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{{short description|Term referring to a homosexual person}}
{{About|''gay'' as an English-language term|the sexual orientation|homosexuality|homosexual men|gay men|homosexual women|lesbian|other uses|Gay (disambiguation)}}
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[[File:Gay flag.svg|thumb|261x261px|The [[Rainbow flag (LGBTQ)|rainbow flag]], a common symbol representing gay people, or more recently, the overall [[LGBTQ+ community]].]]
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'''''Gay''''' is a term that [[Terminology of homosexuality|primarily refers]] to a [[homosexual]] person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hobson|first1=Archie|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Difficult Words|date=2001|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|edition=1st|isbn=978-0195146738|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/oxforddictionary00arch}}</ref>

While scant usage referring to [[Gay men|male homosexuality]] dates to the late 19th century, that meaning became increasingly common by the mid-20th century.<ref name=etymonline>{{cite web | last = Harper | first = Douglas | author-link = Douglas Harper | title = Gay | work = Online Etymology dictionary | date = 2001–2013 | url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay | access-date = 13 February 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060219193127/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gay | archive-date = 19 February 2006 | url-status=live }}</ref> In modern [[English language|English]], ''gay'' has come to be used as an [[adjective]], and as a [[#noun|noun]], referring to the [[LGBT community|community]], [[Human sexual activity|practices]] and [[LGBT culture|cultures]] associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, ''gay'' became the word favored by [[homosexual men]] to describe their [[sexual orientation]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Gay|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gay|website=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=13 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180521235009/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gay|archive-date=21 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the word ''gay'' was recommended by major [[LGBTQ]] groups and [[style guide]]s to describe people attracted to members of the same sex,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-24 |title=GLAAD Media Reference Guide - LGBTQ Terms |url=https://www.glaad.org/reference/terms |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=GLAAD |language=en}}</ref><ref name=APAHeteroBiasLang>{{cite web|title=Avoiding Heterosexual Bias in Language|url=http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/language.aspx|website=[[American Psychological Association]]|access-date=14 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321033057/http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbt/resources/language.aspx|archive-date=21 March 2015|url-status=live}} (Reprinted from [http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.46.9.973  American Psychologist, Vol 46(9), Sep 1991, 973-974] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603155851/http://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.46.9.973 |date=3 June 2018 }})</ref> although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men.<ref name=glaad10/>

Since the 1980s, a new, [[pejorative]] use became prevalent in some parts of the world. Among younger speakers, the word has a meaning ranging from derision (e.g., equivalent to 'rubbish' or 'stupid') to a light-hearted mockery or ridicule (e.g., equivalent to 'weak', 'unmanly', or 'boring'. The extent to which these usages still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized.<ref name="Winterman">{{cite news|first=Denise|last=Winterman|title=How 'gay' became children's insult of choice|work=[[BBC News]]|date=18 March 2008|access-date=29 May 2013|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7289390.stm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202204245/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7289390.stm|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2006/04/26/1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20070301145035/http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2006/04/26/1|archive-date=1 March 2007|title=Anti-gay abuse seen to pervade U.S. schools}}</ref>{{update inline|reason=These are over 10yrs old; language about sexual orientation has changed a lot in this time|date=July 2022}} Because of the strongly offensive and [[Homophobia|homophobic]] insult, the use of ''gay'' as an insult is generally considered socially inappropriate, sometimes even legally restricted, especially in [[Canada]].

== History ==
=== Overview ===
[[File:The Great Social Evil, Punch 1857.jpg|thumb|left|Cartoon from [[Punch magazine|''Punch'' magazine]] in 1857 illustrating the use of "gay" as a [[Colloquialism|colloquial]] [[euphemism]] for being a prostitute;<ref>{{cite web| title = The Great Social Evil| url = https://archive.org/stream/punch32a33lemouoft#page/390/mode/2up| access-date = 5 September 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160402172518/https://archive.org/stream/punch32a33lemouoft#page/390/mode/2up| archive-date = 2 April 2016| url-status=live}} ''Punch'' magazine, Volume 33, 1857, page 390. A stand-alone editorial cartoon, no accompanying article.</ref> one woman says to the other (who looks glum), "How long have you been gay?" The poster on the wall is for ''[[La Traviata]]'', an opera about a [[courtesan]]]]

The word ''gay'' arrived in English during the 12th century from [[Old French]] ''gai'', most likely deriving ultimately from a [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] source.<ref name=etymonline/>

In English, the word's primary meaning was "joyful", "carefree", "bright and showy", and the word was very commonly used with this meaning in speech and literature. For example, the [[optimism|optimistic]] 1890s are still often referred to as the ''[[Gay Nineties]]''. The title of the 1938 French [[ballet]] ''[[Gaîté Parisienne]]'' ("Parisian Gaiety"), which became the 1941 [[Warner Brothers]] movie, ''[[The Gay Parisian]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033651/|title=The Gay Parisian (1941)|author=xoregos|date=2 December 1941|work=IMDb|access-date=1 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170209154804/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033651/|archive-date=9 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> also illustrates this connotation. It was apparently not until the 20th century that the word began to be used to mean specifically "homosexual", although it had earlier acquired sexual connotations.<ref name="etymonline" />

The derived abstract noun ''[[:wikt:gaiety|gaiety]]'' remains largely free of sexual connotations and has, in the past, been used in the names of places of entertainment, such as the [[Gaiety Theatre, Dublin|Gaiety Theatre]] in Dublin.

=== Sexualization ===
[[File:NGramGay.png|thumb|Usage statistics from English books, according to [[Google Ngram Viewer]]]]

The word may have started to acquire associations of sexual [[immorality]] as early as the 14th century, but had certainly acquired them by the 17th.<ref name=etymonline/> By the late 17th century, it had acquired the specific meaning of "addicted to pleasures and dissipations",<ref name=oed/> an extension of its primary meaning of "carefree" implying "uninhibited by moral constraints". A ''gay woman'' was a [[prostitute]], a ''gay man'' a [[Promiscuity#Male promiscuity|womanizer]], and a ''gay house'' a [[brothel]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of gay |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gayest |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Dictionary.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=etymonline/> An example is a letter read to a London court in 1885 during the prosecution of brothel madam and procuress [[Mary Frances Jeffries|Mary Jeffries]] that had been written by a girl while enslaved inside of a French brothel:

{{blockquote|I write to tell you it is a gay house ... Some captains came in the other night, and the mistress wanted us to sleep with them.<ref>English Girls Decoyed To France, The Sentinel, Issue 73, May 1885, London, p415</ref>|}}

The use of ''gay'' to mean "homosexual" was often an extension of its application to prostitution: a ''gay boy'' was a young man or boy serving male clients.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gay and Lesbian Washington, D.C.|last=Muzzy|first=Frank|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0738517537|pages=7}}</ref>

Similarly, a ''gay cat'' was a young male apprenticed to an older [[hobo]] and commonly exchanging sex and other services for protection and tutelage.<ref name="etymonline" /> The application to homosexuality was also an extension of the word's sexualized connotation of "carefree and uninhibited", which implied a willingness to disregard conventional or respectable [[sexual mores]]. Such usage, documented as early as the 1920s, was likely present before the 20th century,<ref name=etymonline/> although it was initially more commonly used to imply heterosexually unconstrained lifestyles, as in the once-common phrase "[[lothario|gay Lothario]]",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/81/10549.html |title=Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |last=Brewer |first=E. Cobham |year=1898 |access-date=8 January 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315232314/http://www.bartleby.com/81/10549.html |archive-date=15 March 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> or in the title of the book and film [[The Falcon (literary character)|''The Gay Falcon'']] (1941), which concerns a womanizing detective whose first name is "Gay". Similarly, [[Fred Gilbert]] and [[G. H. MacDermott]]'s [[music hall]] song of the 1880s, "Charlie Dilke Upset the Milk" – "Master Dilke upset the milk, when taking it home to Chelsea; the papers say that Charlie's gay, rather a wilful wag!" – referred to Sir [[Charles Dilke]]'s alleged heterosexual impropriety.<ref>John Major (2012) ''My Old Man'', page 87 and note</ref> Giving testimony in court in 1889, the prostitute [[John Saul (prostitute)|John Saul]] stated: "I occasionally do odd-jobs for different gay people."<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_lesbian_and_gay_studies/v005/5.3kaplan.html|title = Who's Afraid Of John Saul? Urban Culture and the Politics of Desire in Late Victorian London|last = Kaplan|first = Morris|date = 1999|journal = GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies|volume = 5|issue = 3|pages = 267–314|doi = 10.1215/10642684-5-3-267|s2cid = 140452093|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151112123013/http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_lesbian_and_gay_studies/v005/5.3kaplan.html|archive-date = 12 November 2015|url-status=live| issn = 1064-2684|url-access = subscription}}</ref>

Well into the mid 20th century a middle-aged bachelor could be described as "gay", indicating that he was unattached and therefore free, without any implication of homosexuality. This usage could apply to women too. The British comic strip ''[[Jane (comic strip)|Jane]]'', first published in the 1930s, described the adventures of ''Jane Gay''. Far from implying homosexuality, it referred to her free-wheeling lifestyle with plenty of boyfriends (while also punning on [[Lady Jane Grey]]).

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. According to Linda Wagner-Martin (''Favored Strangers: Gertrude Stein and her Family'', 1995) the portrait "featured the sly repetition of the word gay, used with sexual intent for one of the first times in linguistic history", and [[Edmund Wilson]] (1951, quoted by [[James R. Mellow|James Mellow]] in ''Charmed Circle'', 1974) agreed.<ref>Martha E. Stone, Sept–Oct 2002. [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who+were+Miss+Furr+and+Miss+Skeene%3F+(Essay).-a090892988 "Who were Miss Furr and Miss Skeene?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025082122/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who+were+Miss+Furr+and+Miss+Skeene%3F+(Essay).-a090892988 |date=25 October 2012 }}, ''The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide''.</ref> For example:

{{blockquote|They were&nbsp;... gay, they learned little things that are things in being gay,&nbsp;... they were quite regularly gay.|Gertrude Stein|1922}}

The word continued to be used with the dominant meaning of "carefree", as evidenced by the title of ''[[The Gay Divorcee]]'' (1934), a musical film about a heterosexual couple.

''[[Bringing Up Baby]]'' (1938) was the first film to use the word ''gay'' in an apparent reference to homosexuality. In a scene in which [[Cary Grant]]'s character's clothes have been sent to the cleaners, he is forced to wear a woman's feather-trimmed robe. When another character asks about his robe, he responds, "Because I just went ''gay'' all of a sudden!" Since this was a mainstream film at a time, when the use of the word to refer to [[cross-dressing]] (and, by extension, homosexuality) would still be unfamiliar to most film-goers, the line can also be interpreted to mean, "I just decided to do something frivolous."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG03/comedy/bringingupbaby.html|title=Bringing Up Baby|access-date=24 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630103200/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG03/comedy/bringingupbaby.html|archive-date=30 June 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1950, the earliest reference found to date for the word ''gay'' as a self-described name for homosexuals came from Alfred A. Gross, executive secretary for the George W. Henry Foundation, who said in the June 1950 issue of SIR magazine: "I have yet to meet a happy homosexual. They have a way of describing themselves as gay but the term is a misnomer. Those who are habitues of the bars frequented by others of the kind, are about the saddest people I've ever seen."<ref>"The Truth About Homosexuals", Sir, June 1950, Sara H. Carleton, New York, p. 57.</ref>

=== Shift to specifically ''homosexual'' ===
By the mid-20th century, ''gay'' was well established in reference to hedonistic and uninhibited lifestyles<ref name="oed">{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/77207?|title=gay, adj., adv., and n. (OED Third Edition)|work=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|date=June 2008}}</ref> and its antonym ''straight'', which had long had connotations of seriousness, respectability, and conventionality, had now acquired specific connotations of heterosexuality.<ref name=etymonline-straight>{{cite web | last = Harper | first = Douglas | author-link = Douglas Harper | title = Straight | work = Online Etymology dictionary | date = 2001–2013 | url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=straight | access-date = 20 December 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101228062448/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=straight | archive-date = 28 December 2010 | url-status=live }}</ref> In the case of ''gay'', other connotations of frivolousness and showiness in dress ("gay apparel") led to association with [[camp (style)|camp]] and [[effeminacy]]. This association no doubt helped the gradual narrowing in scope of the term towards its current dominant meaning, which was at first confined to subcultures. ''Gay'' was the preferred term since other terms, such as ''[[queer]]'', were felt to be derogatory.<ref>{{cite news |title=A queer use of an inoffensive little word |author=Howard, Philip |date=7 June 1976 |page=12 |newspaper=The Times |url=https://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/keywordsearch.arc?queryKeywords=A+queer+use+of+an+inoffensive+little+word |location=London |ref=CS202211015 |access-date=19 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501085100/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/keywordsearch.arc?queryKeywords=A+queer+use+of+an+inoffensive+little+word |archive-date=1 May 2011 |url-status=live }}{{subscription required}}</ref> ''[[Homosexual]]'' is perceived as excessively clinical,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/reference/offensive |title=Media Reference Guide - Offensive Terms To Avoid |date=9 September 2011 |publisher=GLAAD |access-date=24 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420141352/http://www.glaad.org/reference/offensive |archive-date=20 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="thenewgay.net">{{cite web |url=http://thenewgay.net/2008/09/gay-adjectives-vs-lesbian-nouns.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024134919/http://www.thenewgay.net/2008/09/gay-adjectives-vs-lesbian-nouns.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 October 2008 |title=Gay Adjectives vs. Lesbian Nouns |publisher=The New Gay |date=16 September 2008 |access-date=4 August 2009 }}</ref><ref name="americamagazine.org">{{cite web |author=James Martin |date=4 November 2000 |url=http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2297 |title=The Church and the Homosexual Priest |publisher=America The National Catholic Weekly Magazine |access-date=4 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101111121139/http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=2297 |archive-date=11 November 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> since the sexual orientation now commonly referred to as "homosexuality" was at that time a [[Mental disorder|mental illness]] [[diagnosis]] in the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]] (DSM).

In mid-20th century Britain, where male homosexuality was illegal until the [[Sexual Offences Act 1967]], to openly identify someone as homosexual was considered very offensive and an accusation of serious criminal activity. Additionally, none of the words describing any aspect of homosexuality were considered suitable for polite society. Consequently, a number of [[euphemism]]s were used to hint at suspected homosexuality. Examples include "sporty" girls and "artistic" boys,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cocks |first1=H. A. |title='Sporty' Girls and 'Artistic' Boys: Friendship, Illicit Sex, and the British 'Companionship' Advertisement, 1913-1928 |journal=Journal of the History of Sexuality |date=2002 |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=457–482 |doi=10.1353/sex.2003.0008|pmid=17396374 |s2cid=7018936 }}</ref> all with the stress deliberately on the otherwise completely innocent adjective.

The 1960s marked the transition in the predominant meaning of the word ''gay'' from that of "carefree" to the current "homosexual". In the British comedy-drama film ''[[Light Up the Sky! (film)|Light Up the Sky!]]'' (1960), directed by [[Lewis Gilbert]], about the antics of a British Army searchlight squad during World War II, there is a scene in the mess hut where the character played by [[Benny Hill]] proposes an after-dinner toast. He begins, "I'd like to propose..." at which point a fellow diner interjects "Who to?", implying a proposal of marriage. The Benny Hill character responds, "Not to you for start, you ain't my type". He then adds in mock doubt, "Oh, I don't know, you're rather gay on the quiet."

By 1963, a new sense of the word ''gay'' was known well enough to be used by [[Albert Ellis (psychologist)|Albert Ellis]] in his book ''The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Man-Hunting''. Similarly, [[Hubert Selby Jr.]] in his 1964 novel ''[[Last Exit to Brooklyn]]'', could write that a character "took pride in being a homosexual by feeling intellectually and esthetically superior to those (especially women) who weren't gay...."<ref>Selby Jr., Hubert "Last Exit To Brooklyn" NY: Grove Press, 1988 p. 23 copyright 1964</ref> Later examples of the original meaning of the word being used in popular culture include the theme song to the 1960–1966 animated TV series ''[[The Flintstones]]'', wherein viewers are assured that they will "have a gay old time." Similarly, the 1966 [[Herman's Hermits]] song "[[No Milk Today]]", which became a Top 10 hit in the UK and a [[Top 40]] hit in the U.S., included the lyric "No milk today, it was not always so; ''The company was gay'', we'd turn night into day."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/paul/lyrics/hermanshermits/nomilk~1.html|title=The Lyrics Library – Herman's Hermits – No Milk Today|access-date=24 November 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205130619/http://www.mathematik.uni-ulm.de/paul/lyrics/hermanshermits/nomilk~1.html|archive-date=5 December 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 1967, the headline of the review of the Beatles' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' album in the British daily newspaper ''[[The Times]]'' stated, "The Beatles revive hopes of progress in pop music with their gay new LP".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1873296.ece |title=The Beatles revive hopes of progress in pop music with their gay new LP |location=London |work=The Times |date=2 June 2007 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530142425/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1873296.ece |archive-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead }}{{subscription required}}</ref> The same year, [[the Kinks]] recorded "[[David Watts (song)|David Watts]]", which is about a schoolmate of Ray Davies, but is named after a homosexual concert promoter they knew, with the ambiguous line "he is so gay and fancy-free" attesting to the word's double meaning at that time.<ref>Savage, Jon "The Kinks: The Official Biography" London: Faber and Faber, 1984 pp. 94–96</ref> As late as 1970, the first episode of ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' has the demonstrably straight [[Mary Richards]]' neighbor Phyllis breezily declaiming that Mary is still "young and gay", but in an episode about two years later, Phyllis is told that her brother is "gay", which is immediately understood to mean that he is homosexual.

== Homosexuality ==
{{Main|Homosexuality}}
{{Sexual orientation}}
[[File:Rainbow flag breeze.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Rainbow flag (LGBT movement)|rainbow flag]] is a symbol of [[gay pride]]]]

=== Sexual orientation, identity, behavior ===
{{Main|Sexual orientation|Sexual identity|Human sexual behavior}}
{{See also|Situational sexual behavior}}
The [[American Psychological Association]] defines ''[[sexual orientation]]'' as "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes," ranging "along a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the other sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex."<ref name=APABrochure>{{cite web |url=http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/orientation.aspx |title=Understanding sexual orientation and homosexuality |date=2008  |publisher=APA |access-date=24 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505172624/http://www.apa.org/topics/sexuality/orientation.aspx |archive-date=5 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sexual orientation can also be "discussed in terms of three categories: heterosexual (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of the other sex), gay/lesbian (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to members of one's own sex), and [[Bisexuality|bisexual]] (having emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to both men and women)."<ref name=APABrochure/>

According to Rosario, Schrimshaw, Hunter, Braun (2006), "the development of a lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) sexual identity is a complex and often difficult process. Unlike members of other [[minority group]]s (e.g., ethnic and racial minorities), most LGB individuals are not raised in a community of similar others from whom they learn about their identity and who reinforce and support that identity. Rather, LGB individuals are often raised in communities that are either ignorant of or openly hostile toward homosexuality."<ref name="Rosario et al.">{{cite journal | last1 = Rosario | first1 = M. | last2 = Schrimshaw | first2 = E. | last3 = Hunter | first3 = J. | last4 = Braun | first4 = L. | year = 2006 | title = Sexual identity development among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths: Consistency and change over time | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 43 | issue = 1| pages = 46–58 | doi=10.1080/00224490609552298| pmid = 16817067 | pmc = 3215279 }}</ref>

The British [[gay rights]] activist [[Peter Tatchell]] has argued that the term ''gay'' is merely a cultural expression which reflects the current status of homosexuality within a given society, and claiming that "Queer, gay, homosexual&nbsp;... in the long view, they are all just temporary identities. One day, we will not need them at all."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/nov/27/isgayjustaphase |title=Just a phase |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Peter |last=Tatchell |date=27 November 2006 |access-date=3 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830212725/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/nov/27/isgayjustaphase |archive-date=30 August 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

If a person engages in sexual activity with a partner of the same sex but does not self-identify as gay, terms such as '[[the closet|closeted']], 'discreet', or '[[bi-curious]]' may apply. Conversely, a person may identify as gay without having had sex with a same-sex partner. Possible choices include identifying as gay socially, while choosing to be [[celibate]], or while anticipating a first homosexual experience. Further, a bisexual person might also identify as "gay" but others may consider ''gay'' and ''bisexual'' to be [[Mutual exclusivity|mutually exclusive]]. There are some who are drawn to the same sex but neither engage in sexual activity nor identify as gay; these could have the term ''[[asexuality|asexual]]'' applied, even though ''asexual'' generally can mean no attraction, or involve heterosexual attraction but no sexual activity.

==== Terminology ====
{{Main|Terminology of homosexuality}}

Some reject the term ''homosexual'' as an identity-label because they find it too clinical-sounding;<ref name=thenewgay.net/><ref name=americamagazine.org/><ref name="usc.edu">{{cite web|url=https://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/enhancingCurricula/J468%20STDT-%20KC%20STAR.pdf |title=AIDS and Gay Catholic Priests: Implications of the Kansas City Star Report |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110528031311/http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/enhancingCurricula/J468%20STDT-%20KC%20STAR.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2011 |df=dmy |language=en}}</ref> they believe it is too focused on physical acts rather than romance or attraction, or too reminiscent of the era when homosexuality was considered a mental illness. Conversely, some reject the term ''gay'' as an identity-label because they perceive the cultural connotations to be undesirable or because of the negative connotations of the slang usage of the word.

Style guides, like the following from the [[Associated Press]], call for ''gay'' over ''homosexual'':

{{blockquote|''Gay'': Used to describe men and women attracted to the same sex, though ''lesbian'' is the more common term for women. Preferred over ''homosexual'' except in clinical contexts or references to sexual activity.<ref name=glaad10>{{cite web|url=http://www.glaad.org/files/MediaReferenceGuide2010.pdf|title=GLAAD Media Reference Guide|access-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112111339/http://www.glaad.org/files/MediaReferenceGuide2010.pdf|archive-date=12 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

There are those who reject the gay label for reasons other than shame or negative connotations. Writer [[Alan Bennett]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27291458|title=Alan Bennett rejected 'gay label'|work=BBC News|date=6 May 2014|access-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909041103/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27291458|archive-date=9 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and fashion icon [[André Leon Talley]]<ref>{{cite web|first=Cavan|last=Sieczkowski|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/andre-leon-talley-gay_n_3743253.html|title=Vogue's André Leon Talley Rejects 'Gay' Label, Admits To 'Very Gay Experiences'|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=12 August 2013|access-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515234813/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/andre-leon-talley-gay_n_3743253.html|archive-date=15 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> are out and open [[queer]] men who reject being labeled gay, believing the gay label confines them.

===Gay community vs. LGBTQ community===
{{Main|LGBTQ community}}

Starting in the mid-1980s in the United States, a conscious effort was underway within what was then commonly called the ''gay community'', to add the term ''lesbian'' to the name of organizations that involved both male and female homosexuals, and to use the terminology of ''gay and lesbian'', ''lesbian/gay'', or a similar phrase when referring to that community. Accordingly, organizations such as the National Gay Task Force became the [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]]. For many feminist lesbians, it was also important that ''lesbian'' be named first, to avoid the implication that women were secondary to men, or an afterthought.<ref>''Lesbian Ethics'', pp. 13–21.</ref> In the 1990s, this was followed by a similar effort to include terminology specifically including bisexual, [[transgender]], [[intersex]], and other people, reflecting the intra-community debate about the inclusion of these other sexual minorities as part of the same movement. Consequently, the portmanteau ''les/bi/gay'' has sometimes been used, and [[Acronym|initialisms]] such as ''[[LGBT]]'', ''LGBTQ'', ''LGBTQI'', and others have come into common use by such organizations, and most news organizations have formally adopted some such variation.

=== Descriptor ===
[[File:Bar Revenge and The Albemarle flats, Marine Parade, Brighton (September 2018).JPG|thumb|right|"Bar Revenge", a [[Gay Bar]] in [[Brighton]], England]]

The term ''gay'' can also be used as an adjective to describe things related to homosexual men, or things which are part of [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures|the said culture]]. For example, the term "gay bar" describes the bar which either caters primarily to a homosexual male clientele or is otherwise part of homosexual male culture.

Using it to describe an object, such as an item of clothing, suggests that it is particularly flamboyant, often on the verge of being gaudy and garish. This usage predates the association of the term with homosexuality but has acquired different connotations since the modern usage developed.

{{anchor|noun|Noun}}

=== Use as a noun ===
The label ''gay'' was originally used purely as an [[adjective]] ("he is a gay man" or "he is gay"). The term has also been in use as a [[noun]] with the meaning "homosexual man" since the 1970s, most commonly in the plural for an unspecified group, as in "gays are opposed to that policy." This usage is somewhat common in the names of organizations such as [[Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays]] (PFLAG) and [[Children of lesbians and gays everywhere|Children of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere]] (COLAGE). It is sometimes used to refer to individuals, as in "he is a gay" or "two gays were there too," although this may be perceived as derogatory.<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Heritage Book of English Usage|date=1996|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0547563213|page=197|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BEHFyMCdwssC&pg=PA197|access-date=30 July 2016|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012014626/https://books.google.de/books?id=BEHFyMCdwssC&pg=PA197&lpg=PA197|archive-date=12 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> It was also used for comedic effect by the ''[[Little Britain (sketch show)|Little Britain]]'' character Dafydd Thomas. To avoid pejorative connotations, the adjective form can be used instead, e.g. "gay person" or "gay people".

==Generalized pejorative use==
When used with a derisive attitude (e.g., "that was so gay"), the word ''gay'' is [[pejorative]]. Though retaining other meanings, its use among young people as a term of [[mockery|disparagement]] is common; 97 percent of American LGBTQ middle and high school students reported hearing its negative use as of 2021.<ref name="Winterman"/><ref name=times>{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article671972.ece |title=Gay means rubbish, says BBC |work=The Times |location=London |date=6 June 2006 |access-date=3 May 2010 |first=Adam |last=Sherwin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430115347/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article671972.ece |archive-date=30 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>Kosciw, J. G., Clark, C. M., & Menard, L. (2022). The 2021 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of LGBTQ+ youth in our nation's schools. New York: GLSEN.</ref>

This pejorative usage has its origins in the late 1970s, with the word gaining a pejorative sense by association with the previous meaning: homosexuality was seen as inferior or undesirable.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21139-many-heterosexual-college-males-say-that-s-so-gay-but-why|title=Many heterosexual college males say 'That's so gay,' but why? {{!}} University of Michigan News|website=ns.umich.edu|date=29 January 2013|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301043936/http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/21139-many-heterosexual-college-males-say-that-s-so-gay-but-why|archive-date=1 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Beginning in the 1980s, and especially in the late 1990s, the usage as a generic insult became common among young people.<ref name="Winterman" /> Use of "gay" in some circumstances continues to be considered a pejorative in present day. As recently as 2023, the American Psychological Association described language like "that's so gay" as [[Heterosexism|heterosexist]] and [[Heteronormativity|heteronormative]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Nadal |first=Kevin Leo Yabut |title=An introduction to microaggressions: Understanding definitions and impact. |date=2023 |url=http://content.apa.org/books/17305-001 |work=Dismantling everyday discrimination: Microaggressions toward LGBTQ people. |pages=3–16 |access-date=2023-05-03 |place=Washington |publisher=American Psychological Association |language=en |doi=10.1037/0000335-001 |isbn=978-1-4338-4015-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The pejorative usage of the word "gay" has been criticized as [[homophobia|homophobic]]. A 2006 [[BBC]] ruling by the [[Board of Governors]] over the negative use of the word by [[Chris Moyles]] advises that "caution on its use"; however, it acknowledges its common use among young people to mean "rubbish" or "lame".<ref name="times"/>

The BBC's ruling was heavily criticized by the Minister for Children, [[Kevin Brennan (politician)|Kevin Brennan]], who stated in response that "the casual use of homophobic language by mainstream radio DJs" is:

{{blockquote|"too often seen as harmless banter instead of the offensive insult that it really represents.&nbsp;... To ignore this problem is to collude in it. The blind eye to casual name-calling, looking the other way because it is the easy option, is simply intolerable."<ref>{{cite news |first=Tony |last=Grew |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4862.html |title=BBC's attitude to homophobic language 'damages children' |work=Pink News |location=London |access-date=4 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090328144625/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-4862.html |archive-date=28 March 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Shortly after the Moyles incident, a campaign against homophobia was launched in Britain under the slogan "homophobia is gay", playing on the double meaning of the word "gay" in youth culture, as well as the popular perception that vocal homophobia is common among closeted homosexuals.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2607.html |title=Young Liberal Democrats launch 'homophobia is gay' campaign |work=Pink News |year=2006 |access-date=5 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012060514/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-2607.html |archive-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=live |language=en}}</ref>

The United States had its own popular campaign against the pejorative use of "gay" called ''Think B4 You Speak.'' It was created in 2008 in partnership with the Advertising Council, GLSEN, and Arnold NYC. This initiative created television, radio, print and web PSAs with goals "to motivate teens to become allies in the efforts to raise awareness, stop using anti-LGBT language and safely intervene when they are present and anti-LGBT harassment and behavior occurs."<ref>{{cite web |title=Think B4 You Speak Educator's Guide |url=https://www.glsen.org/blog/glsen-and-ad-council-launch-think-b4-you-speak-campaign |work=GLSEN |date=14 October 2008 |page=5 |language=en}}</ref>

Research has looked into the use and effect of the pejorative. In a 2013 article published in the ''[[Journal of Interpersonal Violence]]'', [[University of Michigan]] researchers Michael Woodford, Alex Kulick and Perry Silverschanz, alongside [[Appalachian State University]] professor Michael L. Howell, argued that the pejorative use of the word "gay" was a [[Microaggression theory|microaggression]].<ref name="thatsogayjournalofinter">{{cite journal |last1=Howell |first1=Michael L. |last2=Kulick |first2=Alex |last3=Silverschanz |first3=Perry |last4=Woodford |first4=Michael R. |title="That's so Gay" Heterosexual Male Undergraduates and the Perpetuation of Sexual Orientation Microagressions on Campus |journal=Journal of Interpersonal Violence |date=January 2013 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=416–435 |doi=10.1177/0886260512454719 |pmid=22929342 |s2cid=206562816 |language=en}}</ref> They found that college-age men were more likely to repeat the word pejoratively if their friends said it, while they were less likely to say it if they had lesbian, gay or bisexual peers.<ref name="thatsogayjournalofinter" /> A 2019 study used data collected in a 2013 survey of cisgender LGBQ+ college students to evaluate the effects of microaggressions like "that's so gay" and "no homo."<ref name=":0" /> It found that increased exposure to the phrase "that's so gay" was significantly associated with greater developmental challenge (a measure of academic stressors).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Mathies |first1=Nicole |last2=Coleman |first2=Todd |last3=McKie |first3=Raymond M. |last4=Woodford |first4=Michael R. |last5=Courtice |first5=Erin Leigh |last6=Travers |first6=Robb |last7=Renn |first7=Kristen A. |date=2019-07-03 |title=Hearing "that's so gay" and "no homo" on academic outcomes for LGBQ + college students |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2019.1571981 |journal=Journal of LGBT Youth |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=255–277 |doi=10.1080/19361653.2019.1571981 |s2cid=151176310 |issn=1936-1653|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Research published in the ''[[Journal of Youth and Adolescence]]'' in 2021 finds that use of anti-gay banter among Midwestern middle and high school students such as "that's so gay" is perceived less negatively and more humorously if the person saying it is a friend.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Yueyao |last2=Marosi |first2=Christopher |last3=Edgin |first3=Megan |last4=Horn |first4=Stacey S. |date=2021-10-01 |title=Adolescents' Judgment of Homophobic Name-Calling: The Role of Peer/Friend Context and Emotional Response |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01470-8 |journal=Journal of Youth and Adolescence |language=en |volume=50 |issue=10 |pages=1939–1951 |doi=10.1007/s10964-021-01470-8 |pmid=34245427 |s2cid=235785836 |issn=1573-6601|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Parallels in other languages and cultures==
* The concept of a "gay identity" and the use of the term ''gay'' may not be used or understood the same way in non-Westernised cultures, since modes of sexuality may differ from those prevalent in the West.<ref name=Bailey16>{{cite journal|last1=Bailey|first1=J. Michael|last2=Vasey|first2=Paul|last3=Diamond|first3=Lisa|author4-link=Marc Breedlove|last4=Breedlove|first4=S. Marc|last5=Vilain|first5=Eric|last6=Epprecht|first6=Marc|title=Sexual Orientation, Controversy, and Science|journal=Psychological Science in the Public Interest|date=2016|volume=17|issue=2|pages=45–101|doi=10.1177/1529100616637616|pmid=27113562|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075|doi-access=free|access-date=7 September 2019|archive-date=11 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611031054/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301639075|url-status=live}}</ref> 
* For example, [[two-spirit]] is a term used by some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous people in]] [[Native Americans in the United States|the United States]] and [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|Canada]] to describe Indigenous people in their communities who do not conform to Western expressions of gender and sexuality. It functions as a modern, [[pan-Indianism|pan-Indian]] umbrella term, much like the use of queer or LGBTQ by non-Natives. Some Indigenous people identify as both two-spirit and gay.<ref name=Estrada>{{cite journal|last1=Estrada|first1=Gabriel|title=''Two Spirits'', ''Nádleeh'', and LGBTQ2 Navajo Gaze|journal=American Indian Culture and Research Journal|date=2011|volume=35|issue=4|pages=167–190|doi=10.17953/aicr.35.4.x500172017344j30|doi-broken-date=28 June 2025 |url=https://doi.org/10.17953/aicr.35.4.x500172017344j30}}</ref><ref name=NCIA>{{cite journal|last1=Pruden|first1=Harlan|last2=Edmo|first2=Se-ah-dom|title=Two-Spirit People: Sex, Gender & Sexuality in Historic and Contemporary Native America|journal=National Congress of American Indians Policy Research Center|date=2016|url=http://www.ncai.org/policy-research-center/initiatives/Pruden-Edmo_TwoSpiritPeople.pdf|access-date=26 August 2023|archive-date=8 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708104610/https://www.ncai.org/policy-research-center/initiatives/Pruden-Edmo_TwoSpiritPeople.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> For some [[traditional Native American]]s, who usually use terms in their own languages for these individuals rather than the English [[neologism]], two-spirit is not interchangeable with the "LGBT Native American" or "gay Indian"<ref name=Leland>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/08/fashion/08SPIRIT.html?_r=0|title=A Spirit of Belonging, Inside and Out|work=The New York Times|date=8 Oct 2006|access-date=28 July 2016 |quote='The elders will tell you the difference between a gay Indian and a Two-Spirit,' [Criddle] said, underscoring the idea that simply being gay and Indian does not make someone a Two-Spirit.}}</ref> [[Sexual identity|sexual]] and [[gender identity]] labels because it is a sacred, spiritual, and ceremonial role that is recognized and confirmed only by tribal elders of the two-spirit person's ceremonial community.<ref name=Estrada />
* The [[German language|German]] equivalent for "gay", "[[:wikt:schwul|schwul]]", which is [[Etymology|etymologically]] derived from "schwül" (hot, humid), also acquired the pejorative meaning within youth culture.<ref name=sedlaczek>Robert Sedlaczek, Roberta Baron: ''leet & leiwand. Das Lexikon der Jugendsprache'', Echomedia, 2006, {{ISBN|3-901761-49-7}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|LGBTQ}}
<!--- PLEASE NOTE: These should be kept in alphabetical order and removed when content about them is included in the main text of the article. --->
{{div col|colwidth=24em}}
* [[Anti-LGBT slogans]]
* [[Deviance (sociology)]]
* [[Gay bashing]]
* [[Gay gene]] ([[Xq28]])
* [[Gay men]]
* [[Gay sexual practices]]
* [[Gender identity]]
* [[Hate speech]]
* [[Heteronormativity]]
* [[Heterosexism]]
* [[Human female sexuality]]
* [[Human male sexuality]]
* [[Human Rights Campaign]]
* [[Labeling theory]]
* [[Lesbian sexual practices]]
* [[LGBT rights opposition]]
* [[LGBT themes in mythology]]
* [[List of gay, lesbian or bisexual people]]
* [[List of LGBT events]]
* [[National Gay and Lesbian Task Force]]
* [[Religion and sexuality]]
* [[Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures]]
* [[Social stigma]]
* [[Tu'er Shen]]
* [[Men who have sex with men]]
{{div col end}}
<!--- PLEASE NOTE: These should be kept in alphabetical order and removed when content about them is included in the main text of the article. --->

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |title=The Homosexual in America: A Subjective Approach |last=Cory |first=Donald Webster |year=1951 |publisher=Greenberg |page=107. Chapter 9 ("Take My Word For It") includes a valuable discussion of the term "gay."}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=loqEKRQQ68UC |title=Beyond the Lavender Lexicon: Authenticity, Imagination, and Appropriation in Lesbian and Gay Language |last=Leap |first=William |year=1995 |isbn=978-2-88449-181-5 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=360}}

==External links==
*{{wiktionary-inline|Gay}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Gay}}
*{{wikiquote-inline}}

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[[Category:1920s neologisms]]
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