Where did the idea of coming in or out of the closet come from? We all know what it means, but how did it pick up this second meaning? (The first meaning being the closet you put clothes and stuff in.)
Also, how did gay pick up its second meaning? (The first meaning happy.) I know where the word lesbian comes from, but not gay.
2007-03-22 09:51:19 · 6 answers · asked by Kharm 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Lesbian comes from a famous intellectual woman in ancient Greek times from the island of Lesbos. She was a lover of women, so the term lesbian (from the island of Lesbos) came to be associated with women who love women.
Why isn't there a spell check option for adding details to questions?
2007-03-22 11:34:15 · update #1
Well, the original meaning of gay is happiness & or being carefree. In the late 17th century, the meaning was extended & used to mean "carefree in such a way as being uninhibited." And then the terminology expanded from there to mean uninhibited SEXUALLY. Which then lead to people referring to homosexuals as 'gay'. Which is odd because although i'm a lesbian, i AM inhibited in some ways sexually, because there are some things i will NOT do. So see...they were over generalizing and stereotyping us from the very beginning.
And the whole closet thing....The term closet has been extended to point out any identity or affiliation that a person keeps secret for fear of persecution or exclusion.
2007-03-22 10:09:41 · answer #1 · answered by Raynebow_Diva 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has something to do with sexuality being hidden...such as in a dark closet.
Unless of course you are in a glass closet. (Meaning, you are in the closet, but everyone else can see that you are gay.)
Personally, my fav. term is Narnian...meaning that you are very, very deep in the closet.
And they should have spell check on the added details, I have wondered the same thing myself.
2007-03-22 21:33:56 · answer #2 · answered by IamBatman 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The story goes that closets were places where imaginary scary monsters were hiding. HIDING is the key word here. People who were gay but not "out" were "coined" into the closet.
If you Google: Gay Closet you'll get some interesting sites with more complete info.
2007-03-22 17:07:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
its cos you hide stuff in a closet, i always thought we were called gay cos stereotypically people imagine us bouncing around. where did the word lesbian come from?
2007-03-22 18:29:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I dont know how closets became associated with being gay but my coats are very offended and my brooms want to marry each other but I wont allow same cleaning tool marriage.
2007-03-22 17:45:22 · answer #5 · answered by J D 5 · 1⤊ 5⤋
I wondered the same...Here's what wikipedia says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closet_gay
2007-03-22 17:50:57 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋