How often do you hear the word “gay” being used in casual conversation? Nine times out of ten, the person using the word is using it in a negative way to say something is wrong or stupid. However, that is not the case; “gay” does not mean wrong or stupid—it never has meant those things. This etymology paper will focus on the origin of the word “gay,” its introduction into the English language, the semantic and phonological changes made to the word, the main use of the word and its idiolect, and why I chose to use “gay” as my word of choice for this assignment.
Like a number of words, the origin of “gay” is rather tricky to pin down. We do know that it is a borrowing from French. The English word comes from the French “gai,” but where this French
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At one point, “gay” even meant “noble; beautiful; excellent, fine.” However, this meaning was extremely short-lived (from c.1325 to 1802).
One of the most popular definitions of the word “gay” emerged in c.1400: “Of persons, their attributes, actions, etc.: light-hearted, carefree; manifesting, characterized by, or disposed to joy and mirth; exuberantly cheerful, merry; sportive.” To be gay is to be happy. This is personally my favorite definition of the word “gay.” It makes the most sense to me, and it is the least harmful. In 1597, a slightly strange meaning emerged. “Gay” started meaning “dedicated to social pleasures; dissolute, promiscuous; wild, crazy; flamboyant.” Basically, people who were called “gay” were immoral prostitutes until
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The new definition of “gay” is: “(a) Of a person: homosexual; (b) (of a place, milieu, way of life, etc.) of or relating to homosexuals.” As if “gay” could not just remain to mean happy and carefree forever, the good old USA had to go and sexualize it in such a way that is rather hurtful. At first, “gay” was just a slang word for homosexuality. It mostly held a negative connotation. Eventually the term stuck, and even today we use the word “gay” to refer to a homosexual individual. It is no longer seen as a “bad word.” However, many people today still use the word “gay” in a very hurtful way. You will hear people say “that is so gay” when referring to something they think is bad, wrong, or stupid. When used like this, “gay” is made out to be a terrible thing. Because of this, “gay” in terms of homosexuality is also viewed in a negative light (even more so than it already is by
Within America’s society today, 3.8 percent of the population is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. With only 17 of the 50 states legalizing and recognizing this type of relationship (“History…”), it puts a stronghold on same-sex couples to publicly declare their love with the promise of marriage. Same-sex marriages should be legalized because everyone has equal rights of freedom and liberty.
In the article “What’s in a Word?” (2004), the author George Lakoff, a professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, describes that the term utilized to refer to the issue of same-sex marriage and the way that society frames the issue can change the whole view. Lakoff develops his claim by breaking down the issue of gay marriage into three perspectives: to American society, to conservatives and to liberals. Lakoff’s purpose of this article is to reveal how the meaning of a word and attitude towards an issue can have a negative affect as a whole in order to encourage Americans to reframe the negative connotation of gay marriage. Lakoff utilizes analytical and persuasive tones throughout the article to approach to his intended
and they needed to go to jail or a mental facility. There was no word for gay, it was only a
Homosexuality existed since ancient times, for example in Ancient Greece, where it was evident through many literary and artistic works claiming that “pederasty” which means homoerotic relations between adult men and adolescent boys were very common. The adult male was called “Erastes” which means the “older lover” who was usually the role mode...
For years homosexuality in the United States of America has been looked down upon by citizens, religions, and even politicians. The homosexual culture, or the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender), has been demoralized and stuck out and lashed against by the Heterosexual community time and time again. To better understand the LGBT community we must first grasp the concept of Sexual Orientation.
In a structured society, as one we’ve continued to create today, has raised concerns over the way society uses the term queer. Queer was a term used to describe “odd” “peculiar” or “strange” beings or things alike, but over the centuries societies began to adapt and incorporate the term into their vocabulary. Many authors such as Natalie Kouri-Towe, Siobhan B. Somerville, and Nikki Sullivan have distinct ways of describing the way the word queer has been shaped over the years and how society has viewed it as a whole. In effect, to talk about the term queer one must understand the hardship and struggle someone from the community faces in their everyday lives. My goal in this paper is to bring attention to the history of the term queer, how different
...eone say something funny or dressed differently, people would say “you are so gay”. The term is often misuse a lot.
In the 1990's there has been what is called a "normalized movement"(Warner 41). This so-called movement has permeated into all aspects of the Gay and Lesbian movement's agenda. It has become increasingly clear in the realms of the media such as television, movies and magazines. The major objective for the proponents of this movement is to make the homosexual seem "normal." This would be done by not focusing on the sexual nature of the homosexual. Since their sexual behavior is considered deviant by society, any outward expression of it will be looked down upon. So, it has been the goal of some leaders of the movement as well as those who control the media outlets to separate the identity and sexuality of the homosexual as far as possible.
What makes a homophobic slur is the negative history behind it and what they mean present day. We will work our way down the list but let’s start with the number one homophobic slur in my book. Faggot. This word has a lot of negativity and strong history behind it. The word faggot used to mean a pile or bundle of sticks to the British back in the Feudalism era. The word fag/faggot may have also been used to describe types of hazing that would be done to boys in British boarding schools but none the less, this word has a horrible past behind it. But, as time went on and more gay and LGBT people started to become more comfortable with themselves and came out to people they knew and came out to the world, that’s when the word was put to use as a slur. The term fag and or faggot was used back then to mostly belittle and demean gay men but it was also
The word "homosexual" seems to have come into the English language around 1869, introduced by a Hungarian named Benkert but not generally used by the British until the 1880s. Yet, according to Theo Aronson, there were other words used at that time to identify the love between the same gender. "Homogenic love," "similisexualism," and "Uranism" were apparently among the more common references to homosexuality.
In Alice in Wonderland, queer meant to be odd or strange to the late 1800s readers; there was no other meaning for the word for their generation. Time skip to the early 1900s, where queer was beginning to be used to address a person’s sexuality as being gay or lesbian. It didn’t start out as referring to homosexuality, but due to the amount of times the word queer was used in articles, newspapers and even among people about gay clubs or homosexuals, the word stuck. One notable example was the Los Angeles Times describing a gay club as “composed of the ‘queer’ people” (“Queer”). Queer was frequently used as a negative slur in the 1950s against homosexuals up till the 1980s, where the younger LGBT (the group name for people who fall under lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) members started to use the word queer to identify themselves as a way of self-reassurance and to fight against rising homophobia and the AID crisis (even calling themselves “Queer Nation”). The 1990 New York pride march was when LGBT members decided to “reclaim the word as their own” (Marusic). Queer is still debated among the LGBT community as being offensive, but most members consider it a neutral term (“queer”). Queer has even widened its audience over the past few years as it’s developed less to refer to someone as gay or lesbian but to anyone who doesn’t fit the “norm” regarding gender or sexuality (Ogle). Due to the many forms of queer over the years, Alice in Wonderland’s queer has ambiguity to present day readers. When people of today’s culture see the word queer, they immediately think of gays and lesbians; because of the complexity of the definition of the word, people from 2016 and those of the late 1800s have different denotations and connotations (negative and positive), leaving a sense of confusion over the
The general meaning of homosexuality As (Eriksen,1995) says, Homosexuality as it was previously mentioned that it is a sexual attraction to or sexual relations with members of the same sex, or characterized by a tendency to direct sexual desire toward another of the same sex (dictionary.com). According (Bruce, 1993) “The problem of homosexuality involves much more than simply a sexual act. Those caught up in this sin usually have entered the homosexual lifestyle to some degree. The following party is being divided to clearly explain homosexuality into varies componence: behavior, mental response, identity.
That is because the human mind and personality is more complex than a single word or even a single phrase. Of course, one word may stick out in one's mind more than others, but that does not mean that it is the only word that describes that person. An LGBT man or woman is more than his or her sexuality. Only a series of several words or phrases can be used to partially describe a person. The word “homosexual” is the only word that can be applied to a person.
Our world is constantly changing and people are constantly facing many new experiences. Throughout society, there are many different people and different opinions to match. One matter that has a lot of different opinions is the matter of homosexuality. Depending on what a person believes or how accepting they are, will reflect on their opinion on this topic. With the world constantly, we have very old styles of thinking versus more modern opinions. This essay will show the ways that homosexuals are sometimes looked down upon in society (with older views) and the way that the world is changing.