Why 'Openly Gay' Is an Offensive Term

Contents:

• IS LLG A HOMOSEXUAL PERSON “GAY” OFFENSIVE?
• COMMENTARY: WHY “THAT’S SO GAY” IS OKAY…OR NOT
• US: APPLE CURRENTLY REMOVG OFFENSIVE FN OF ‘GAY’ OM DICTNARY SERVICE
• THE 'GAY' WORD: WHAT DO MEAN WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE E NEGATIVELY?
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH

IS LLG A HOMOSEXUAL PERSON “GAY” OFFENSIVE?

The New York Tim touted Pete Buttigieg's succsful appotment as "the first openly gay Cabet Secretary to have been approved by the Senate. " The Washgton Post also wrote Buttigieg "is the first openly gay person to be nfirmed by the Senate for a Cabet posn. Richie Jackson is the thor of Gay Like Me: A Father Wr to His Son, published by HarperColls.

It's typilly preferred by those to whom appli over the term "homosexual", the technil nature of which mak this state of beg sound like a munible disease or mental illns (which, as recently as the DSM-II, seventh edn, was, tegorized as a pathologil phobia of the oppose sex). Many advocy groups, such as GLAAD (Gay/Lbian Associatn Agast Defamatn) and terms they promote for e the media (such as LGBT) rporate this term, though this isn't to say the terms will always be acceptable for this reason; the group name often persists long after the words behd them have fallen om favor, to avoid the nfn of a rebrandg of the group. "Queer", an old slang term for gay men, and "fag"/"faggot", origally AE slang for a wimp or unmanly person, but which me to be associated wh the stereotypil "swishy" gay man, have bee si terms; still appropriate when ed by a ntral party or a "straight" person, but acceptable ntext between gay men.

Sexual orientatns n clu heterosexual (straight), lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, and other orientatns.

COMMENTARY: WHY “THAT’S SO GAY” IS OKAY…OR NOT

Avoid the offensive term “sexual preference, ” which is ed to accurately suggt that beg gay, lbian, or bisexual is voluntary and “curable. Transgenr people have sexual orientatns too, and they may be straight, lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, etc.

Avoid intifyg gay people as “homosexuals” an outdated term nsired rogatory and offensive to many lbian and gay people. Typilly, for those who intify as queer, the terms lbian, gay, and bisexual are perceived to be too limg and/or ght wh cultural nnotatns they feel do not apply to them. Also known as SGL, this is a term ed by some Ain Amerin people as an Aocentric alternative to what are nsired Eurocentric, or whe, inti like gay and lbian.

Biphobia may be exprsed ments that reflect doubts about the legimacy of bisexualy as an orientatn, accurately implyg that is not real, “jt a phase” or a ver for someone not ready to e out as gay. Note, the terms “gay marriage” and “same-sex marriage” should be avoid, as they n suggt marriage for same-sex upl is somehow different or ls equal than other marriag. “Openly gay” has been ed to scribe people who self-intify as gay their personal, public, and/or profsnal liv.

US: APPLE CURRENTLY REMOVG OFFENSIVE FN OF ‘GAY’ OM DICTNARY SERVICE

A person who self-intifi as gay, lbian, bisexual, queer and/or transgenr their personal, public, and/or profsnal liv. Historilly ed to selectively persecute gay people, the state laws often referred to as “sodomy laws” were led unnstutnal by the U.

Bee of the clil history of the word “homosexual, ” is aggrsively ed by anti-LGBTQ activists to suggt that people attracted to the same sex are somehow diseased or psychologilly/emotnally disorred – notns discreded by the Amerin Psychologil Associatn and the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn the 1970s. Please also avoid g “homosexual” as a style variatn simply to avoid repeated e of the word “gay. Use gay, lbian, or when appropriate, bisexual, pansexual, or queer to scribe people attracted to people of the same genr or more than one genr.

Intifyg a same-sex uple as “a homosexual uple, ” characterizg their relatnship as “a homosexual relatnship, ” or intifyg their timacy as “homosexual sex” should be avoid.

THE 'GAY' WORD: WHAT DO MEAN WHEN YOUNG PEOPLE E NEGATIVELY?

As a le, try to avoid labelg an activy, emotn, or relatnship gay, lbian, bisexual, or queer unls you would ll the same activy, emotn, or relatnship “straight” if engaged by someone of another orientatn. Sexual orientatn is the accurate scriptn of an person’s endurg physil, romantic, and/or emotnal attractn to people of the same genr and/or people of a different genr, and is clive of people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and pansexual, as well as straight people.

The phras “gay liftyle, ” “LGBTQ liftyle, ” “homosexual liftyle, ” and “transgenr liftyle” are ed to nigrate LGBTQ people by accurately suggtg that their sexual orientatn and/or genr inty is a choice and therefore n and should be “cured” or “changed. Anti-LGBTQ Terms Mastream Media Should Avoid“fag, ” “faggot, ” “dyke, ” “homo, ” “sodome, ” and siar ephetsWhile some the muny have reclaimed and e the words to scribe themselv, the creria for mastream news media g the rogatory terms should be the same as those applied to vulgar ephets ed to target other groups: they should not be ed except a direct quote that reveals the bias of the person quoted or if a LGBTQ person the term to scribe themself. So that such words are not given credibily the media, is preferred that reporters say, “The person ed a rogatory word for a lbian/gay/bisexual/transgenr/queer person” except when a LGBTQ person the term to scribe themself.

Ally: A person who nonts heterosexism, sexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and heterosexual privilege themselv and others out of ncern for the well-beg of LGBTQIA+ people.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN IS FIRST MALE NFL ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Heterosexism exclus the needs, ncerns, and life experienc of lbian, gay, bisexual and queer people while giv advantag to heterosexual people. Homophobia clus prejudice, discrimatn, harassment, and acts of vlence brought on by fear and hatred. Homosexual/Homosexualy: An outdated term to scribe a sexual orientatn which a person feels physilly and emotnally attracted to people of the same genr.

Internalized homophobia: The fear and self-hate of one’s own LGBBTQIA inty, that occurs for many dividuals who have learned negative ias about LGBTQIA+ people throughout childhood. Queer: This n clu, but is not limed to, gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, tersex and asexual people. Some still fd offensive, while others reclaim to enpass the broar sense of history of the gay rights movement.

I e equently, much to my straight iends’ nfn (and some of my gay iends’ dismay) several ocsns, people have lled me out on the age of “that’s so gay, ” cludg my own fay members. My equent arguments have often been, “I mean gay as lame, not gay as gay, ” or, “Whatever, that’s not what I meant and you know , ” or even, “Whatever, language evolv. I wanted to know the history of the word ‘gay’ and how evolved to mean “homosexual” and, to some, “lame.

MEANG OF GAY ENGLISH

“Gay” riv om the 14th Century English-French word “gai” (I’m not exactly sure how to pronounce that, I took Spanish) meang “cheery. ”By the end of the 17th Century, “gay” had acquired a new meang: “addicted to pleasur and dissipatns.

” So, if you were the kd of person who liked havg some wild unhibed pleasur of the flh, you were, but what KIND of gay boy? (Funny enough, at the time, a “gay man” was a man who equented brothels or slept around wh a lot of women.