Is it wrong to be gay (=happy)

[Jim Brown]

I hate the word 'gay' to mean 'queer'.

'Gay' means cheerful, happy etc.

'Queer' means you're a rear-gunner.

There's nothing wrong with being cheerful, unless, of course, everyone else is feeling miserable and you just piss them off with your mindless whistling.

[beachbum]

Just whistle while you work
And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place
So hum a merry tune
It won't take long when there's a song to help you set the pace

And as you sweep the room
Imagine that the broom is someone that you love
And soon you'll find you're dancing to the tune
When hearts are high the time will fly so whistle while you work

[Skitchen8]

well, technically queer means strange, not normal... which has been translated to be homosexual...

Definition for queer provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information

ADJECTIVE
Inflected forms: queer·er, queer·est
1. Deviating from the expected or normal; strange: "a queer situation." 2. Odd or unconventional, as in behavior; eccentric. See strange. 3. Of a questionable nature or character; suspicious. 4. Slang Fake; counterfeit. 5. Feeling slightly ill; queasy. 6. Offensive Slang Homosexual. 7. Usage Problem Of or relating to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transgendered people.

NOUN
1. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a homosexual person. 2. Usage Problem A lesbian, gay male, bisexual, or transgendered person.

TRANSITIVE VERB
Slang Inflected forms: queered, queer·ing, queers
1. To ruin or thwart: "might try to queer the Games with anything from troop movements . . . to a bomb attack" (Newsweek) 2. To put (someone) in a bad position.

Definition for queer continued:

ETYMOLOGY
Perhaps from Low German, oblique, off-center, from Middle Low German dwer. See terkw-.

OTHER FORMS
queer'ish - ADJECTIVE
queer'ly - ADVERB
queer'ness - NOUN


USAGE NOTES
A reclaimed word is a word that was formerly used solely as a slur but that has been semantically overturned by members of the maligned group, who use it as a term of defiant pride. Queer is an example of a word undergoing this process. For decades queer was used solely as a derogatory adjective for gays and lesbians, but in the 1980s the term began to be used by gay and lesbian activists as a term of self-identification. Eventually, it came to be used as an umbrella term that included gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people. Nevertheless, a sizable percentage of people to whom this term might apply still hold queer to be a hateful insult, and its use by heterosexuals is often considered offensive. Similarly, other reclaimed words are usually offensive to the in-group when used by outsiders, so extreme caution must be taken concerning their use when one is not a member of the group.

[Skitchen8]

also technically ***:

Definition for fagot provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information

NOUN
1. A bundle of twigs, sticks, or branches bound together. 2. A bundle of pieces of iron or steel to be welded or hammered into bars.

TRANSITIVE VERB
Inflected forms: -ot·ed also -got·ed , -ot·ing -got·ing , -ots -gots
1. To bind into a fagot; bundle. 2. To decorate with fagoting.

ETYMOLOGY
Middle English, from Old French, from Old Provençal, possibly from Vulgar Latin * facus, from Greek phakelos, bundle.

[Skitchen8]

and last but not least gay:

Definition for gay provided by The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Other important copyright information

ADJECTIVE
Inflected forms: gay·er, gay·est
1. Of, relating to, or having a sexual orientation to persons of the same sex. 2. Showing or characterized by cheerfulness and lighthearted excitement; merry. 3. Bright or lively, especially in color: "a gay, sunny room." 4. Given to social pleasures. 5. Dissolute; licentious.

NOUN
1. A person whose sexual orientation is to persons of the same sex. 2. A man whose sexual orientation is to men: "an alliance of gays and lesbians."

ETYMOLOGY
Middle English gai, lighthearted, brightly colored, from Old French, , possibly of Germanic origin.

Definition for gay continued:

OTHER FORMS
gay'ness - NOUN


USAGE NOTES
The word gay is now standard in its use to refer to homosexuals, in large part because it is the term that most gay people prefer in referring to themselves. Gay is distinguished from homosexual primarily by the emphasis it places on the cultural and social aspects of homosexuality as opposed to sexual practice. Many writers reserve gay for males, but the word is also used to refer to both sexes; when the intended meaning is not clear in the context, the phrase gay and lesbian may be used. Like the other names of social groups derived from adjectives (for example, Black), gay may be regarded as offensive when used as a noun to refer to particular individuals, as in "There were two gays on the panel;" here phrasing such as gay members should be used instead. But there is no objection to the use of the noun in the plural to refer collectively either to gay men or to gay men and lesbians, so long as it is clear whether men alone or both men and women are being discussed. See Usage Notes at homosexual .

[Jim Brown]

Originally posted by Skitchen8
well, technically queer means strange, not normal... which has been translated to be homosexual...

I rest my case

[Skitchen8]

no, if someone looks different calling that person queer would not imply they are a homosexual... it would imply that you think they are strange...

[InvisibleDuncan]

You know, it is possible to take things too seriously.

[Skitchen8]

no... never... i waz just joking...