Gay - The term "Gay" typically is used to describe two men who have sex and/or love each other. More recently, this term is applied to women and other gendered people as in the “gay community”, which includes the "Queer", homosexual, or "GLBT" community. Gay, generally the term applied to "homosexual" men, meaning "same-sex loving" "same-sex attracted" and “same-sex relationships”. However, there is a clear distinction between "gay” man and “Bi” man. They do NOT mean the same thing at all. Similarly M2F (male-to-female) Transgendered people who date men are generally no longer considered "gay", unless they consider themselves this way.
Gay men tend to be the most seen and misunderstood people of the GLBT community. Many theorists have argued that this is due to their status, or lack there-of, as men in a male-dominated culture. Though many gay men reject this idea, it is commonly accepted as true, unfortunately. Gay men in most surveys have been numbered as high as 75% of the queer community, which is roughly 3 gay men to every 1 lesbian. There are not many theories published as to why this is, but many cite the more ridged gender and sexuality expectations placed on men and the lax nature of the Victorian era and gay women not being repressed as much as gay men due to lovely Queen Victoria outlawing male-to-male sexual practices and not doing the same to lesbian sexual practices. This makes you wonder why that was so, with some theorists claiming that QV herself may have been a lesbian, and in the current culture, Lesbian sex is seen as “hot” by the heterosexual male community.
Gay men in America are the "subculture" most commonly associated with the HIV/AIDS/Gay Cancer pandemic starting in the early 1980's with gay men in New York, San Francisco and then soon many other major cities. Many gay-male historians have cited the AIDS/HIV epidemic as the pivotal moment besides acts like Stonewall as placing gays in the mainstream. Currently shows like Queer As Folk, Will and Grace, and others have once again placed gays in the mainstream. Whether this is in a positive or negative light is still to be seen. There are some persons who believe that subsets of gay men exist, but generally these “cultures” refer to sexual practices and fetishes verses actual personal feelings.
Hate words associated with gay men: Fag, Sissy, Nelly, Mary, Pansy, Homo, Queer, Queen, Poofter (UK), Femme, Fairy, Pole Slider, Fudge Packer, Faggot, Cowpoke, Nancy Boy, Flammer, Twinkletoes, etc.
Jase ;0)
Jason P. Ruel
Editor, Gay Lesbian News @ Bellaonline.com
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For Further Reading on the Subject – Please take a look at these books which I recommend highly
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