What does it mean when someone says "That's so gay"? We hear this phrase all the time. In use it is akin to "That's so lame" or "That's so dumb". Often, the people who use the phrase don't intend to insult gay people and just think it's a catchy, kind of funny phrase. But the phrase "That's so gay" equates the word gay with being lame or being dumb. The phrase means that being gay is uncool, even if that's not the intended message. A few weeks ago I was in a woman's washroom when I overheard another young woman say "That's so Jew!" I stopped dead in my tracks and asked her if she just said that. I thought what she said was impossibly disturbing. She admitted to having heard the phrase a few minutes earlier and thought she'd try it out herself. It seems she realized that it was a stupid thing to say and said she wouldn't say it again.
Now, in all honesty, I'm not the most politically correct person I know. Just today I walked up to a pride table (with fruit on it) on campus, signed up for the mailing list, and asked if the fruit on the table was 'gay people food'. Then I joked that I was eating my gay apple like a total homosexual. Because the fruit was on the gay pride table! I thought it was funny.
So, I'm not entirely PC all the time. But in public spaces, I think it's important to be aware of the meaning behind our words. The apple was delicious, by the way. Deliciously homosexual. So maybe "That's so gay" is okay with me if it means it's absolutely fantastic, like so fantastically gay.
What do you think?
