Gay

**Gay** refers to the attraction towards or desire for the same/similar genders to one's own. Terms such as **Homosexual** and **Homoromantic** can be considered synonyms.

While the term can apply to men, women and non-binary individuals, it is sometimes used to only refer to gay men. The term lesbian tends to be use specifically for gay women. The term cenelian applies to gay attraction to non-binary individuals. The term gai is used for those who are gay in a uniquely non-binary way.

Gay has also been used as an umbrella term for anyone who is non-straight, or anyone in the LGBTQ+ community.

## History & Coining

The term homosexual was coined by Karl Maria Kentbeny in a 1868 letter to Karl Heinrich Ulrichs.

The earliest documentation of same-sex relations in the Western world is from ancient Greece. Relations between adult men and adolescent boys were valued as a form of population control.

In ancient Rome, many men partook in bisexual behavior. All emperors, with the exception of Claudius, had male lovers until the Christian emperor, Theodosius I, decreed a law condemning gay men to be burned at the stake in 390.

During the Renaissance era, cities such as Florence and Venice were known for the widespread practice of same-sex relations. However, the authorities were prosecuting, fining, and imprisoning much of the gay population.

Along with women's rights and the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement has been brought to the forefront of society in the last century.

In June, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in all 50 states.

## Flags & Symbols

The rainbow flag was originally designed by Gilbert Baker and was first displayed in a Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration on June 25, 1978. The flag represents the entire LGBTQ+ community, but is commonly used to represent gay individuals specifically. The original flag had eight stripes, with each stripe having a specific meaning:

* Hot pink - sex
* Red - life
* Orange - healing
* Yellow - sunlight
* Green - nature
* Turquoise - magic/art
* Indigo - serenity
* Violet - spirit

The design has undergone some changes over the years. As the demand of rainbow flags increased, they began selling with seven stripes. The pink stripe was removed due to a lack of pink fabric. In 1979, the design was changed again because, when hung vertically from the lamp post of San Francisco's Market Street, the center stripe was obscured by the post itself. The turquoise was dropped, making the flag have an even number of stripes.

A general/specific homo- flag was designed by Tumblr user pastelroswell via submission to the Tumblr blog Beyond-MOGAI-Pride-Flags. Each color is paired with a similar color to represent attraction to and relationships between similar genders. This is also meant to visually illustrate that homo- individuals aren't necessarily attracted to the same exact gender. The outermost stripes being purple represent purple's history as a symbolic color of the queer community.

Another flag for individuals who experience gay attraction was created on November 22, 2021 by Tumblr user androgynousxandroid. The flag was inspired by the lesbian, veldian and enbian flags.

On February 11, 2019 the Tumblr user imoga-pride created a gay flag regardless of gender. It represents all individuals who reclaim the word, such as straight cuspers, transhets, queerhets and straightn't individuals. It can also represent gay in the sense of lesbian/veldian/cenelian or daunic/floric.

## Etymology

The word homosexual is derived from the Greek prefix *homo-* meaning "same." Many modern sources advise against using the term homosexual and to instead use gay, due to the fact that homosexual has a history of being used negatively and in clinical contexts.

The term gay originally meant "happy," "carefree," or "cheerful." It was occasionally used to refer to homosexual men in the 19th century, but lost popularity in the beginning of the 20th century. The term was solidified in the 1960s when homosexual men began using it to describe their orientation.

## References

http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/kertbeny\_km\_S.pdf

http://web.archive.org/web/20220123100347/https://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/scotts/bulgarians/rainbow-flag.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20090721053735/http://ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Apr/1801.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20220120131112/https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/177311648565/i-designed-a-homo-flag-this-includes-all-forms

https://archive.is/QSRlk

https://imoga-pride.tumblr.com/post/182748376951/gay-man-flagsgay-flag-the-two-are-6-striped

https://www.etymonline.com/word/gay