Gay is a noun or an adjective that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual.
The term was originally used to refer to feelings of being "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy". The term's use as a reference to homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the 20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the people, especially to males, and the practices and cultures associated with homosexuality.
By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. In the Anglosphere, this connotation, among younger speakers, has a derisive meaning equivalent to rubbish or stupid (as in "That's so gay."). In this use, the word does not mean "homosexual", so it can be used, for example, to refer to an inanimate object or abstract concept of which one disapproves. This usage can also refer to weakness or unmanliness. When used in this way, the extent to which it still retains connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized.
Read more about Gay: Homosexuality, Generalized Pejorative Use
Other articles related to "gay":
... In 2002, having retired from sports, he announced to the public that he is gay, coming out on HBO's Real Sports ... with the NFL to attempt to combat homophobia in the league and is a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation ... In 2006, Tuaolo sang the national anthem at the opening ceremony of the Gay Games VII, a quadrennial Olympics-style event ...
... A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for ... Gay bars once served as the centre of gay culture and were one of the few places people with same-sex orientations and gender-variant identities could openly socialize ... Other names used to describe these establishments include boy bar, girl bar, gay club, gay pub, queer bar, lesbian bar, and dyke bar, depending on the niche communities that they served ...
... In mid-1995, at the height of his fame, Barrymore went to the The White Swan gay pub in London's East End, where he gave an impromptu stage performance to the ... party on a live late night radio show, he publicly declared he was gay and "no longer wanted to live a lie", following which he split with Cheryl ... Barrymore, as of 2010, has said that he is no longer gay after setting up a relationship with a woman ...
... In April 2000, Massachusetts' Board of Education adopted a gay and lesbian civil rights protection "safety measure" approved by Governor William Weld in 1993 requiring schools to extend civil rights and "ass ... disbanding the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth ... The chairman of the Massachusetts Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, which provided state funding for Safe Schools program defended GLSEN's work in the state's schools, stating "A tiny ...
Famous quotes containing the word gay:
“A rich rogue now-a-days is fit company for any gentleman; and the world, my dear, hath not such a contempt for roguery as you imagine.”
—John Gay (1685–1732)
“All parents should be aware that when they mock or curse gay people, they may be mocking or cursing their own child.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1953)
“Fools may our scorn, not envy, raise.
For envy is a kind of praise.”
—John Gay (1685–1732)