Etymology of Sexual Orientation

The primary meaning of the word gay has changed dramatically duringthe 20th century—though the change evolved from earlier usages.It derives via the Old French gai, probably from a Germanic source.The word originally meant "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy" and was very commonly used with this meaning in speech and literature.

For example, the title of the 1938 ballet aptly named Gaite Parisienne
("Parisian Gaiety"), a patchwork compiled from Jacques Offenbach's operettas,illustrates this connotation, and the optimistic 1890s arestill often referred to as the Gay Nineties.The word started to acquire sexual connotations in the late 17th century,being used with meaning "addicted to pleasures and dissipations".

This was by extension from the primary meaning of "carefree":implying "uninhibited by moral constraints".By the late nineteenth century the term "gay life" wasa well-established euphemism for prostitution and other forms ofextramarital sexual behavior that were perceived as immoral.

The first name Gay is still occasionally encountered, usually as afemale name although the spelling is often altered to Gaye.(795th most common in the United States, according to the 1990 US census).It was also used as a male first name.The first name of the popular male Irish television presenterGabriel Byrne was always abbreviated as "Gay",as in the title of his radio show The Gay Byrne Show.It can also be used as a short form of the female name Gaynell andas a short form of the male names Gaylen and Gaylord.

The "Gaiety" was also a common name for places of entertainment.One of Oscar Wilde's favourite venues in Dublin was the Gaiety Theatre.Sexual orientationSexual orientation, behavior, and self-identification are notnecessarily aligned in a clear-cut fashion for a given individualMost people consider gay and homosexual to be synonyms.This is how, in fact, the Oxford English Dictionary defines it.



However, some consider gay to be a matter of self-identification,while homosexual refers to sexual orientation.Indeed, the British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell has argued thatthe term gay is merely a cultural expression which reflectsthe current status of homosexuality within a given society,and claiming that"Queer, gay, homosexual ... in the long view, they are all just temporaryidentities. One day, we won't need them at all."

If a person engages in same-sex sexual encounters but does notself-identify as gay, terms such as 'closeted', 'discreet', or 'bi-curious'may be applied.Conversely, a person may identify as gay without engaging in homosexual sex.Possible choices include identifying as gay socially while choosingto be celibate or while anticipating a first homosexual experience.Further, a bisexual person can also identify as "gay"but others might consider gay and bisexual to be mutually exclusive.

There are some who are drawn to the same-sex andmay not have sex and also not identify as gay,these could have the term 'asexual' applied even though an 'asexual'generally can mean no attraction and includes heterosexual attractionthat is not sufficient to engage in sex orwhere the sex act is not desirable even though titillation may occur.---------------



Some people reject the term homosexual as an identity-labelbecause they find it too clinical-sounding.They believe it is too focused on physical acts rather thanromance or attraction, or too reminiscent of the era whenhomosexuality was considered a mental illness.Conversely, some people find the term gay to be offensive or rejectit as an identity-label because they perceive the culturalconnotations to be undesirable or because of thenegative connotations of the slang usage of the word.

According to the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington's Glossaryfor School Employees:“ Homosexual: Avoid this term; it is clinical, distancing and archaic. Sometimes appropriate in referring to behavior (although same-sex is the preferred adj).When referring to people, as opposed to behavior, homosexual is consideredderogatory and the terms gay and lesbian are preferred,at least in the Northwest [of the United States].
”—Safe School Coalition, Glossary for School EmployeesThe term gay is used to describe both same-sex male and same-sex female relations,although it is more commonly applied to men. More rarely,gay is used as a shorthand for LGBT: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.Some transgender individuals find their inclusionin this larger grouping to be offensive.