Marriage is so gay, should I get one?

[colinmackay]

No, I think it has a deeper meaning than that. Gay in here means "happy" - original definition of gay.

If think if you go back further than 1900 you'll find that gay had a different original meaning. If you go way back to around Chauser's time (14th Century) gay indicated the gender of a child.

gay girl, and neve girl where girl, in its original sense, meant child.

Which is which? I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

[colinmackay]

I do not love the shirt!! I would not wear it, I hate the ambiguity. Thanks Colin for the explanation, initially I thought, "marriage is so gay... what do they mean"? I am torn about having the thought of this slogan out there! It is recriminating homosexuality all over again, and the irony does not help at all. I am married=I am gay (noun). To be married=to be gay (verb) Marriage is so gay=gay is so marriage. *scratching head* I do not under any circumstance get it!! Being married is a choice, being gay is not! "marriage is so hetero" I see no comparison to a custom and a natural tendency, or even how a comparison like that invokes thoughts of equality, in marriage or in sexuality! Hmm!

With more thought!

Disney World is so gay!
Dancing is so gay!

I can't think positively when having to repeat this continuously. It just does not help us... the shirt is a terrible idea for the evolution, and acceptance of homosexuality.

That's the issue with irony. If you don't get it then it will be very confusing. It can be a wonderfully subtle form of humour tho'.

It isn't equating a choice with a natural tendency. It is throwing in to the light the fact that one is a choice and one is not. Its intention is to jar, to make the reader think.

Here is another example of irony that Fox News did not get a couple of years ago. A Humanist/Atheist group in the US paid for and put up billboard adverts giving a positive message about not believing in a God aimed mainly at converting Christians. There was a big hoo-haa in the media about it, then someone stole the posters. The atheists complained loudly about the theft, then paid for a set of replacement posters that quoted Exodus (specifically, one of the Ten Commandments) that read "Thou shalt not steal." They added their organisations logo to the bottom of the poster so it was obvious where it came from and then the Christians got all up in arms about it. Fox News covered the continuation of the story and asked several times "Why did they use a quote form the bible? They are atheists, they don't believe in the bible. Why didn't they come up with their own slogan?" - They completely missed the point. (Which was that it was obvious that it was a Christian that stole the posters, and so they were not living by their own rules.) The irony was totally lost on them. I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen.

[Lake]

Go for it, but I would go for blue.

[marshlander]

What an interesting twist this discussion has taken! I personally enjoy the multiple levels of meaning in the simple phrase "marriage is so gay", but I would not wear one. For me, there are a lot of difficult personal memories referenced there. Who would have thought it!

As for you, con, I'm sure you would look very dashing.

[princealbertofb]

That's the issue with irony. If you don't get it then it will be very confusing. It can be a wonderfully subtle form of humour tho'.

It isn't equating a choice with a natural tendency. It is throwing in to the light the fact that one is a choice and one is not. Its intention is to jar, to make the reader think.

Here is another example of irony that Fox News did not get a couple of years ago. A Humanist/Atheist group in the US paid for and put up billboard adverts giving a positive message about not believing in a God aimed mainly at converting Christians. There was a big hoo-haa in the media about it, then someone stole the posters. The atheists complained loudly about the theft, then paid for a set of replacement posters that quoted Exodus (specifically, one of the Ten Commandments) that read "Thou shalt not steal." They added their organisations logo to the bottom of the poster so it was obvious where it came from and then the Christians got all up in arms about it. Fox News covered the continuation of the story and asked several times "Why did they use a quote form the bible? They are atheists, they don't believe in the bible. Why didn't they come up with their own slogan?" - They completely missed the point. (Which was that it was obvious that it was a Christian that stole the posters, and so they were not living by their own rules.) The irony was totally lost on them. I thought it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen.

To put it in a nutshell it was about hypocrisy.

[Aaycle]

Thanks Colin, I got ya!! That was most helpful!