What do you think? Joke I found offensive.

A bit silly, not hugely funny, but homophobic??
Panto would be dead in the water if it was PC.

Perhaps I am naive here but I don't think that most children would understand the implications of the joke. How old was the child saying the lines? Perhaps even he didn't fully understand his lines. It was in bad taste , but children can be exposed to far worse.

The panto I went to with DD and GDs contained a couple of 'jokes' I considered to be in bad taste.

It was Peter Pan and one of the pirates told Tiger Lily to run on the spot, then said 'I left my Injun running'...

He was about twelve or thirteen. I think he would have understood. And the older members of the cast certainly would have done. Can casual homophobia be alright? No, I don't think so. "Poof" and "fairy" applied to gay men are offensive terms.

Gay men happily use those terms about themselves!

I'm with DaphneBroon on this one. It was not in the best taste, but as Judge Rinder said on Strictly, " if you think that's homophobic then you haven't experienced homophobia."

I'm sure some of the gay men or women in the audience would have found it funny I know for sure my gay friends would have,do you not think people who are hetrosexual tend to complain more than our gay friends do,hasn't "Peter Pan" been slapping his thighs for years in Panto and nothing has ever been said about the actress playing the part.Just enjoy the Panto and be thankful the children are all open minded and laugh.

Poof, queer, gay etc are common insults among children and teenagers. I'm sure they all understood it.

Gay isn't an insult.

It's okay if someone who is gay uses the term, not anyone else though. The joke is offensive.

Don't you think a joke like that, written into a script for children to perform, could encourage homophobic bullying amongst young people?

Eh? People use the term 'gay' all the time - what planet are you living on lumpy?

Kids use gay as an insult and it's horrible, I would go loop de lah if my daughter used it.

Adults should be stamping that stuff out.

So what would you call a gay person? A homosexual?

What stuff? I think you're both barmy!

I meant the term poof and fairy, gay people are allowed to use those terms, other people are not. The term gay was not used in the panto, poof and fairy were.

No I don't bellsisabelle panto (cross dressing dames, cross dressing principal boys, double entendres every where you look, ) is the least PC form of entertainment out.
That is why it is funny

No-one expects a panto to be PC.

It's not that hard Ana, gay is descriptive of someones sexuality, gay, red haired etc. Poof and fairy are insults, also using gay as an insult is wrong.

That's soooo gay, is an insult. Bob is gay, descriptive.

No one expects a panto to be homophobic.

Ana if you don't know that children and teenagers use gay as an insult, I wonder what planet you are on.

I find that pantomime now is not for children but is full of innuendo, homosexual or not. I haven't been this year but a friend took her GGS and wasn't at all happy. Why must everything be dumbed down or sexed up?

That's not what you said originally.

You said 'It's okay if someone who is gay uses the term, not anyone else though' lumpyspacedprincess.