Why are gays called gays?

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014


Why differentiate people with a label based on there sexual orientation? Are they not also human? Why is there even discrimination against these people?


 


Discuss.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    It's not discrimination to differentiate. Homosexual couples haven't evolved to conceive through sexual interaction so the relationship is defined differently from a heterosexual couple.

    Hetero = different, homo = the same. Heterosexual couple = different gender, homosexual couple = same gender.

    You could ask why do we differentiate between women and men or different skin colours; it's simply because they are physically different. The discrimination comes from what people infer by that differentiation.

    The term "gay" has been misused for a long time so it has a derogatory association but it's the misuse of the term that's to blame and not the act of differetiation.
  • Reply 2 of 11

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post



    It's not discrimination to differentiate. Homosexual couples haven't evolved to conceive through sexual interaction so the relationship is defined differently from a heterosexual couple.

    Hetero = different, homo = the same. Heterosexual couple = different gender, homosexual couple = same gender.

    You could ask why do we differentiate between women and men or different skin colours; it's simply because they are physically different. The discrimination comes from what people infer by that differentiation.

    The term "gay" has been misused for a long time so it has a derogatory association but it's the misuse of the term that's to blame and not the act of differetiation.


    Thats what I am saying why has gay become a derogatory term?

  • Reply 3 of 11
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Thats what I am saying why has gay become a derogatory term?

    It's probably got something to do with homosexuality being illegal around 50 years ago. One high profile victim was Alan Turing (father of computing) who was convicted of homosexuality in the 1950s:

    http://ibnlive.in.com/news/alan-turing-committed-suicide-after-chemical-castration-for-homosexuality/267468-11.html

    He was given hormone treatment and lost his job so he committed suicide by eating an Apple laced with cyanide. The UK government made a symbolic public apology a few years ago for the treatment:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8249792.stm

    Steven Fry apparently asked Steve Jobs if the Apple logo was a tribute to Alan Turing and he replied “It isn't true, but God we wish it were!”.

    Given that these events happened such a short time ago, it will take time for some terms describing homosexuality to have a positive association. It may never happen entirely as it's still illegal in parts of the world and was only made legal recently in a lot of places:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

    Religion plays a strong role in attitudes towards homosexuality and in many cases those ideologies are designed to be unchanging.
  • Reply 4 of 11

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post





    It's probably got something to do with homosexuality being illegal around 50 years ago. One high profile victim was Alan Turing (father of computing) who was convicted of homosexuality in the 1950s:

    http://ibnlive.in.com/news/alan-turing-committed-suicide-after-chemical-castration-for-homosexuality/267468-11.html

    He was given hormone treatment and lost his job so he committed suicide by eating an Apple laced with cyanide. The UK government made a symbolic public apology a few years ago for the treatment:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8249792.stm

    Steven Fry apparently asked Steve Jobs if the Apple logo was a tribute to Alan Turing and he replied “It isn't true, but God we wish it were!”.

    Given that these events happened such a short time ago, it will take time for some terms describing homosexuality to have a positive association. It may never happen entirely as it's still illegal in parts of the world and was only made legal recently in a lot of places:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory

    Religion plays a strong role in attitudes towards homosexuality and in many cases those ideologies are designed to be unchanging.


    You know what bogles my mind? the fact that "Christians" are taught to love yet they tell gays they are doing a sin WTF?

  • Reply 5 of 11
    sr2012sr2012 Posts: 896member
    Why differentiate people with a label based on there sexual orientation? Are they not also human? Why is there even discrimination against these people?

    Discuss.

    People need labels, categories, classes, cultures and subcultures to understand those different from us. It has been so since the dawn of existence. But of course now with the Age of Aquarius upon us we are recognising universal love.

    That said, pure non-dualism recognises and celebrates differences to.

    So on one hand we should celebrate differences, on the other, seek universal, common values/love.
  • Reply 6 of 11

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by macbook pro i5 View Post


    Why differentiate people with a label based on there sexual orientation? Are they not also human? Why is there even discrimination against these people?


     


    Discuss.





    'coz some of them don't want to be addressed like a guy/man, yet, we can't call them girl/woman too...

  • Reply 7 of 11


    They are called gays because they are very gay/happy people. They makes us laugh and forget some of our problems.

  • Reply 8 of 11
    sr2012sr2012 Posts: 896member
    theplaque wrote: »

    'coz some of them don't want to be addressed like a guy/man, yet, we can't call them girl/woman too...

    Huh? You can call a gay person a gay guy or lesbian woman. Except if they are transgender, then you call them what they prefer to be identified by.

    Here's a hint, they're not a snake, you can ask them what they would like, that's better than guessing how not to offend "them". It's okay, they won't bite. Unless you want them too :-)

    There are 3 layers:
    Sex : Your actual physical body, male, female, other.
    Gender : Your identification of male, female, transgender, none of the above.
    Orientation : Your preferred sexual orientation, straight, gay, bisexual, other.

    Remember that for gender and orientation (and sometimes sex) there is no "either this or that".

    For example, it is possible that some of us are more bisexual or less bisexual than others, more straight, more gay, less gay, etc... It's simply a continuum.
  • Reply 9 of 11
    sr2012sr2012 Posts: 896member
    fatusmiles wrote: »
    They are called gays because they are very gay/happy people. They makes us laugh and forget some of our problems.

    Some are happy, true. I've also known some that are absolutely miserable.
  • Reply 10 of 11

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sr2012 View Post





    Some are happy, true. I've also known some that are absolutely miserable.




    That's so unfortunate. Though, I think some our life is quite miserable whatever gender we got.

  • Reply 11 of 11
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    has a derogatory association but it's the misuse of the term that's to blame and not the act of differetiation.
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