The Quote of the Day that inspired my A to Z Challenge theme –
A Word for the Day that takes on many meanings.
Quote of the Day: A writer lives in awe of words for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you. They pick up flavors and odors like butter in a refrigerator. John Steinbeck
Word of the Day: Gay
This is the first word that popped into my mind when I chose this theme for the 2012 Blogging from A to Z Challenge. It has many meanings and has clearly changed through the years. When I was in college (many years ago), I wrote an essay on this word. It was interesting looking up all the definitions, when it started to change from a merry little word to a label for homosexuals, to being embraced as a way of life.
A gay party a hundred years ago looked quite different from one today. Although, both might be called a gay affair, but in different ways.
I found this note on Dictionary.com
In addition to its original and continuing senses of “merry, lively” and “bright or showy,” gay has had various senses dealing with sexual conduct since the 17th century. A gay woman was a prostitute, a gay man a womanizer, a gay house a brothel. This sexual world included homosexuals too, and gay as an adjective meaning “homosexual” goes back at least to the early 1900s. EXPANDAfter World War II, as social attitudes toward sexuality began to change, gay was applied openly by homosexuals to themselves, first as an adjective and later as a noun. Today, the noun often designates only a male homosexual: gays and lesbians. The word has ceased to be slang and is not used disparagingly. Homosexual as a noun is sometimes used only in reference to a male
It seems to me that gay is a happy little word with all kinds of sexual undertones. Or, maybe sex makes people feel happy and gay?
Go. Create. Inspire!
Journaling Prompt: How would you explain this word to your kids? Why do you think being gay is a target for bullying and abuse?
I’m finding kids much more accepting now and indifferent to the term homosexual. What wears me down is the use of the word ‘gay’ to mean lame, or dull.
Wagging Tales
I think kids who are different are targets because parents, teachers, schools, religions, don’t spend enough time on love and compassion! Teaching values or morality seems to have crossed wires with teaching beliefs, where the focus instead should be in things like empathy, compassion, service … Positive, outward contact with the world.
Fascinating take on A to Z, words of double entendres!
Alana @ writercize.blogspot.com
Found you through A to Z!
The word Gay has certainly changed over the years, When I was young it meant happy carefree, Why it has changed to what we know as Gay these days I’ve yet to comprehend.
Good G post, have a happy Easter.
Yvonne.
The G in L.G. is for Gay. I’ve gone back and forth during my life on how I like it as a middle name. I have to admit I didn’t like it much when I was a kid because of the sexual connotation (teasing), but I’m good with it now. 🙂
Great post. I echo Charmaine’s thoughts above; it saddens me that gay is used to say things are dumb or boring.
Maybe it is that sex makes people feel happy and gay, and it all started as a euphemism in a very conservative society.
The term ‘gay’ is used more openly amongst the kids of today… even if they don’t fully comprehend the connotation/meaning…
Very few people use the word Gay to mean happy today.
In my opinion, bullying comes from these things: hate (of self), not understanding or accepting differences (hate of others) and power.
Teresa
The word “gay” is a lightening rod for many. St. Paul was gay, yet he wrote the passage in the Bible that inflames today. I’m taken comparative religion courses at various places (as we moved around so much in the military) and each professor said it is thought St. Paul wrote the passage to keep him in the closet.
Happy Easter, Mary.
I think kids want to fit in and feel normal and gay is not “normal” to most kids, hence the teasing and bullying. I have always taught tolerance and acceptance because that’s what I wish I’d been given. I do however think being gay is far more acceptable than it was – and yay for that! Great post 🙂
I’ve always worked in Theatre, and at a very young age, understood what being ‘gay’ was and how it affected some of my friends.
My son has done theatre, so also was exposed from a young age. We explained it to him as the truth we knew it to be – That’s how God made them and we are only to respect them and love them as our friends. He is very accepting of them. We also go to a church (Episcopal) that is a welcoming environment for ALL…
WE have several ‘gay’ couple friends that have established relationships, much longer than ours of 18 years, children, homes, lives that are extremely similar to ours.
People are people. There are only good and bad to us, not gay and straight.
Texas Playwright Chick
All your responses are wonderful and heartfelt. I wish all people lived this theme of love.
You know, I thought about this subject for today, then went with something else (can’t remember why, haha). It’s a great topic and I’m glad I found it. One of the things I love to explore, both in conversation and in my writing, is the idea of fear of the different (I blogged about that for D day), and I think homosexuality (both male and female) is a great example of that. It is, after all, only a matter of preference, like being vegan or eating meat, like loving the snow or preferring warm weather. We humans love to draw lines in the sand, marking that “us” and “them” thing, everywhere and for all sorts of reasons, and it fascinates me. I think there’s an element of threat in these differences, but also a strong component of envy and an ache to be different, too, to be more authentic to ourselves. Homosexuality is a great representation of this.
I could go on and on, but this comment is long enough 😀 Thanks for the great post!
It used to be a perfectly good girl’s name. I have a couple of friends who now have to deal with that. I’m trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs this month.
It used to be just a happy word…
I live in hope that with each new generation, any negative meaning attached to this word just disappears.
Hi, nowadays you don’t have to explain the word to kids, they can explain it to you. Interesting choice for G. Best regards to you. Ruby
Gay is a beautiful word! Yay for choosing this G word for your A-Z challenge Mary Aalgaard! I long for the day this word will be used as a compliment, as something to be proud of, as a sublime state of being!
Take care
x
The more things change the more they stay the same. Words can hurt and they can heal. It’s all up to us,isn’t it?
Gay is one of those words that I try to stay away from. It isn’t that I don’t want to use it, it is just that I try to stay away from all those hot button words. 🙂 But. I do not believe that St Paul was gay. I just don’t think God would have chosen him to write the books of the Bible that he did, if he was gay. The Bible is the INSPIRED word of God.So that means that Paul was writing what God told him to write. Not writing something to keep himself in the closet.
Happy Resurrection Day, Mary!
If you look hard enough you can find something about everybody you don’t like. Being Southern, Christian, single, and a virgin opens you up to all sorts of crazy things. God gave us instructions in His Word, the Bible, and we share His love with others. What people do with it is between them and God. What we should be teaaching is love and it’s not our place to judge. I know from personal experience assumptions about others are ususally wrong or incomplete.
Well said, Bethie, and all of you. I am hearing so much compassion in these comments. Keep shining your light!
HAR! Risque little post, right up my alley!
Very thought-provoking, Mary. I am so used to the word by now I don’t even think about it’s original meaning.
Karen
Our girls go to school with kids who have gay parents, so we talked about being gay quite early on with them. We talked about how some people use the word negatively, and the girls understand how ignorant that is. So many kids go to school with kids who have gay parents nowadays, I think this generation of kids will do a lot to reduce homophobia in the culture.
What a thought provoking “G” topic.
I love using the word “gay” particularly to describe my mood or a feeling or an event. I intentionally use it because I think it is important to be aware of its origin.
I also enjoy how it has evolved – funny how language does that. Another word that has taken on a whole new meaning is “intercourse” this used to describe dialogue between two people…now…well, go figure! 🙂
Brilliant post!
Jenny @ Pearson Report
Co-Host of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.
Interesting post. My son asked me a few weeks ago what gay meant, a child in his preschool class had told him that Thomas the tank was gay, onviously meaning stupid (?) They are only four! I hate that it is used as such a negative word, especially from such a young age.