For those who don't think language matters...

[direwolf23]

(stolen from the stunning and ever-wise Valorion

In a recent NYP poll inquiring into individuals view's toward repealing DADT, 70% of responders said they were in favor of allowing “gay men and lesbians” to serve in the military, including nearly 60% who said they should be allowed to serve openly. However, only 59% were in favor of letting homosexuals

Comments

[sasya_fox]

I'm a big fan of sapir-whorf. Of course language matters.

~Foxy

[direwolf23]

Thanks for that. ^.^ *snugs*

For those who don't know the reference

[quentincoyote]

Good stuff. *hugs*

[enders_shadow]

I've tried to be that guy--who gently admonishes those in the circle who uses such language.

It's really tough to make them care tho; they say it reflexivly and, in all honesty, not meanly.

One buddy of mine does it routinely and I routinely correct him; we also have a mutual gay friend and I know tho he says "thats so gay" or some such, he has no ill will towards gay people.

[direwolf23]

It'll probably be one of the hardest artifacts to remove because, like you say, it's not intended to be directly offensive. Though, I think as being gay becomes more mainstream and accepted, we'll see a natural decline in it's use.

[enders_shadow]

Agreed.

And it's an age thing too; as he gets older I expect he will say it less. He also already has social radar with it--he won't say it around his parents, for example. And thus I deduce that he *knows* it's not proper to say it--hence his sometimes refraining. And still, I must correct him.

[ex_jfswift]

random, made me think of this, "At the precise moment, the phrase "I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle" (muttered by Arthur Dent to himself, which for some strange reason was carried by a freak wormhole in space back in time to the farthest regions of the universe where the G'Gunvuntts and the Vl'hurgs lived) filled the air, which in the Vl'hurg tongue was the most dreadful insult imaginable. It left them no choice but to declare war on the G'Gunvuntts, which went on for a few thousand years and decimated their entire galaxy." - douglas adam (not sure if that's a line from the book or the infocom game though, been too long.)