Knowg how to talk about inti of genr and sexualy is key to unrstandg LGBTQ+ experienc. Learn the distctns between "queer" and "gay."
Contents:
- THE HISTORY OF THE WORD “GAY”
- QUEER VS. GAY: HOW THE WORDS ARE DIFFERENT, AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
- MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH
- SYNONYMS OF GAY
THE HISTORY OF THE WORD “GAY”
by Jordan Redman Staff Wrer Do you know what the word gay really means? The word gay dat back to the 12th century and om the Old French “gai,” meang “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Old High German “gahi,” meang impulsive. * word in gay meaning *
Pri, formerly known as Gay Pri, is a regnn of LGBTQ inty, affirmatn of equal rights, and celebratn of visibily, digny, and diversy the LGBTQ muny. G: Gay.
Why gay or lbian and not “homosexual”? While the word homosexual is still ocsnally ed some ntexts, you might have noticed that don’t make an appearance any versn of the LGBTQ acronym. As our age note on the term stat, “up until 1973, homosexualy was listed The Diagnostic and Statistil Manual of Mental Disorrs (DSM), psychiatry’s standard reference on the classifitn of mental illns.
People aware of this former tegorizatn feel that the term homosexual still rri a negative nnotatn.
QUEER VS. GAY: HOW THE WORDS ARE DIFFERENT, AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
* word in gay meaning *
” In fact, the term homosexual was liberately rejected by early gay rights activists bee, acrdg to The New York Tim, “they did not want to be intified as exclively sexual begs.
For the and other reasons, the term homosexual is wily nsired disparagg and offensive. Instead, the terms gay and lbian are generally preferred.
Gay, on the other hand, n be ed to scribe a person of any genr who experienc same-sex attractn, although is most often ed to scribe a man who is attracted to men. The days, the term homosexual is typilly limed to medil ntexts, if ed at all.
MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH
gay fn: 1. sexually or romantilly attracted to people of the same genr and not to people of a different…. Learn more. * word in gay meaning *
On June 28, 1969, the New York Cy police raid the Stonewall Inn, a bar equented by gay and genr-nonnformg people (at a time when terms like LGBTQ didn’t yet exist). They attempted to arrt the gay and trans bar patrons, which started a seri of protts agast the police. Partially rponse to Stonewall, 1970, queer activists New York Cy anized a march to Central Park wh the theme “Gay Pri.
Trans activist Slyvia Rivera particular advoted for the more forceful slogan “Gay power. The term queer, like the term homosexual, has a b of a troubled history.
SYNONYMS OF GAY
However, unlike homosexual, has been wily reappropriated by the LGBTQ muny as a label.
Queer lerally means “strange or odd om a nventnal viewpot, ” and by at least by the late 1800s, queer was ployed as a rogatory term for an effemate or gay man.
In 1990, this effort foced on queer as a llective term for gay and lbian people. Queer was seen as a way to refer to gays and lbians whout beg genr-sentialist or g divisns wh the muny. We have already touched on the terms gay and lbian.