When used with a derisive attitude (e.g., "that was so gay"), the word "gay" is pejorative. While retaining its other meanings, its use among young people as a general term of disparagement is common. This pejorative usage has its origins in the late 1970s, with the word gaining a pejorative sense by association with the previous meaning: homosexuality was seen as inferior or undesirable. Beginning in the 1980s, and especially in the late 1990s, the usage as a generic insult became common among young people.