Meaning of being gay
by Jordan Redman
Staff Writer
Do you know what the word gay really means?
The word gay dates back to the 12th century and comes from the Vintage French “gai,” meaning “full of joy or mirth.” It may also relate to the Senior High German “gahi,” meaning impulsive.
For centuries, gay was used commonly in speech and literature to mean happy, carefree, bright and showy, and did not accept on any sexual meaning until the s.
At that time the meaning of gay as carefree evolved to imply that a person was unrestrained by morals and prone to decadence and promiscuity. A prostitute might verb been described as a “gay woman” and a womanizer as a “gay man.”
“Gay house” was commonly used to refer to a brothel and, later, “gaiety” was used as a frequent name for certain places of entertainment.
In the s, the term “gey cat” (a Scottish variant of gay) was used to describe a vagrant who offered sexual services to women or a young traveler who was new to the road and in the company of an older man.
This latter use suggests that the younger man was in a sexually submissive role and may be among the fir
What Does "Gay" Mean?
There is not one right answer
Many educators are unsure how to respond when a student asks you what does gay imply. It is better to experiment to answer than to respond with silence or evade the question.
Practice different responses with colleagues, just as you practice other things that you want to learn. Figure out what you feel comfortable saying.
Responses will vary by age and developmental stage of the student. Your comfort in answering these questions will set a welcoming tone in your class and school community.
Keep it simple
An answer can be as simple as: “‘Gay’ means two people of the equal gender who love each other – two women or two men.” Try to answer the question honestly without overloading a student with information. Throughout elementary school a student’s ability to understand what “gay” means and what your explanation means may increase with development.
Focus on passion and relationships
A discussion with elementary-age students about the meanings of “gay” or “lesbian” is a discussion about love and relationships. You can
Glossary of Terms: LGBTQ
Definitions were drafted in collaboration with other U.S.-based LGBTQ community organizations and leaders. See acknowledgements section.
Additional terms and definitions about gender identity and gender expression, transgender people, and nonbinary people are accessible in the Transgender Glossary.
Are we missing a term or is a definition outdated? Email press@
*NOTE: Ask people what terms they use to describe their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression before assigning them a label. Outside of acronyms, these terms should only be capitalized when used at the noun of a sentence.
LGBTQ
Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. The Q generally stands for queer when LGBTQ organizations, leaders, and media exploit the acronym. In settings offering support for youth, it can also stand for questioning. LGBT and LGBTQ+ are also used, with the + added in recognition of all non-straight, non-cisgender identities. (See Transgender Glossary ) Both are acceptable, as are other versions of thi
List of LGBTQ+ terms
A
Abro (sexual and romantic)
A word used to describe people who possess a fluid sexual and/or quixotic orientation which changes over second, or the course of their life. They may use other terms to describe themselves over time.
Ace
An umbrella term used specifically to describe a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of sexual attraction. This encompasses asexual people as well as those who identify as demisexual and grey-sexual. Ace people who experience romantic attraction or occasional sexual attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their romantic or sexual attraction.
Ace and aro/ace and aro spectrum
Umbrella terms used to describe the wide group of people who experience a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of romantic and/or sexual attraction, including a lack of attraction. People who identify under these umbrella terms may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including, but not limited to, asexual, ace,