Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 7/1/84; site CSL-Vax.ARPA
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!amd!decwrl!CSL-Vax!hartwell
From: hartwell@CSL-Vax.ARPA (Steve Hartwell)
Newsgroups: net.motss
Subject: Re: gay?? really??
Message-ID: <2755@CSL-Vax.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 12-Aug-84 21:35:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: CSL-Vax.2755
Posted: Sun Aug 12 21:35:15 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Aug-84 01:24:48 EDT
References: <50600001@convex.UUCP>
Organization: Stanford University
Lines: 32

The first time someone asked me that question, I was irked with him;
I said that the first meaning of 'gay' is still "mirthful excitement",
and if he didn't want to use the word because of his dislike for its
alternate meaning, that was HIS problem.  I still feel that way, but the
comment has come up so often now that I realize that it is pointless to
exchange resentment for resentment over it.

I believe he term was originally coined in the 19th century by the press to
refer to female prostitutes, and was first incorporated into its current
alternate meaning sometime in the early 60s, but I can't for the life of me
recall why, and would be interested if one of our gentle readers would
follow this up if they can tell me.

So what sort of response do you want?  Do you want us to "give it back"?
Apologize?  Come up with some clever reason why 'gay' is the best word
to describe ourselves?  That's not the way language works.

Ever wonder how the term 'straight' was coined?  I don't know; perhaps
it comes from the cliche of one who "follows the straight and narrow path",
which may have been at one time a virtue.  It doesn't seem that way to
me now -- it sounds like it would describe a narrow-minded person.
Maybe that's how it was intended to mean; if so, that's too bad, as I
certainly have no interest in soapboxing that claim.

The question does raise a more discussable topic, perhaps one brought up
before:  many of us make a genuine semantic distinction between the
words 'homosexual' and 'gay', though often how we define the difference
varies greatly.  I would be interested in seeing some discussion on this.
I think I'll mull this over a bit and post something on it in a few days.
-- 
Steve Hartwell, Computer Science Lab, Stanford University
    {ucbvax,decvax}!decwrl!csl-vax!hartwell, hartwell@SU-Shasta.ARPA