Is HOMOSEXUALITY a meaningless word?
400230
no it's not a meaningless word but you can make it that way like your statments
800352
Perhaps it's just an easy out for people who don't quite know what to do with homosexuality as a concept or as a practice.  There is a small part of the queer movement who believes that sexuality (important to note that not JUST homosexuality) is a choice which, I suppose, I could support more than just saying that homosexuality is choice.\n\nAnyway, other than that faction within the queer group, it is mainly heterosexual people who I hear that say that to be homosexual is a choice.  I would think it is simple for a person in a heterosexuals position to say that simply because the logic would be, "Well, I choose to be straight because I'm not attracted to (whatever)."  That is just an interesting statement (which I know I am generalizing, but I have certainly heard that one more than a few times) simply because it is defining sexuality based on what it's NOT.  \n\nAnother interesting thing is that it's always homosexuality that is the choice, but NEVER just plain old sexuality in whatever form it comes.  \n\nBuuuut beyond that ............ I have no clue why people think that sexuality is a choice.  You like what you like.  I like apples a lot, but I'm not such a fan of oranges (but I do like clementines).  I like women a lot, but I'm not such a fan of men (but I do like some).  That sums it up for me - it's not a matter of choice or really preference, but just what I like.
912811
Gay\nMuch commentary about this adjective referring to homosexuals exists, mostly having to do with usage. Our concern here, however, is etymology and two mistaken notions prevail. The first is that gay, meaning homosexual, originated as an acronym for Good As You. The second is that it is of relatively recent origin, dating only to the late 1960s. Both of these ideas are in error.\n\nMany, believe that gay came to mean homosexual only in the late 1960s with the Stonewall riot and the rise of the gay rights movement. This is not the case. The error these people are making is confusing the adoption of the term by the heterosexual community, and thus the English language as a whole, with its origin. The term is in fact much older, being used by homosexuals to refer to themselves with certainty as early as the 1920s, and possibly as early as the 1860s.\n\nLighter gives the earliest usage cite as a 1922 quote from Gertrude Stein's "Miss Furr & Mrs. Skeene" which appeared in Vanity Fair. It is uncertain, however, if Stein's use of gay in this case is a reference to lesbianism or to the [then] conventional sense of gay meaning happy:\n\nThey were ... gay, they learned little things that are things in being gay, ... they were quite regularly gay.\nThe first unequivocal written use of gay to mean homosexual is in 1929, in Noel Coward's musical Bittersweet. In the song Green Carnation, four overdressed, 1890s dandies sing:\n\nPretty boys, witty boys, You may sneer\nAt our disintegration.\nHaughty boys, naughty boys,\nDear, dear, dear!\nSwooning with affectation...\nAnd as we are the reason\nFor the "Nineties" being gay,\nWe all wear a green carnation.\n\nThe penultimate line refers to the 1890s, which were commonly called the gay nineties. In general usage, this appellation had nothing to do with homosexuality, but in this context, Coward clearly uses it as a double entendre. \n\nGay appears again in 1933 in Ford and Tyler's Young & Evil. In 1938 in the movie Bringing Up Baby, the character played by Cary Grant, when asked why he is wearing women's clothing replies, "Because I just went gay all of a sudden." In retrospect, this is obviously a joke intended to slip past the censors. In their 1941 book Sexual Variations, Gershon Legman and G.V. Henry cite gay as a slang term for homosexual, which indicates that it was in use for some time prior.\n\nLighter also indirectly cites an 1868 song by female impersonator Will S. Hays titled, Gay Young Clerk in the Dry Goods Store. The lyrics do not explicitly link the word with homosexuality, but they can be interpreted that way, especially if sung by a man in drag. Then again, that may be reading too much into the lyrics. You be the judge:\n\nIt's about a chap, perhaps you know,\nI'm told he is 'Nobody's beau,'\nBut maybe you all knew that before,\nHe's a lively clerk in a Dry-Goods Store.\nO! Augustus Dolphus is his name,\nFrom Skiddy-ma-dink they say he came,\nHe's a handsome man and he's proud and poor,\nThis gay young clerk in the Dry-Goods Store.\nOK, so gay was definitely in use in the 1920s, and perhaps earlier, but how did the term come to be associated with homosexuals? Several possibilities exist, but the acronym for Good As You is not one of them. \nThe most likely explanation is that it derives from gaycat or geycat, a slang term for a tramp or hobo who is new to the road. Gaycats were commonly in the company of older tramps, implying a homosexual relationship. The term, according to Lighter, dates to at least the 1890s. Gaycats were employed as lookouts while other hoboes committed crimes. The OED2 cites the 1935 Underworld & Prison Slang by N. Ersine as defining geycat as a homosexual boy. The origin of gaycat is unknown. Green, however, says a gay cat was a tramp who offered sexual services to women.\n\nAnother possible origin is the late nineteenth century slang usage of gay to mean promiscuous. A
1137484
Human nature, plain and simple.  Gay is a word and from that word conjures up all sorts of wild thoughts of gays having orgies.  I know I have been in the presence of many conversations that are directed at gays.  I also think that heterosexuals are curious, about the why and the how could someone  be with the same sex person. Society has the upper hand on the social acceptance of a couple.  We are brought up in a society that determines what is acceptable behavior and what is not.  Gay is not acceptable, however, it is becoming more and more accepted in certain aspects of society. With education and association, our path of being taken seriously will eventually be made easier for those that follow
537124
I am just Wilde about it Oscar. Let me put down my beer stein, Gertrude, and my Alice B. Toklas brownies so I can answer your question. Isn't it queer you should ask? I know nothing of this. I don't believe one's sexuality should include anyone or exclude anyone as far as historical significance is concerned. I don't think gays should be villified or glorified. The only thing that gives me pause is that it raises homophobia to the same level as racism. One cannot choose one's skin color, except for George Hamilton and Michael Jackson.
180621
Largely just because that's the word's connotation today.\n"Gay" is associated with a negative image of "sissy" guys in weird outfits who do "gay" things like sing sappy songs and act obnoxious.  At the same time, many students are aware that this is not how all gay people really are.  A lot of kids today might have a gay friend or know gay people, thus seeing they are "real" people.\nHowever, even gay people use the word "gay" to describe stuff sometimes, because it is part of the lexicon and because sometimes they will be the first to admit that something is lame and stereotypically sissy or obnoxious or whatever the connotation is (sorry, can't think of better examples).\n\nWhat I'm trying to say is, right now it's part of the culture.  But I think you're right in that it will change.\nEven now, teens of all orientations are starting to speak out against prejudice and creative positive change in the way their peers treat people who might be a little "different", this being increased due to the counter-cultural "individualist" movements and attitudes prevalent today and increased social awareness about these kinds of things.
319987
I sort of agree with the second responder here, but I'd elaborate.  Homosexuals didn't exist partly because the word didn't exist, but also people didn't think about sexuality in those terms.  These days, we call someone a homosexual and we refer to it as if it is an innate part of their personality.  Among the Romans (and Greeks, and lots of other places in the world), sexual activity of one kind or another wasn't attached to people as an innate quality but just as something people did.  \n\nThink of it this way: lots of people play soccer.  For the most part, we just think of it as something people do, not who they are (unless they are professionals, but I'm talking generally).  But, some time in the future, we might decide that playing soccer is a really important indicator of who a person is, so we'll come up with a name for *anyone* who plays soccer - not just the professionals.  That's what happened with "homosexual" - same-sex sexuality used to be an activity.  Now it's an identity.
1135503
Gay means happy.  Yes.\n\nGay also means homosexual--this just depends on your point of view.
194089
I don't see what sounds "homo" about it...
1147375
while the bible does [rather ridiculously, of course] condemn gay sex in other places and ways, this should, logically, show those people who are so proud of the "adam and steve" quip how stupid they are.\n\nand fr_chuck, your constant discussion of a "cure" for gay people is terribly offensive.  perhaps i might redirect your medical zeal to something more personally important to you: obesity, or male pattern baldness, maybe?\n\nedit, to mickey:\nmaybe jesus was queer as well as single.  don't just assume.
311418
Many people associate homosexuality as something negative, thus they use the word "gay" as a general perjorative. Anything they dislike gets called "gay" not because it's homosexual, but because it's bad.\n\nThat's a very immature way of speaking, but it's out there.
796836
Men who have sex with men are homosexual/gay or bisexual.  Situational or institutional homosexuality (prisoners as an example) does not indicate anything more than what it is, all that is available, and not indicative of what they are.\n\nHomosexuality exist in all cultures, but some cultures repress it more than others.  "Gay" is however a term used in most all modern societies and understood to mean exclusively homosexual or predominately homosexual.\n\nAncient Greeks are said to have practiced homosexuality as normal part of human sexuality with no stigma.  That isn't really the case, it was generally seen as situational homosexuality, and not particularly condoned, but rather tolerated in some segments of society.\n\nToday, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck,  its a duck...a big gay duck!
1135520
Good question.  Probably when people stopped using the word "gay" to mean "happy and carefree", and started to use the word "happy" and "carefree."
475623
A homosexual is defined as someone who is romantically and sexually attracted to the same gender.\n\nThe key words there are "romantically" and "sexually". If a straight guy has sex with someone of the same gender, the action may be a homosexual action, but that doesn't necessarily change the persons orientation. They may only do it once and never again and there may have been circumstances (like alcohol or drugs, etc) to explain the otherwise odd behavior. The rest of the time the guy always has sex with the opposite sex and persues romantic relationships with the opposite sex. That makes him heterosexual. If he prefers to engage in both sex and romantic relationships with both genders that would make him bisexual and depending on the degree of his bisexuality would determine which gender he prefered to seek out most (man or woman). If a homosexual man decides not to engage in any sexual action, that doesn't mean the desire to has gone away. Nor does that mean that the man's desire to be romantic with another man has gone away either (and oddly the Bible and other sacred texts often used to condemn homosexuality only talk about the sexual act, but not the romantic act...apparently it's okay to be romantic with your own gender). \n\nThat is why it is odd when people say things like "hate the sin, but love the sinner" and then call homosexuality a sin. They simplify homosexuality often down to the action of sex with the same gender.....yet, these same people who say that this is the sin will then continue to condemn the person for simply having the homosexual desires still even if they are not engaging in sexual acts. \n\nThe basic thing that most people miss is that being homosexual isn't just about wanting to just have sex with someone of the same gender. It is about being romantically attracted to the same gender, too. Falling in love with the same gender. Sex may never actually enter into the picture of some homosexuals who are in romantic and loving relationships....yet they are condemned and told they are going to hell because it is assumed that they are having sex or assumed that just by them sharing love with each other that this is wrong (yet, do we not love our friends and family, too...and yet loving friends and family of the same gender is not wrong, why is it wrong when we find a romantic companion whom we may not even engage in sexual acts with?)\n\n\nI see a lot of hypocrisy with the issue and being a homosexual myself, I decided to stop caring about what other people think and focus my life on God without them and their opinions (because if hypocrisy exists in their opinions, then it cannot be from God). I'm a Hindu now, a religion that is very diverse and ranges on its views. When it comes to homosexuality, any condemnation that some Hindu sects have of it isn't based upon religious belief, it is usually about defending tradition or other reasons.
466237
Because God's Word (the Bible) forbids homosexual acts, it is clear that it is a choice.  For some it may be a very enticing choice, but it is still a choice.\n\nFor more info, see:\nhttp://www.onewayonly.net/ishomosexualityasin.html\nhttp://www.onewayonly.net/asoberingthought.html
973576
It basically means "extreme happiness".  It has nothing to do with the more modern meaning of "gay".
384636
According to most scientists and psychologist, being gay is physiological verses psychological. There is a part of the brain called the hypothamalus. In heterosexual men this gland is larger than a heterosexual woman’s which is much smaller in size. Recent studies of autopsies performed on gays reveal the size of hypothamalus’ of homosexuals (both male and female) aren’t as large as a heterosexual male or as small as a heterosexual female.\n\nHomosexuality occurs naturally in most species of animals.\n\nForgoing the physical causes of homosexuality, socialization, environment and personal beliefs often have an influence on whether a person live a gay or straight life. For instance, a person who believes they may be gay might suppress those feelings if they are raised in an environment where homosexuality is considered taboo and self expression is censored. On the other hand, a person with homosexual tendencies may be more willing to explore those feelings if raised in an environment which encourages expression and self individualism.\n\nSince our sexuality doesn’t develop until long after birth, I don’t see how anyone can be born heterosexual or homosexual. \n\nSome uninformed individuals claim homosexuality is a choice. The question to those people would be, “Did you have to choose to be straight.” The answer will almost always be, “Hell no!” Just as a heterosexual could no more “choose” to be gay, a homosexual would have a difficult time choosing to be straight.\n\nAs for religious arguments, the passages in Genesis merely explain heterosexual relationships and does not condemn or even speak to homosexual acts. The only direct mention of homosexuality in the Bible can be found in the Old Testament under Leviticus along with the sins of wearing woven clothing (cotton), eating shell fish, shaving, and not allowing women to preach the word of God, amongst other forgotten sins. These sins were made non-sins by the words of Jesus. That is why good “Christians” can shave, while wearing their cotton briefs and eat oyster without having to worry about going to Hell.\n\nIn the New Testament, many newer interpretations claim that the rapists who came to Lot’s house were gay, but they were rapists, which rape is a sin. In another passage the words used to describe male prostitutes has been translated into “homosexuals” by watered down modern day Bibles. Prostitution is a sin, but at the time, there was no homosexual culture to condemn.\n\nThe most prolific argument against Biblical condemnation of homosexuals came from Jesus who was to be God’s final word on the subject. When given the opportunity to condemn homosexual behavior, He did not.\n\nWhen you see the word “homosexual’ in a Bible understand there was no word to describe homosexuality at the time of the writing of the Bible. Go to the King James Version and read the same passages. Those translations of those same words pertain only to male prostitution and rapists, which are both sins.\n\nLastly, many lost Christians say the Bible says intercourse is for the purpose of reproduction only and the only reason man was put on this earth was to reproduce. Well I can’t find one Christian who says they only have intercourse for the purpose of reproduction. As for the misnomer man was put on this earth for the sole purpose of reproduction, what about people who for one reason or another cannot reproduce? Are they all going to hell? If all of the world’s trees produced fruit, the fruit would lay rotting on the ground.