Gay

This article is about gay as an English-language term. For the sexual orientation, see homosexuality. For homosexual men, see gay men. For homosexual women, see lesbian. For other uses, see Gay (disambiguation).

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Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.[1]

While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 19th century, that meaning became increasingly common by the mid-20th century.[2] In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation.[3] By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBTQ groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex,[4][5] although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men.[6]

At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. Among younger speakers, the word has a meaning ranging from derision (e.g., equivalent to 'rubbish' or 'stupid') to a light-hearted mockery or ridicule (e.g., equivalent to 'weak', 'unmanly', or 'lame'). The extent to which these usages still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized.[7][8][needs update]

  1. ^ Hobson, Archie (2001). The Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195146738.
  2. ^ Harper, Douglas (2001–2013). "Gay". Online Etymology dictionary. Archived from the original on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2006.
  3. ^ "Gay". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 21 May 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  4. ^ "GLAAD Media Reference Guide - LGBTQ Terms". GLAAD. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  5. ^ "Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language". American Psychological Association. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015. (Reprinted from American Psychologist, Vol 46(9), Sep 1991, 973-974 Archived 3 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine)
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference glaad10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Winterman, Denise (18 March 2008). "How 'gay' became children's insult of choice". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  8. ^ "Anti-gay abuse seen to pervade U.S. schools". Archived from the original on 1 March 2007.