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Is it considered politically incorrect for straight people to use the term "gaydar." This one time at college I used the term in front of a gay man when recollecting how I was good at identifying who is gay and who isn't. I received in return a severe tongue lashing about the fact that only gay people have gaydar and that the heterosexual appropriation of the term is offensive. This was mind you, at Oberlin College where everybody is overly sensitive about at least five issues (speakouts were a regular part of our campus experience, not that any of us voted or anything). Since then, I have heard straight people throw the term around as if it's their own with nary a hint of doubt over the appropriateness of its usage.
People who engage in various discourses surrounding allocations of social power, discrimination and subjugation (go english major!) are always quick to point out the dangers of using a terms specific to historically marginalized groups. As a straight, white woman they would tell me that it's unacceptable to use the term gaydar no matter how clever it's application (as in, my gaydar is malfunctioning. i think it is burnt out from too much contact from gay boys over the weekend). But are they right?

Here are some questions to think about:
-By limiting the use of the term "gaydar" to gay people are we respecting their community and their history, or merely pandering to academic political correctness?
-What are some instances where lingo previously "owned" by marginalized subcultures have successfully and without much controversy been assimilated into the mainstream's lexicon?