Reply #74: defining terms

[orleans]

lifestyle:
"A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and values of a person or group."

"Usage Note: When lifestyle became popular a generation ago, a number of critics objected to it as voguish and superficial, perhaps because it appeared to elevate habits of consumption, dress, and recreation to categories in a system of social classification. Nonetheless, the word has proved durable and useful, if only because such categories do in fact figure importantly in the schemes that Americans commonly invoke when explaining social values and behavior, as in Rachel Brownstein's remark that "an anticonventional lifestyle is no sure sign of feminist politics, or indeed, of any politics at all." Fifty-three percent of the Usage Panel accepts the word in Bohemian attitudes toward conventional society have been outstripped and outdated by the lifestyles of millions of young people. An even greater number—fully 70 percent—accepts the word in Salaries in the Bay Area may be higher, but it may cost employees as much as 30 percent more to maintain their lifestyles, where the context requires a term that implies categorization based on habits of consumption."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lifestyle

lifestyle, to me, is appropriately used when describing income levels (upper middle class lifestyle) or living locations (urban/rural/suburban lifestyle). when you say someone is living a suburban lifestyle it drums up a mental image of a home, two car garage, kids & a dog, and backyard barbecues/grills

to talk about a gay lifestyle is absolutely absurd.
i think people who use the term "gay lifestyle" are implying a negative stereotype of promiscuity.

and on that note, i found this on a google search:

It’s Saturday night and according to the religious right, I should be out tramping around and having uprotected sex. After all, I am gay and all gay men have promiscuous lifestyles, right?

Those poor religious zealots are going to be so dissapointed to find out how I actually spent my Saturday night. Let’s see…

After I got home from running errands with Sassy, I talked with Buckaroo for awhile to see how his day went. He was hungry, so I buttered a blueberry bagel for him. Then we watched an episode of the Forensic Files that the TiVo suggested for us.

After that, I decided to test out the new Pledge I bought this afternoon by dusting my office and our bedroom. According to the label, this Pledge has an "anti-dust" formula. It’s supposed to resist dust from building back so fast. I think that’s a dubious claim, but I being the eternal optimist decided to buy it anyway. I hate dust and will do anything to get rid of it (insert your wiseass comment here, e.g. If you don’t like dust, why do you keep so much of it around?). At least the Pledge smelled really good. The label said "citrus" scent, but it wasn’t strong citrus. Just a really pleasant scent.

After I got done dusting, I read my e-mail and saw that Barbara had sent me some mail. That meant she was back from New Mexico so I called her. She was still recovering from visiting the in-laws so we didn’t talk long. We did discuss her upcoming blog redesign and what changes still had to be made.

Buckaroo had fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV so I just puttered around the house. I replaced the batteries in the sprinkler timers. I watered the plants. I even cleaned the mirror and counters in the master bathroom. Buckaroo woke up at some point and went to bed. I settled down in front of the computer.

That brings me to this point. Hmmm… I don’t recall having any unprotected sex with multiple strangers at any point of the evening. I’m also not high or drunk or strung out. I guess I must be letting the religious right down. I had an evening awfully similiar to what I imagine a normal heterosexual married couple might have. How scandalous!!!!

http://www.scott-o-rama.com/2005/07/09/my-promiscuous-gay-lifestyle/

(the use of the word tolerance has pissed me off for years as well)