QUOTE(Tarc @ Mon 7th December 2009, 2:24pm)
I hate to interrupt the pack mentality here, but aren't we at the point...40 years after Stonewall and well into the 21st century...where being called "gay" is no longer considered defamatory?
This sort of thing shifts over the years, as it was once ruled defamatory for saying a white person had "Negro blood", to be labeled a Communist, etc... and though Cruise won such a "OMG don't call me gay!" suit a few years ago, I believe it was simply a default judgment since the defendant didn't defend himself.
No.
We keep hearing this - I was removing unreferenced stuff about someone being a gay porn star to be grabbed by a member of the liberal pc brigade and told "being a gay porn star isn't negative - so it doesn't fall under BLP"
The fact is that lots of people who are not gay don't want to be called "gay". In many parts of the world it is a criminal offence, and in many sub-communities it leads to condemnation and ostracism. But even beyond that, people have the right not to be labelled as something they are not.
Most people would believe there is nothing intrinsically negative about keeping Jewish food laws. It is a perfectly sociable thing to choose to do. However, if I put on the biography of a leading Catholic that they do so, I may seriously defame them.
Likewise calling someone gay can cause serious stress to that person. Even if they themselves are liberal in their attitudes.