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Dictionary database with future API and bot integrations
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Define "bummer" #364

Open tatianamac opened 3 years ago

tatianamac commented 3 years ago

In the UK, bummer can be considered a slang/colloquial derogatory term for a gay man.

I'm struggling to find reference to this beyond the Urban Dictionary definition, but have had many individuals verify this to be the case.

Other [indirect] resources: https://www.etymonline.com/word/bummer https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bummer?s=t

georgevthomas commented 3 years ago

Hi @tatianamac as someone from UK, this usage definitely exists - though at least in my experience increasingly less often.

'Bummer' also exists in the (in my experience) more common usage of something being annoying, which is defined here, e.g. "I lost my keys, what a bummer!". Though interestingly, the Cambridge definition does include an 'offensive' flag, which might be linked to the derogatory usage you're talking about.

As someone from the UK I'm happy to do some further research on this, but as someone who doesn't identify as gay, I'd then want to get insight from someone who does and is also from the UK who can help us out further.

tatianamac commented 3 years ago

@georgevthomas Thanks for the clarifiers! I can't recall if you were in the Slack community, but we had some discussion around this word in particular, which is what inspired me opening up this issue. If you're not, I'm happy to share with you what was discussed!

Yes! I'd love if you did some research prioritising the perspecives of LGBTQIA+ folks.