want to add this info to the section about the usage of the word "Gay," but I'm not able to edit the page. Also, I wasn't sure where to put it, or how to word it. I thought it would be useful, so if someone can add it, that would be nice. Thanks. (to verify, you can check this website with the date & lyrics: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~dfox/porterlyrics.html)

Here's the information"

Cole Porter's 1941 musical, "Let's Face It" explicitly uses the word "gay" in both a homosexual and a non-sexual sense. Lyrics for the song "Farming" repeatedly describe many celebrities engaging in rural activities because it makes them feel "glamorous and gay" (i.e. happy), and then includes the verse: "Don't inquire of Georgie Raft Why his cow has never calfed, Georgie's bull is beautiful, but he's gay!" im a gay and to be gay is to like boy if u r a boy and to like girls if u are a girl! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Francis poeske (talk • contribs) 20:55, 27 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Since this usage is early, and totally unambiguous, and shows how the word was understood to mean both things, I thought it would be useful for this entry. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Raindeerroom (talk • contribs) 15:55, 6 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Gay is a word used in many insulting ways. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.240.20.61 (talk) 19:08, 21 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Why can't gayness redirect here?

TheBlazikenMaster (talk) 16:04, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It can if you want it too. Create a redirect. Paul B (talk) 16:05, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

No, actually it can't. Don't believe me? Try to make the redirect yourself. TheBlazikenMaster (talk) 18:39, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It has been used as an attack page in the past. East718 protected it because of this. You might want to ask User:East718 to redirect it. The page should be kept under protection. forestPIG 18:51, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Well, whoever protected this page from re-creation must have had a damn good reason why it can't redirect to this article. And I'd really wanna know what that reason is. TheBlazikenMaster (talk) 19:14, 24 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I wouldn't fret too much about the gayness. I'm sure East718 will redirect it for you. forestPIG 00:11, 25 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It isn't that much big of a deal anyway. TheBlazikenMaster (talk) 10:51, 25 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Lead image

Why doesn't the image in the lead, currently the drawing from Punch, illustrate the modern usage? Hyacinth (talk) 23:10, 9 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Meanings of "gay"

This article is seriously flawed. It skips through the original meaning, and the bulk of the article is "gay means homosexual". Considering the length of usage of the "carefree" meaning, the article needs to be changed to reflect this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.245.190.156 (talk) 10:58, 15 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

What would you prefer the article structure look like? Hyacinth (talk) 11:47, 15 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

History of Opression

I think we should discuss the opression of gays in this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boy2boy (talk • contribs) 22:07, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The Gay article is more about the term (including Gay referring to homosexual people), Homosexuality (And Anti-LGBT disambiguation page) has more information about oppression of gays.) User0529 (talk) 23:00, 18 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Clearly there are examples of gays being oppressed, but a lot of the subjective feeling of "being oppressed" is due, Donald Black explains in Escape the Gay Straitjacket, to gay men repressing their anger and not being able to stand up for themselves because of this, hence his use of the phrase "gay straitjacket" for the helplessness gay men feel.Andrenapier (talk) 11:46, 5 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

uncited paragraph

I've removed the following:

The usage of the word "gay" changed mid 20th century and was adopted from the British argot (code language) Polari. The word "gay" used in context to connote "homosexual" allowed for extensive double entendre and innuendo. This practice continued even as late as the 1970s; in a television advertising campaign for the Bic Banana ink crayon, Charles Nelson Reilly sings, "the colors are so bright and gay!" The word "gay" here does double duty, referring both to the brightness of the ink, and as an obvious insider commentary on Reilly himself.

The assertion that the sexual meaning originated in Polari is uncited, and inconsistent with the more common claims of US origin. The 1970s ad may well have used double-entendre, but again it's uncited and its also possible that it simply continued the traditional meaning, which was certainly still commonplace in the UK in the 70s. We would need more evidence. Paul B (talk) 23:59, 4 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Structure of the article

Was wondering something...

Is this article about the word "gay" and its usage over time? Or is it about homosexuals and homosexuality? If it's the former, then the article needs to be rewritten as it focuses far too heavily on the gay=homosexual aspect. If it's the latter, then perhaps a separate "history of the word gay" article should be created? I would suggest the disambiguation page, but the "gay equals homosexual" take seems to dominate there too! Dr Rgne (talk) 09:22, 15 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I think that people should except gays for how they treated that person before they found out they were gay. If they cant except you then they arent a true friend —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.108.137.141 (talk) 15:09, 26 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Gay as a noun

Gay as a noun can be used for a male or female person:

"Gay–noun 7. a homosexual person, esp. a male." -Dictionary.com

I just wanted to say that because in the article it implies that gay as a noun is always used for males only. That's not necessarily true, although it is sometimes. Lesbians can be properly called gays, too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Frisky porcupine (talk • contribs) 18:47, 1 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]