why are homosexual people called "gay"?

Question

I hope I dont offend anyone.

But I have always wondered why, and perhaps why we can (or cannot) use the word gay for its original meaning.

Answer 1

The 1890's were called the "Gay Nineties", with gay meaning carefree and uninhibited.

Oscar Wilde was an author in the late 1800s who was imprisoned in 1895 because he was a homosexual. Wilde's trademark was wearing a green carnation.

In a 1929 Noel Coward musical (Bitter Sweet) a song was titled Green Carnation and included the lyrics "For the nineties being gay, we all wear a green carnation."

Since the word gay was used to describe the 1890's, and the person most associated with the 1890s was a homosexual man (Wilde), gay gradually became known as a word to describe a homosexual man.

Answer 2

A Gay was a term used to describe female prostitutes in the 18th Century in the UK. It was later picked up as a kant or "parlari" word so homosexuals could identify each other without others being aware.

It probably came into popular public usage in the 1960's as part of the Gay Liberation Movement. The original meaning, as in happy or brightly coloured is now pretty much lost sadly. But words change their meaning on a regular basis, sometimes becoming the exact opposite of the original sense.

Incidentally "Gay" as used by certain young people to mean odd, weak, ineffectual or just plain rubbish actually mirrors the definition given for "Queer" in the "Dictionary of Phrase & Fable published in the 1920's:

"Colloquial for out of sorts, not up to the mark, also slang for drunk and thieves cant for anything base and worthless, especially counterfeit money"

Perhaps we should ask Chris Moyles BBC Radio 1 DJ for his opinion on the matter?

Answer 3

The use of the term gay, as it relates to homosexuality, arises from an extension of the sexualised connotation of "carefree and uninhibited", implying a willingness to disregard conventional or respectable sexual mores. Such usage is documented as early as the 1920s. It was initially more commonly used to imply heterosexually unconstrained lifestyles, as for example in the once-common phrase "gay Lothario",[3] or in the title of the book and film The Gay Falcon (1941), which concerns a womanizing detective whose first name is "Gay". Well into the mid 20th century a middle-aged bachelor could be described as "gay" without prejudice.

A passage from Gertrude Stein's Miss Furr & Miss Skeene (1922) is possibly the first traceable published use of the word to refer to a homosexual relationship, though it is not altogether clear whether she uses the word to mean lesbianism or happiness:

They were ...gay, they learned little things that are things in being gay, ... they were quite regularly gay.

Answer 4

In the old days "gay" meant happy, merry, carefree, even flamboyant..and probably many other meanings too. About 100 years ago, if a man wore a particularly bright or flamboyant outfit it was referred to as gay. Think of the Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" it refers to donning "gay apparrel". Men who were straight or afraid to come out would not be caught dead dressing "gay", even though that did not mean homosexual at the time. So the homosexuals dressed and acted "gay" and the term stuck.

I prefer the term gay to represent me rather than homosexual which sounds too clinical or god forbid, "G0y", which with all respect to my friends who are, I think is ridiculous. I would prefer that gay mean only gay men however and that Lesbians, Bis and Trannies, get their own nicknames.

Answer 5

Oh I love the original definition of "gay". It unfortunatly went out of use in the early 80's wasn't it?
Now I use Happy...that's why I'm a Happy Pagan Person.
I could say we're gay because we're Fabulous!!! but I really don't know why gay became synonymous with the homosexual culture. I still snicker when I hear the Flinstone's theme "...we'll have a gay old tiiiime"....hmmm, what's Fred and Barney doing in the garage we don't know about? Oh, dear, I'm ending that thought and this right now. Blessings, Dearest.

Answer 6

I've got a feeling that in 10 years time there'll be letters in the Daily Mail ....

"I'm a retired colonel and I've been a proud Briton all my life. When I was young 'gay' was a perfectly good word for homosexual. Now this so-called 'schoolchild' community have hijacked this word for their own perverted uses, using it as an analogy for 'useless' or 'something lacking in worth'. You couldn't make it up, it's political correctness gone mad."

Answer 7

*Many people now avoid using homosexual because of the emphasis this term places on sexuality. Indeed, the words gay and lesbian, which stress cultural and social matters over sex, are frequently better choices.

*The word gay is now standard in its use to refer to homosexuals, in large part because it is the term that most gay people prefer in referring to themselves. Gay is distinguished from homosexual primarily by the emphasis it places on the cultural and social aspects of homosexuality as opposed to sexual practice.

Answer 8

It stems from Oscar Wilde and even before that over 100 years ago, read the link in sources. Enjoy.

Answer 9

Homosexuality was frowned upon because of its sexual connotations...well..................................homoSEXual..what do you expect (homoSEXual).They did n't like the words people called them..pansy,queer,etc so they stole a lovely word.(The fa**ot word is not used for homos in UK..it means a sort of meatball).Who would admit to being happy and gay now?..no-one unless you actually were a bum-burglar or ar5e bandit.
I will never call them gay..they are homosexual...I won't call then fa**ot etc because it's derogatory and I don't actually dislike homosexuals...just the ones who dress up in drag and go on those horrible gay-pride marches.
The majority are very likeable people who keep themselves to themselves..and as long as I don't think of the things they may or may not get up to..they don't bother me.

Answer 10

"...The use of the term gay, as it relates to homosexuality, arises from an extension of the sexualised connotation of "carefree and uninhibited", implying a willingness to disregard conventional or respectable sexual mores..."

From Wikipedia