Next time you want to say "That's so gay," you might want to instead consider, "That's so gamer guy who has more videogames than friends." That's what anti-homophobia outfit "ThinkB4YouSpeak" has done, using a typical gamer stereotype as part of its poster campaign to discourage use of the word "gay" as a derogatory term.
The idea of the campaign seems to revolve around replacing the term "gay" with other negative stereotypes in order to show how ridiculous the whole practice is. A most noble effort, although it makes the posters look more like they're just attacking other social outcasts or figures of fun, rather than protecting any other group.
Nevertheless, homophobia is distressingly rampant on online gaming platforms like Xbox Live, where people who truly do have more videogames than friends are able to hide behind the wall of anonymity and express their backward opinions about gay people and women, so it's rather fitting that they're being used in this campaign.
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Contest:
3:00 PM on 08.12.2009
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Still, I doubt xbl kiddies will give a shit about these ads, so pretty much a waste of money.
Is "tolled" a word?
Also, I have more video games than friends. Like, A LOT more. It's not that I don't have friends, it's just that I have a lot of games.
Btw, a little campaign might not change the world, but what should we start with, a nuclear war?
Calling someone/etc a 'faggot', on the other hand, might be easier to stop. Isn't as ingrained in people's minds, methinks.
So yes I do have more video games than friends, which isn't that bad seeing how I have 100 or so games.
Queer doesn't mean homosexual, it means unusual. I think. And a long time ago, gay meant happy, and the gays were called sodomites or something like that. I wasn't there, I'm not sure.
This is where everyone who loves to shout about how gay everything is say "I don't mean it like homosexual, I'm not talking about them at all, I'm just saying that shit is gay" or something like that. And then the opposing debate team would say "it doesn't matter what your intention is, you cannot deny the collateral damage your words are bringing. Please reconsider".
The whole thing isn't good enough for me anymore though. I've been trying and I just can't seem to find a word that could accurately replace the meaning they seek every time they use the word gay.
It's like the difference between saying something is awesome or it's cool, or it's stellar or dope or bad-assicle. They're all positive but they aren't interchangeable. Gay has been in use long enough now, in the realm of saying shit sucks or it's balls... that it's taken on a specific range of meaning for itself which is more or less universally agreed upon. No one says their mom's cooking is gay, for example, no matter how bad it is and no matter how derogatory they intend to be as they describe it.
How can we ignore this? I'm finally a converted man. I can finally use gay as a negative modifier. I feel liberated. Gay people who don't like it are gay.
Ugh... I don't even want to post this. i'm clicking "add comment" with utmost hesitance.
I see what they're trying to do I just think they're doing it wrong.
If Destructoid didn't want us to unknowingly shove our collective feet in our mouths, they'd have put an edit button into their commenting system.
I think having like 200 friends is pretty rare though... and I have kept every game I have bought over 20 years.
In other news, my homosexual friend Dan is always the first one to say "gay" and "fag" when talking... it's not the language, it's the intent.
1) Some people will continue using "gay" as a pejorative because this whole idea is dumb.
2) Others will say "gay" more often just to get a kick.
3) More immature people will switch over to "faggot" to look really rebellious.
Anyone that is bleeding-heart enough to care about this nonsense wouldn't use "gay" as an insult in the first place.
Honestly, this ad seems to be saying that we shouldn't use gay because it's overused and we need some better insults based in actual stereotypes.
I get what they're trying to do, but way to miss the mark somewhat.
"Gay" is just something people default shout when acting like an idiot.
Also, this article is gay.
Ironically, the expression is generally used by younger people who are probably far less homophobic than the religious/political right who don't watch those shows and and rarely use this type of phrasing.
In the words of Elenore Roosevelt "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Maybe they should be teaching that in schools instead of making fun of other stereotypes.
@cartman
Do you, do you like putting the in your mouth?