My speaking class is using a textbook that’s about as old as Mao himself. In order to prove this, I present the two following examples:

1) We learned how to say “When did you listen to the Party’s radio broadcast?”

2) We also learned the word for Comrade.

Now, this post is basically about the 2nd point. The word for Comrade is tongzhi. But, that was the meaning of the word back in the 50’s. Today, the term tongzhi means something completely different. Prior to knowing this, I say that my friend and I are fellow comrades. My Chinese friends look shocked and start laughing in a weird nervous manner. So what does “tongzhi” mean in 2005 you ask?

Gay.