what does the syaing "Its so gay" mean

[princealbertofb]

Let's not be rude, Mihai. Zeon was not addressing your post, just giving his opinion of how people use that expression.

[OrphanPip]

Gay initially came to us from the French meaning 'joyful' and 'happy'.

Around the dawn of the century, the 20th century, it was adopted by straights as a derogatory statement. Its innuendo was 'fluff' 'fairy'. Back then it was impolite for sophisticated people to use common slang, so they made up their own.

By the md-20th Century the gays adopted it and turned it around - a lot, but it still remained a dirty word, now associated primarily with homosexuality, which is intolerable to so many.

Near the end of the 20th century the phrase 'Its so gay' meaning 'its so bad - negative.' took hold. We may never know who started it, but in a few years it was popular in the English language. I understand that in the late 1990's early 00's it was bleeding over into other languages such as German.

About three years ago (when we had the leech lines replaced) one of the 'kids' refereed to my truck as being 'straight'. Here is a clear indication that something that is 'good' is straight (hinting that being a breeder is good) and that anything bad is gay 'inferring that anything homosexual is bad).

It is a terrible change in the language which too few people have openly opposed. When my nieces started throwing out 'its gay' around me and my partner I took them up to my partner and asked 'So , he is gay, does that mean he is bad?'

They learned - a little. At least they were careful to not throw out the phrase in front of me.

I find it troubling that so many gay people have easily adopted this phrase and apply it wily-nilly themselves.

You have to be careful with tracing etymology like that. The use of "straight" to mean something is good or correct pre-dates its meaning as heterosexual. My father occasionally uses straight to mean someone who is sober or not on drugs.

Also, as to the origin of "gay," I'm not sure I agree with you there either. Gay has almost always had a double meaning in English, mostly if something was "gay" it was not simply happy but also possibly naughty. A gay party would be a little more than just a fun night out. So, "gay" bars or "gay" houses were usually places where people would go to pick up prostitutes, these were also the types of places that tolerated homosexual clientèle. The earliest uses of the word referring to homosexuals applied specifically to prostitutes.

[princealbertofb]

Gay Paree (Gay Paris) is such a sense for the word that you described here above, Pip. I think it's a reference to the supposed ''naughtiness'' of French sex life... and how liberal it seemed to more uptight people. It is, in no way, a reference to homosexual life, however. I guess we could say that gay was a synonym for liberal or liberated, at the time.