When did gay replace homosexual?

How the meaning of gay evolved from happy to homosexual.

Sources:

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[X-any-all]

It's kinda interesting how these days now the word "gay" is being used as a derogatory insult by homophobic bigots. It almost feels like the word "homosexual" is the less offensive word now.

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else prefer to use the word "heterosexual" or just "hetero" instead of "straight"? To me, the word "straight" doesn't feel justified because it's like saying heterosexuals are better people, inadvertently slandering homosexuals as inferior.
It normalizes one group of people while making another group aberrant. It's like way back then when caucasians were known as "people", while non caucasians were called "colored people".

[mollyconway]

Not going to lie, when I took chemistry for the first time, the only reason I could remember the difference between homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures was because of people saying homo/heterosexual.

[DevAhmari]

the last twenty seconds of this video were flawless.

[Mwnldfan]

I'm a gay teen and saying I'm homosexual doesn't bother me. Honestly I didn't even know that the word homosexual was such a dark word once. #eductionfortgewin

[ceeceebb]

In my community the word "gay" is used as an insult or to degrade something. It's flippant use makes me prefer the term homosexual. I think that saying homosexual removes the negative connotation that "gay" would have. Keep in mind that I am a straight female so the terms don't affect or label me directly.

I agree that saying homosexual can also limit someone has a purely sexual being instead of an amazingly intricate person that just happens to be homosexual. Maybe we should figure out a more inclusive and respectful term. Suggestions?

[wafflewarble]

The thing about the word homosexual is that it contains sexual. Whatever the actual meaning of the word, it reminds some people of sex. Gay sex.  Being gay isn't any more about sex than being straight is about sex. It's love and romance and companionship and everything else as well as sex and sexual attraction. So... I think people find the word homosexual kind of 'ickly' which is what makes it a useful word for bigots to use. 

I think of it like the word female - fine most of the time if kind of clinical. Said by people who hate what  you are... well it just sounds much worse.

[oafkad]

I still use gay to also mean happy. Mostly because I enjoy the word. It does occasionally cause signals to be crossed though.

[junebaker]

I was not aware at all that "homosexual" was an unfriendly term, but I can understand why it could be to many people. I always thought it was preferable to saying "gay", though, because it is contrasted with the word "heterosexual", at least implying equality, while "gay" is usually contrasted with "straight", implying that it is abnormal or undesired.

[kittymarie]

I don't really like the word homosexual because of the sexual part. There is too much of an emphasis on sex with the term and homosexual relationships have many many aspects to a relationship other then the sexual aspect. I think it's logically better to use terms which give equal emphasis to all aspects of a relationship, not just one, and terms that are more neutral. Not to mention, homosexual of all the terms used to describe someone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, is one of the ones with the most weight of historically being used as a negative term to mistreat, or hurt or discriminate against LGBTQ+ people.

[tetsubo]

I am a bad subscriber, I have not watch the entire back catalog.

I was aware of the problematic history of the term homosexual. I have always been bothered by the framing of straight/gay relationships in the mainstream media. Straight people have love, gay people have sex. Rarely does the MSM address the emotional aspects of gay relationships. It's almost as if they have an agenda...

[noodlebamboo]

In Norwegian we still use the -phile ("-fil") suffix! It's even sometimes used to differentiate between romantic and sexual preference. So a person can be, for example, "biseksuell" and "homofil". Although probably most non-LGBT people use -fil and -seksuell synonymously.

[shinyandnotpanicking]

That outro argument is my life though. And honestly, I think people should just ask those around them what they prefer and respect that. It's a hard language puzzle to solve on the whole on a global scale, but you can do a lot by being capable of empathy for those closest to you and making your friends feel safe by respecting their language boundaries or any other boundaries they ask of you. And don't pester them for an explanation. If a person feels uncomfortable with a word, there's a good chance the explanation is even more so. A lot of people have shared their own explanations for various things in writing and online if you feel it's necessary for you to understand the scale of possible emotions that causes the need for these boundaries. If you're friend wants to explain it to you, that should be on their terms, and not a necessity for your respect of their boundaries.

[Amy_Dunn]

Homosexual... Well, I AM sexually attracted to Homo Sapiens. **whew** glad I got that out of the way. 

[emilymcmahon]

The songs at the end always make my day! Thanks Crisiten for being so awesome and funny!

[gavinscott]

Hey Cristen! I'm one of your loyal gay viewers and here are my thoughts on the terms 'gay' and 'homosexual.' Personally, I am not offended being called 'homosexual' unless the person was saying it in a derogatory manner. However, I do call myself 'gay' instead of 'homosexual' and most people that I'm friends with just call me 'gay' because it is a nicer word and more normal to use. I do not think the term 'homosexual' will die out though because it is used in scientific settings just like the word 'heterosexual.' For example, a scientist would say that certain animals may display 'homosexual' behavior, not 'gay' behavior. Also, people can generally use the terms 'heterosexual' and 'straight' interchangeably when describing human sexuality, so that's another reason why I think the terms 'gay' and 'homosexual' will still be used interchangeably in the future.

[tyrondebeer]

I don't get offended when homosexual is used, but I do often find the people that use the term homosexual rather than gay are those who are uncomfortable about the topic of sexual orientation or simply don't agree with it. Other than that small observation, I'm happy with keeping the word homosexual in the sense of classification like heterosexual.

[ethicalerica]

Oh, I learnt something new today! And I'm very glad I did. While I use "gay" 99% of the time, I tend to use "homosexual" when I'm trying to be more formal, because I thought it was, like, the scientific term or something. I didn't realise there was any negative connotations to it! But now I do and I'll stop using it. Thank-you for teaching me! 

[Denniss]

Do a vid on When did POUND (#) become Hashtag????
It's ridiculous that now when you tell people a gate code and tell them it's #1234 or pound 1234 - they do not comprehend and you have to tell them it's Hashtag 1234.
Hashtag = LAME

[MaddieMB]

I think homosexual sounds more formal. A social scientist talking about the LGBTQ might be more likely to use the word homosexual in their scientific paper. In casual conversation, I think people are more likely to use the word gay.

[Lisa_Perl]

I like it when the word gay is used to describe being happy when said in an old song or movie. These days gay meaning homosexaul, has been used in a negative way as well as a positive way. In high school I found that kids would say "that is so gay" meaning that "that is so bad." Why can't gay just mean happy with being actracted to the same sex. I think that's a somewhat better definition :)