A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.

This is the version from 2 Feb 07, 6:31 AM. The full history of this entry will show any more recent versions.

ICcode for "Gay"

[b]Gay[/b], in addition to expressing happiness, also now means [about=homosexual]homosexual[/about] in current usage. 

A century ago the word already had sexual connotations, but entirely different ones. The "gay district" of a town would have meant any permissive nightlife district, probably one with [about=heterosexual]heterosexual[/about] [about=prostitution]prostitution[/about].  Even in the 1920s, a man could sing "Girls were made to love and kiss ... Am I ashamed to follow Nature's way?  Can I be blamed if God has made me gay?" which would now have a very different meaning.

The term gay, or [about=lesbian]lesbian[/about] in women, is preferred by many [about=homosexual]homosexual[/about]s because it describes the overall orientation of the person and doesn't focus the definition only in sexual terms. Gays and lesbians establish same-sex friendships, love interests, and life partners; attend same-sex social gatherings and church services; and often purchase goods and services from same-sex owned businesses.






(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the [url=http://www.londonfetishscene.com/wipi/index.php/Gay]Gay[/url] article in Wipipedia.)

This entry is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on Informed Consent can improve this entry: see the BDSM Dictionary help page for details.