How Many Of You When With Gay Friends Avoid The Phrase 'STRAIGHT Ahead'...

[+ Gar1eth]

...and use instead some version of the phrase 'Go Gaily Forward'?

 

Gman

[stop]

Gman, I say this all the time, when with non gay folks I usually say forward, but never say straight ahead anymore.

[Bearofdistinction]

+1

Onward!

[rvwnsd]

I say "straight ahead" when I mean "directly in front of me." One can go forward while veering to the right or the left or while making a 90 degree turn, so "gaily forward" does not always apply.

 

In my opinion, if one is secure with his homosexuality, he can say "straight ahead," just as a heterosexual man who is secure with his heterosexuality can recognize another man's physical attractiveness.

[AdamSmith]

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e26c75e4b0409b0662eaed/t/5585a2c1e4b0720374d8193a/1434821316371/?format=750w

Cum forward!

[+ Gar1eth]

I say "straight ahead" when I mean "directly in front of me." One can go forward while veering to the right or the left or while making a 90 degree turn, so "gaily forward" does not always apply.

 

In my opinion, if one is secure with his homosexuality, he can say "straight ahead," just as a heterosexual man who is secure with his heterosexuality can recognize another man's physical attractiveness.

 

I consider it more of a joke-or an 'in thing' than anything else. But it came up with two different people recently. When with others I will often jokingly preface the phrase 'straight ahead' with 'if you'll pardon the expression"

 

 

Gman

[+ Keith30309]

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54e26c75e4b0409b0662eaed/t/5585a2c1e4b0720374d8193a/1434821316371/?format=750w

Cum forward!

Wow - talk about pressure to perform. No wonder the lion couldn't keep his tail up.

[+ SundayZip]

I have no problem with "Straight Ahead" nor do I have a problem with "Straight Head."

[+ quoththeraven]

I consider it more of a joke-or an 'in thing' than anything else. But it came up with two different people recently. When with others I will often jokingly preface the phrase 'straight ahead' with 'if you'll pardon the expression"

 

 

Gman

 

Depending on context, I might add "so to speak" if I used "straight ahead" here, but not elsewhere. But I agree with rvwnsd that "straight ahead" is sometimes the only way to be precise about what one means.

[+ sync]

I've never really thought about it.

[+ jc808]

Both straight and gay had well established and useful meanings before they had anything to do with sex. According to OED, first reference to Gay was 1310, "Heo .. Graciouse, stout, ant Gay, Gentil, jolyf so the jay," and 1350 for Straight, "Hir nose was streigt." It seems to me that using either word in normal conversation with its original meaning is perfectly appropriate.

[rvwnsd]

I consider it more of a joke-or an 'in thing' than anything else. ...

 

So did I until...

But it came up with two different people recently. When with others I will often jokingly preface the phrase 'straight ahead' with 'if you'll pardon the expression"

 

 

Gman

a close friend of mine would angrily correct people when they said "straight ahead." That prompted his then-partner and me to use the phrase "straight ahead" as often as we could just to get a rise from him.

[+ quoththeraven]

So did I until...

 

a close friend of mine would angrily correct people when they said "straight ahead." That prompted his then-partner and me to use the phrase "straight ahead" as often as we could just to get a rise from him.

 

Not the enjoyable kind of rise, I presume.

[+ friendofsheila]

I avoid the phrase "straight ahead" because some gay wag always thinks I've never heard the "gaily forward" joke and repeats it to me FOR THE KA-BILLIONTH TIME.

[+ quoththeraven]

Both straight and gay had well established and useful meanings before they had anything to do with sex. According to OED, first reference to Gay was 1310, "Heo .. Graciouse, stout, ant Gay, Gentil, jolyf so the jay," and 1350 for Straight, "Hir nose was streigt." It seems to me that using either word in normal conversation with its original meaning is perfectly appropriate.

 

The term "gay" has become so identified with sexual orientation that the earlier meanings are likely not to be what most people will think first if you use it that way.

[bigvalboy]

I've never heard the meaning had any significance other than referring to a designated direction...but then again, I've always been sort of a 'closet gay', not really in the 'know'.

[AdamSmith]

The term "gay" has become so identified with sexual orientation that the earlier meanings are likely not to be what most people will think first if you use it that way.

Although (as previously posted) John Boswell found evidence that 'gaie' was appropriated almost immediately by medieval Provençal troubadours as an adjective for same-sex-attracted.

 

It occurs that they would have been irrepressible masters of just such wordplay as we are fumbling with in this thread.

[+ quoththeraven]

Although (as previously posted) John Boswell found evidence that 'gaie' was appropriated almost immediately by medieval Provençal troubadours as an adjective for same-sex-attracted.

 

It occurs that they would have been irrepressible masters of just such wordplay as we are fumbling with in this thread.

 

It doesn't seem accidental that once a word becomes widely identified with a marginalized group, all other uses get swamped or sniggered at, whereas the use of a word of general applicability to mean "strictly heterosexual" doesn't undercut the earlier meanings.

 

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive or picky, but this distinction seems driven by a lingering sense that same-sex attraction is so non-normative that the word is tainted by association, whereas "straight" is not, thus reflecting and reinforcing heterosexuality as the default and everything else as a deviation.

[+ jc808]

The term "gay" has become so identified with sexual orientation that the earlier meanings are likely not to be what most people will think first if you use it that way.

 

This is very true. To use the older meaning of "Gay," and be understood, you would have to add another word, such as, "happy and gay" and even then most people would most likely think you had a double entendre. This is not the case with "Straight," so your point on the normative/non-normative sounds right.

[+ Truereview]

Human conditioning is a curious thing. If someone says "straight ahead" to me, I look up and hope for a hottie.

[AdamSmith]

Human conditioning is a curious thing. If someone says "straight ahead" to me, I look up and hope for a hottie.

[rvwnsd]

I avoid the phrase "straight ahead" because some gay wag always thinks I've never heard the "gaily forward" joke and repeats it to me FOR THE KA-BILLIONTH TIME.

But then you miss the fun part - watching that look they get on their little faces and the way their eyes turn purple.

[+ Gar1eth]

Human conditioning is a curious thing. If someone says "straight ahead" to me, I look up and hope for a hottie.

 

++++++ 10,0000:p

 

 

I

 

 

 

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive or picky, but this distinction seems driven by a lingering sense that same-sex attraction is so non-normative that the word is tainted by association, whereas "straight" is not, thus reflecting and reinforcing heterosexuality as the default and everything else as a deviation.

 

Heterosexuality is both the default and the 'norm'-especially if you are using 'norm' in the mathematical sense. But in my view in this case 'norm' also encompasses the standard society meaning. That doesn't mean that I believe many other types of sexualities are wrong or evil (usually). But at least from a scientific/biological viewpoint to not have procreative sex be the norm/major/default/standard for the *species is a species that's not going to be hanging around for a long time evolutionarily speaking. And success on an evolutionary basis is survival-pure and simple.

 

Gman

 

* Of course I'm speaking about multicellular organisms. Some one-celled organisms do quite well with fission (asexual reproduction).

[+ quoththeraven]

++++++ 10,0000:p

 

 

 

 

Heterosexuality is both the default and the 'norm'-especially if you are using 'norm' in the mathematical sense. But in my view in this case 'norm' also encompasses the standard society meaning. That doesn't mean that I believe many other types of sexualities are wrong or evil (usually). But at least from a scientific/biological viewpoint to not have procreative sex be the norm/major/default/standard for the *species is a species that's not going to be hanging around for a long time evolutionarily speaking. And success on an evolutionary basis is survival-pure and simple.

 

Gman

 

* Of course I'm speaking about multicellular organisms. Some one-celled organisms do quite well with fission (asexual reproduction).

 

Why does that have to affect the way we treat or think about people?

 

FreshFluff may be right after all that I'm an optimist. I don't believe in the perfectibility of humankind -- that's a surefire road to hatred and despair -- but I also believe nothing will get better unless we identify the better future we want and nudge society towards it.

[LADoug1]

Haven't used terms like these since I came out in the 70's. LOL. And what about the term "gaydar"? That one I have used.