This reminds me of Geroge Carlin's Seven Dirty Words...

Words that have changed meaning and become obscene vs. words that wereonce racist but few people know the origins or realize it.

Bitch (female dog) is now bad
Fag (bundle of sticks for burning and then a coigarette) is now bad.

Gal, "eeny, meeny, miney, mo", thug - until this thread I hadn't a clue...

I'm sorry I don't get how thug is culturally charged, really. I think that was just flung around as an attempt to turn the tables. Thugs were organized criminals in India and their modus operandi is similar to how gangs act today.

It wasn't full of personal attacks. Why is it that you can never acknowledge that you are wrong? No matter what I say you'll claim I'm attacking you personally. Why can't you address the fact that you made up a straw man instead of addressing the actual point about gal that was made? And the thing about you harping on the trivial is accurate, since you focused on the word blast rather than the substance of the retort I gave. You claim to be all about substance yet you never bother responding substantively to anything that is said, because if you acknowledge I have a point then that undermines this narrative you have of me never doing anything but personal attacks, which you must maintain at all costs so you can continue evading any sort of accountability for your claims.

Fine. Charged was misleading word. The fact remains that I had no clue where the word came from. Similarly, I'm sure many people on the forum had no idea where it came. Similarly to how the flight attendant had no idea where "eeny meeny miney mo" came from and similarly to how I had no idea that gal was a racist term from the South.

Gal as a racist term is unique to a particular geographic area and a particular time. It is still racist to some people but you have to realize that words have fluid meanings from place to place and time to time. Heck, Judy Garland was singing about "me and my gal" in 1942 without racist connotations.

If I were to refer to a friend of mine as gal (which I wouldn't do because it's 2011) and someone accused me of being racist, I'd be pretty damn offended. It's taking a term completely out of context and passing judgement on the person who is using it. Now, if I had an employee working for me and I said "hey, girl, bring me my coffee" and someone accused me of being racist or sexist or both, I'd have no problem with that. Because of context. At some point common sense has to take over, no?

Well I don't think the proper approach would be to accuse you of being racist, but to point out that it's a racially charged term that should be avoided. If you continue to use it after being warned then yeah, you get what's coming to you.

And, in your opinion, gal is a racist term without regard for context or audience?

I don't know, I think it's on par with mammy, so I have a hard time believing it could be contextually acceptable.

The only exposure I've ever had to the word gal is from different cultural sources. More specifically, I only ever really hear used as a term of endearment in songs.

From searching through my itunes...
"My gal" - Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions (and late by YMSB)
"Pickney Gal" - Desmond Dekker
"Buffalo Gals" - Woodie Guthrie (I think - and hope - Buffalo is referring to the city)

"Just looked up what a "tar baby" is. What an odd choice of words to describe a Chinese fingertrap."

President Eden: According to Putin if you didn't know already you are not qualified to take part in this discussion. Please leave the Island.

And girl has many uses in entertainment as well.

For instance, "My Girl" by the Temptations is not referring to a child, nor is "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. Arguably, "His Girl Friday" (1940) with Carey Grant has negative connotations for the title and yet the movie actually a very strong lady in the lead role (Rosalind Russell).

Yonni, you will see that I have indeed given another context to the word ''gal''. Maybe it doesn't count if this context comes from the other side of the Atlantic?

"For instance, "My Girl" by the Temptations is not referring to a child, nor is "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison."

That's the whole point.

Right, and girl could be used in a very degrading manner. However, it isn't always. Context matters. Similarly, to how boy could be used in a degrading manner or a term of endearment.

Yes, exactly the point and yet no one I know takes offense to Van Morrison or the Temptations singing love songs to their "girls"...

Van Morrison was 22 when the song was written. I'm older than that and am not overly sensitive to being called a boy, instead of man. It's all about context and audience.

I go back to modern TV.

Two Broke Girls
The New Girl

and on the other side

My Boys (TBS)

These are not offensive to the women and men who star in them.

I'd take Draugnar more seriously about this if he didn't routinely "joke" about having sex with minors. Plus, I'm sure there are people who take offense at the idea of having sex with a "girl" in the green grass, a la Morrison.

"These are not offensive to the women and men who star in them."

Irrelevant.

Draugnar has a sense of humor, therefor he is not qualified to take part in this discussion.

Please leave the Island.

"Yonni, you will see that I have indeed given another context to the word ''gal''. Maybe it doesn't count if this context comes from the other side of the Atlantic?"

We already went over this.

The crucial issue is that if ''some'' people take offense should the word not be used in any context?

What counts as "some"? An entire ethnic or racial group? Then yes.

So ''gal'' should not be used in Britain, Australia, Canada etc. because of its implications in the USA? Despite the fact that several non-American English speakers have pointed out here that they were totally ignorant of this USA-centric meaning until reading this thread.

Incidently, along those lines, if you accuse me of being ''bent'' I would take great exception and call you a homophobe. Please strike the word from your vocabulary. While your are at it if you tell me to go and drink some anti-freeze I would tell you to jump of the roof etc......etc.....

And you say context doesn't matter?

@YJ - Thanks! That was the first time I chuckled in ths thread! +1 my friend.

I may joke about sex with 16 and 17 years olds (which are legal in Ohio and Kentucky provided you aren't a guardian or authority figure like a teacher, coach, or principle) but the fact is I've reached the age where sex is more effort than it is worth. I have a lawn tractor with all kinds of attachments (getting the snowplow for it in December) and two Jeeps (one being turned into an offroad monster) and they are more fun for less effort.

@Ful - It isn't just non-Armeicans who were unaware. "Gal" is evidently a southern term, not all of America. So those of us from the north were generally unaware. Most women who would take offense to gal that I deal with would do so on the grounds of it being to casual. Just as I wouldn't call a male authority figure "dude", I wouldn't call a female one "gal".

Now, that said, my buds (male and female alike) are dudes and dudettes and everyone loves those phrases cause they are lighthearted and fun, but I'm sure Putin will have a problem with dudette and quite possibly dude.

I don't know what the hell you're rambling about. Evidently you didn't bother reading the thread since I said language is culturally and historically more narrow than simply "English speakers" so gal might be acceptable in the British and Australian contexts, a la "Colored" in South Africa.

And evidently "coon" doesn't make Australians blush either. Somehow I doubt they export that cheese though.

Now, I know the origin and derogatory nature of coon as a stand alone term, but we still have coonhonds (a legit pseudo breed of hound dog) and you'll find people to whom coon is a racoon in the hills of KY.

coon = raccoon
coonass = Cajun

also fuck if gal is a Southern term, in the derogatory sense it's not, that use has been dead for years

Then there is always this senator http://coons.senate.gov/. Should he change his name perhaps? Maybe there was an eminant cheesemaker called Mr Coon(s)? Or is context irrelevant here too?

"Plus, I'm sure there are people who take offense at the idea of having sex with a "girl" in the green grass, a la Morrison."

Really? Who? I guess, the Catholic Church if they weren't married but I don't that's an authority that you (or I) tend to bend to.