Is "Gay" Defamatory?

[Never]

Queersetti:
"True enough, but let's take it out of the realm of the rich and famous.

If an ordinary, non-famous person goes around town telling people that his ordinary, non-famous neighbor is gay, should the neighbor be able to take legal action for defamation? And if he can, does that imply that being gay is assumed to be a negative thing?"

Being gay is assumed to be a negative thing by many people. The fact that gays don't think being gay is negative doesn't matter.

Defamation is when one person's statements (untrue or unable to be proven) damages another's reputation in the eyes of the community. If I go around telling people Brittney likes to give the boys at her school blowjobs and the other kids begin harassing her because of that, I'm guilty of defamation. That's not a value judgment on blowjobs but recognizing that my false statement hurt her standing in her community.

The problem is that you have to show that the defamation damaged you, typically that means showing that it affected your employment status for adults. IE: Bob told everyone I like to wear women's underwear so my boss didn't give me that raise. My wife left me because Bob said I was sucking the mailman off in my spare time.

 

[John Doe]

Tom Cruise has always been overly-sensitive about this, which leads me to believe that he's a raging gay man with a crushing amount of internalized homophobia. What convinced me that the rumors (which were cirulating even that early in his career) were true, was his absolute insistence that they utterly de-gay the film "Interview with a Vampire." That came from him, not Brad Pitt, not the producers and directors, and certainly not Anne Rice. More recently, there was his oddly discomfitting display of overt adolescent male bravado when talking about his relationship with Katie Holmes on Oprah. I've actually begun to feel a little sorry for him...

Re: the other question - no, being gay shouldn't be seen as a bad thing, and I don't think is by men who are secure in their sexuality. Take Richard Gere, who had to put up with all of those nasty gerbel stories in the 80s (??? time frame ???), and still openly supports queer causes.

~ J

Pffft...no.

 

[John Doe]

IE: Bob told everyone I like to wear women's underwear so my boss didn't give me that raise. My wife left me because Bob said I was sucking the mailman off in my spare time.

That's actually kinda hot.

 

[Queersetti]

Queersetti:
"True enough, but let's take it out of the realm of the rich and famous.

If an ordinary, non-famous person goes around town telling people that his ordinary, non-famous neighbor is gay, should the neighbor be able to take legal action for defamation? And if he can, does that imply that being gay is assumed to be a negative thing?"

Being gay is assumed to be a negative thing by many people. The fact that gays don't think being gay is negative doesn't matter.

Defamation is when one person's statements (untrue or unable to be proven) damages another's reputation in the eyes of the community. If I go around telling people Brittney likes to give the boys at her school blowjobs and the other kids begin harassing her because of that, I'm guilty of defamation. That's not a value judgment on blowjobs but recognizing that my false statement hurt her standing in her community.

The problem is that you have to show that the defamation damaged you, typically that means showing that it affected your employment status for adults. IE: Bob told everyone I like to wear women's underwear so my boss didn't give me that raise. My wife left me because Bob said I was sucking the mailman off in my spare time.

Falsely claiming that someone took a specific action or engaged in a certain activity is not the same as saying they are gay, though, is it?

 

[neonflux]

That's actually kinda hot.

 

[Equinoxe]

This thread reminded me of an incident that happened in Finland a few years ago.

There's a colourful Parliamentarian named Tony Halme (who was a professional wrestler, amongst other things) who commented about the politics there that with a lesbian president and him as a parliamentarian anything is possible; well, as it turns out, the president of Finland is not gay and the whole incident was regarded as a personal attack on her -- her office apparently even considered taking legal action against him.

In actuality, he sincerely thought she was a lesbian and meant it as a comment on tolerance and social mobility in the country.

 

[pa-guy]

Well if it weren't comedy and the person/show/news/whatever was putting forth as truth that he were gay, yes I would say its defamation of character.

And yes I would agree with the same for ellen d. if they said she was straight.

It has nothing to do with what you are so much as the fact that someone is putting forth that you are something you are not and that you find their lies about you offensive. What exactly they say is irrelevant.

 

[Queersetti]

Well if it weren't comedy and the person/show/news/whatever was putting forth as truth that he were gay, yes I would say its defamation of character.

And yes I would agree with the same for ellen d. if they said she was straight.

It has nothing to do with what you are so much as the fact that someone is putting forth that you are something you are not and that you find their lies about you offensive. What exactly they say is irrelevant.

Being offended is not enough grounds for legal action. I don't think there is a court in the land that would entertain a defamamtion suit on the grounds that someone referred to another as fat, for example, even though such a remark might be offensive to the targeted person.

If gays support the proposition that a person can sue someone for calling them gay, are we acquiescing to the societal notion that being gay is wrong?

 

[glamorilla]

Being offended is not enough grounds for legal action. I don't think there is a court in the land that would entertain a defamamtion suit on the grounds that someone referred to another as fat, for example, even though such a remark might be offensive to the targeted person.

If gays support the proposition that a person can sue someone for calling them gay, are we acquiescing to the societal notion that being gay is wrong?

i think slander is wrong.