POSTMASTER@MITVMA (Undetermined origin c/o Postmaster) (02/08/90)
Hi all. I have a really simple question, but it's bugging me. I got flamed on another list for using the term "homosexual" to refer to gay men and lesbians in general, being told that the word was "oppressive." Now, I've been out for two years now and involved in lgb issues since then but I've *never* heard anyone object to the word "homosexual" except in that it sounds clinical (which, admittedly it does). Does anyone else object to this word? I'd also like to know WHY anyone does, if so, because the fellow complaining to me has not provided any sort of real explanation of it. Anyone out there able to help? Thanks in advance... --Bill
TIMBUCK@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU (Tim) (02/08/90)
I personally don't object to the term (though I agree that it sounds rather clinical, and I prefer the term "gay" for that reason). I have heard of other people objecting to it though, for purely linguistic reasons. The word "homosexual" is actually an adjective (i.e. "homosexual man") rather than a noun. Then again, one could argue that the word "gay" is also an adjective. Tim Buck Va. Tech, Blacksburg
POSTMASTER@MITVMA (Undetermined origin c/o Postmaster) (02/08/90)
>I have >heard of other people objecting to it though, for purely linguistic >reasons. The word "homosexual" is actually an adjective (i.e. >"homosexual man") rather than a noun. Then again, one could argue that >the word "gay" is also an adjective. Agreed. I tend to say "gay men and lesbians" whenever possible, but sometimes slip and say "gays and lesbians" instead, for which I always hit myself over the head :-) --Bill
LUTHER%MTUS5.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (David B. O'Donnell) (02/08/90)
In-Reply-To: Message of Wed, 7 Feb 90 13:18:12 EST from <TIMBUCK@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU> Just my personal bias, but I prefer having 'gay' used as an adjective when1 referring to me, too. I am not _a_ gay, I am a gay _man_. Interestingly I'd never heard that homosexual is indeed purely an adjective (like gay) but then I guess I never thought of it. Virtually, David B. O'Donnell <LUTHER@MTUS5.BITNET> <LUGOS@MTUS5.BITNET> Owner/Moderator, Belief-L ListServe Distribution List ECLOS Developer/Distributor _____ ... Any resemblance between the above views and those of my employer, my terminal, or the view out my window are purely coincidental. Any resemblance between the above and my own views is non-deterministic. The question of the existence of views in the absence of anyone to hold them is left as an exercise for the reader. The question of the existence of the reader is left as an exercise for the second god coefficient. (A discussion of non-orthogonal, non-integral polytheism is beyond the scope of this article.)