forgottenvisionary reblogged your post and added:
It certainly wasn’t my smartest choice of words,...
Going this way because honestly I’m not adding much substantial to the main conversation at this point. Just wanted to acknowledge and appreciate you walking that back. Thank you.
Re: your tags: I was not joking in my previous post. Words' meanings change over time, so history is a poor argument to begin with, but the use of "gay" immediately before it was adopted by the gay community, ca. 1890-1910 or thereabouts, was as part of "gay cat," which was literally a hobo in a (strongly implied pedophelic) same sex relationship/mentorship with another hobo.
This is one of the reasons I'm angry at the singling out of "queer" as somehow particularly vicious or wrong. Literally all of the ugly uses that "queer" has seen for us? "Gay" has been used in the same ways. I hear "gay" as a slur way more often today, even.
And no, I'm not on board with "it's only a slur if you think it is" either - but I will say that context, visible intent, and usage matter.
