Gay IS just a word – it means homosexual

In a response to Hugh Basset, Hannah Mathewson says: “If you use the word ‘gay’ in a derogatory context, you are perpetuating a regressive and harmful prejudice.”


To my recollection, I used the word ‘gay’ when I meant ‘bad’ just once after I learned what it really meant to do so. I can’t remember the context, only that it was in front of a colleague who I knew to be gay.

As soon as the utterance left my lips, I was mortified. I wasn’t homophobic, I wasn’t even in the habit of using the word like that. I was sure I must have offended my colleague, but he simply agreed with my point and moved on. No offence meant, no harm done. Perhaps we were past all this. Perhaps the word ‘gay’ could no longer be misappropriated and used to foster hate. Finally, we were living in a post-homophobic society.

At least, that’s the conclusion I would have come to if I were Hugh Bassett.

Hugh doesn’t see anything offensive about using the word gay in a derogatory sense, as a synonym for ‘bad’, ‘rubbish’, ‘stupid’ etc. And he should know, because he’s gay. As in homosexual, not as in ‘bad’. There’s nothing wrong with him but, unlike Hugh, I can see how you’d get confused.

Whilst I’m pleased for anyone who has the confidence and the support system to brush off hearing their sexuality used as an insult, 84% of young gay people unfortunately do not fall into this category, the gay rights charity Stonewall has discovered. For too many young people, the negative connotation of the word ‘gay’ is an all too familiar sign that they should be afraid to come out or ashamed of who they are.

Because homophobia was not, as Hugh implies, ‘over’ before he insulted his teacher in 2005. It is an ongoing struggle that is being lost in many parts of the world. Try casually uttering the G-word in Russia, where being gay is so ‘bad’ that informing your kids about it is punishable by law. Or try explaining that your slang doesn’t mean being gay is wrong to a child from Nigeria, Saudi Arabia or any number of other countries where homosexuality is punishable by death. I wonder if those children would understand the distinction.

It really doesn’t work in Hugh’s favour, or the favour of anyone chucking derogatory slang around, to claim they didn’t think anything of it, or said it casually. Well, don’t. Educate yourself. Know what the words you use mean and how they can hurt people. The first users of the word gay-as-bad didn’t make the association by accident, and you are perpetuating their regressive and harmful prejudices, whether you intend to or not.

Gay rights campaigners in Russia

Hugh is right about one thing: the word ‘gay’ needs to lose its shock value, but the shock value it has for meaning what it actually means. The bigger issues aren’t being neglected by Stonewall’s campaign; the foundations are being laid for a world in which everyone understands that ‘gay’ isn’t ‘bad’.

You can keep ‘wicked’ and ‘chillax’ though, Hugh. Knock yourself out.

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