Image from http://www.capitolpride.org/pridehistory.shtml

Since this week is Pride Week, I feel that it is appropriate to write about this one pet peeve of mine: that is, the use of the word ‘gay’ as a derogatory adjective. You might think, ‘We’re a diverse community at U of T, and we obviously don’t do discriminatory things like that.’ Well, I wouldn’t be writing this article if this were true, for just this year, while I was walking across campus to get food, I heard two girls in passing (I also truly hope that at least one of them is reading this article…) and although I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, I did hear, “Yeah, the desks in that class are so gay.” I’m sorry, but those desks in that classroom do not have a sexual orientation, and even if they were homosexual, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

If you were to argue that this has become a popular expression and therefore neutralized or a development of the English language (which I have heard) I would care to disagree. Forgive the language, but the word “nigger” has become a racial slur for people of African descent. However, its etymology shows that it was originally a pretty harmless word, for the word ‘niger’ (with its feminine and neuter counterparts nigra and nigrum) simply means black in Latin. I’m pretty sure that no one of African descent would be ashamed of the colour of their skin and nor should they be. The only reason the word has become offensive is because people have used it in an offensive context. In that sense, the word ‘gay’ has become the same thing.

Therefore, I propose this: stop yourself from using the word if you’re using ‘gay’ offensively and make sure to let other people know that it is disrespectful to use the word in an offensive manner. No matter your faith, culture, age, sexual orientation, social class and what not, everyone deserves respect, so let’s be respectful to others in order to expect the same in return.