Is there a difference?

Question

What's the difference between GAY and LESBIAN? I identify myself as being gay, but truthfully i prefer woman and woman only, but i wanted to know the difference, if any.

Answer 1

It's a common feature of the English language that words that are masculine gender can be considered gender neutral depending on context, while nearly all words that are feminine gender are exclusively female specific words.

For example, actor can mean a person who acts or a man who acts, while actress can only mean a woman who acts.

It's a basic sexist feature of the language.

In terms of etymology, gay came first, in the early part of the 20th century, used by homosexual males to give their orientation a name with a positive connotation ("gay" means cheerful, upbeat, happy). Because gay males outnumber lesbians about 2:1, and because gay male culture was much more visible for a variety of reasons, this lead to the phenomenon of homosexual women being socially invisible, even within the larger gay community.

The gay community, like the greater community, was dominated by men.

Many homosexual woman disliked this, disliked the idea of having a word that coined by men to described themselves applied to women. Many homosexual women wanted to reject any form of patriarchy and forge their own identities. This included self-definition, which meant coining a word to describe them specifically. They chose "lesbian", derived from the name of the Greek island, lesbos, on which the famous lesbian poet Sappho lived.

In short, gay can mean either gay male or merely homosexual of either sex depending on context, while lesbian refers specifically only to women.

Answer 2

Technically nothing...gay can be used as a general term for both men and women liking the same sexed. Society however has it split up that gay is to stand for men whom find other men sexually attracted and lesbian is for women that find other women sexually attracted, but again, gay can be used for either gender and mean the same thing.

Answer 3

There isn't any difference except men don't have a problem with jumping into bed with a couple of lesbians unless they are ugly or kick him out of the bed.

Answer 4

No real difference for you, but men can be gay, but they cannot be lesbians. (No matter how many think they are)

Answer 5

depends on what you like. It is possible to refer to yourself as either or both if you are a woman who prefers relations with other women.

Answer 6

No difference, just different titles for the same job.

Answer 7

one is sick the other is perverted