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  • LGBT Topics: Homosexuality Gay (Disambiguation)

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    The document is about the term "gay" and discusses its origins and evolving meanings. Originally meaning "carefree" or "cheerful", the term began being used in reference to male homosexuality in the late 19th century and became favored among homosexual men in the 1960s to describe their sexual orientation. By the late 20th century, "gay" was recommended by LGBT groups to describe people attracted to the same sex, though it more commonly refers to homosexual men. In recent decades, a pejorative usage also emerged among younger speakers to mean something worthless or lame, though this usage does not necessarily refer to homosexuality.

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    The document is about the term "gay" and discusses its origins and evolving meanings. Originally meaning "carefree" or "cheerful", the term began being used in reference to male homosexuality in the late 19th century and became favored among homosexual men in the 1960s to describe their sexual orientation. By the late 20th century, "gay" was recommended by LGBT groups to describe people attracted to the same sex, though it more commonly refers to homosexual men. In recent decades, a pejorative usage also emerged among younger speakers to mean something worthless or lame, though this usage does not necessarily refer to homosexuality.

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    31 views4 pages

    LGBT Topics: Homosexuality Gay (Disambiguation)

    Uploaded by

    muhammadismail
    The document is about the term "gay" and discusses its origins and evolving meanings. Originally meaning "carefree" or "cheerful", the term began being used in reference to male homosexuality in the late 19th century and became favored among homosexual men in the 1960s to describe their sexual orientation. By the late 20th century, "gay" was recommended by LGBT groups to describe people attracted to the same sex, though it more commonly refers to homosexual men. In recent decades, a pejorative usage also emerged among younger speakers to mean something worthless or lame, though this usage does not necessarily refer to homosexuality.

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    This article is about gay as an English-language term. For the sexual orientation,
    see Homosexuality. For other uses, see Gay (disambiguation).

    Part of a series on

    LGBT topics

          

    lesbian ∙ gay ∙ bisexual ∙ transgender

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     LGBT portal

     v
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     e

    Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The
    term was originally used to mean "carefree", "cheerful", or "bright and showy". [1]
    The term's use as a reference to male homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but
    its use gradually increased in the mid-20th century.[2] In modern English, gay has come to be used as
    an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with
    homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe
    their sexual orientation.[3] 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,[4]
    [5]
     although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men. [6]
    At about the same time, 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
    lame). In this use, the word rarely means "homosexual", as it is often used, for example, to refer to
    an inanimate object or abstract concept of which one disapproves. The extent to which these usages
    still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized. [7][8]

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