Homophilic
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Terms used to describe
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been '' sodomite'', ''
Sapphic Sapphic may refer to: * Sappho, Greek poet of the 7th century BC who wrote about her attraction to women ** Sapphic stanza, a four line poetic form * Sapphism ''Sapphism'' is an umbrella term for any woman Interpersonal attraction, attracted ...
'', '' Uranian or Urning'', ''
homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been '' sodomite'', '' Sapphic'', '' Uranian or Urning'', '' homop ...
'', ''
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
'', ''
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
'', and ''
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
''. Some of these words are specific to women, some to men, and some can be used of either. Gay people may also be identified under the
umbrella term Hypernymy and hyponymy are the wikt:Wiktionary:Semantic relations, semantic relations between a generic term (''hypernym'') and a more specific term (''hyponym''). The hypernym is also called a ''supertype'', ''umbrella term'', or ''blanket term ...
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
. ''
Homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
'' was coined in German in 1868. Academia continues to coin related terms, including ''
androphilia In behavioral science, androphilia and gynephilia are sexual orientations: Androphilia is sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia is sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androp ...
'' and '' gynephilia'' which designate only the object of attraction, thus divorcing the terms from sexual orientation entirely. Numerous slang terms exist for homosexuals or homosexuality. Some communities have cants, a rich jargon used among a subgroup almost like a secret language, such as
Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...
in the UK, and others.


Prescribed usage

The term ''
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...
'' can be used as an adjective to describe the sexual attractions and behaviors of people attracted to the same sex. Author and gay pioneer
Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt;  – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of h ...
said that the term should be "homosexualist", adding that no one says "I am a sexual". Some gay people argue that the use of homosexual as a noun is offensive, arguing that they are people first and their homosexuality is merely an attribute of their humanity. Even if they do not consider the term offensive, some people in same-gender relationships may object to being described as homosexual because they identify as bisexual+, or another orientation such as (rarely) "unstraight". Some style guides recommend that the terms ''homosexual'' and ''homosexuality'' be avoided altogether, lest their use cause confusion or arouse controversy. In particular, the description of individuals as homosexual may be offensive, partially because of the negative clinical association of the word stemming from its use in describing same-gender attraction as a
pathological Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
state before homosexuality was removed from the
American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the largest psychiatric organization in the world. It has more than 39,200 members who are in ...
's list of mental disorders in 1973.GLAA
GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Terms To Avoid
The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' style guides restrict usage of the terms.GLAA
GLAAD Media Reference Guide - AP & New York Times Style
Same-gender oriented people seldom apply such terms to themselves, and public officials and agencies often avoid them. For instance, the Safe Schools Coalition of Washington's ''Glossary for School Employees'' advises that ''gay'' is the "preferred synonym for homosexual", and goes on to suggest avoiding the term ''homosexual'' as it is "clinical, distancing, and archaic". However, the terms ''homosexual'' and ''homosexuality'' are sometimes deemed appropriate in referring to behavior (although ''same-gender'' is the preferred adjective). Using ''homosexuality'' or ''homosexual'' to refer to behavior may be inaccurate but does not carry the same potentially offensive connotations that using ''homosexual'' to describe a person does. When referring to people, ''homosexual'' might be considered derogatory and the terms ''gay'' and ''lesbian'' are preferred. Some have argued that ''homosexual'' places emphasis on sexuality over humanity, and is to be avoided when describing a person. ''Gay man'' or ''lesbian'' are the preferred nouns for referring to people, which stress cultural and social matters over sex. The ''
New Oxford American Dictionary The ''New Oxford American Dictionary'' (''NOAD'') is a single-volume dictionary of American English compiled by American editors at the Oxford University Press. ''NOAD'' is based upon the '' New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (''NODE''), publishe ...
'' says that ''gay'' is the preferred term. People with a same-gender sexual orientation generally prefer the terms ''gay'', ''lesbian'', or ''bisexual''. The most common terms are ''gay'' (both men and women) and ''
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
'' (women only). Other terms include ''
same gender loving Same-gender-loving, or SGL, a term coined for African American and African Diaspora use by activist Cleo Manago, is a description for homosexuals in the African American community. It emerged in the early 1990s as a culturally affirming African A ...
'' and ''same-sex-oriented.'' Among some sectors of gay sub-culture, same-gender sexual behavior is sometimes viewed as solely for physical pleasure instead of romantic attraction. Men on the down-low (or DL) may engage in covert sexual activity with other men while pursuing sexual and romantic relationships with women.


History

The choice of terms regarding
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
may imply a certain political outlook, and different terms have been preferred at different times and in different places.


Early history

Historian and philosopher
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...
argued that homosexual and
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions ...
identities did not emerge until the 19th century. Prior to that time, he said, the terms described practices and not identity. Foucault cited
Karl Westphal Karl Friedrich Otto Westphal (23 March 1833 – 27 January 1890) was a German psychiatrist from Berlin. He was the son of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal (1800–1879) and Karoline Friederike Heine and the father of Alexander Karl Otto Westphal (18 ...
's famous 1870 article ''Contrary Sexual Feeling'' as the "date of birth" of the categorization of sexual orientation.Foucault, 1976 Some scholars, however, have argued that there are significant continuities between past and present conceptualizations of sexuality, with various terms having been used for homosexuality. In his ''
Symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...
'', the
ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
philosopher
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
described (through the character of the profane comedian
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...
) three sexual orientations – heterosexuality, male homosexuality, and female homosexuality – and provided explanations for their existence using an invented
creation myth A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Cre ...
.Classical Myth
on glbtq.com


Tribadism

Although this term refers to a specific sex act between women today, in the past it was commonly used to describe female-female sexual love in general, and women who had sex with women were called Tribads or Tribades. As author Rictor Norton explains:
The ''tribas'', lesbian, from Greek , to rub (i.e. rubbing the
pudenda In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, labia minora, ...
together, or
clitoris In amniotes, the clitoris ( or ; : clitorises or clitorides) is a female sex organ. In humans, it is the vulva's most erogenous zone, erogenous area and generally the primary anatomical source of female Human sexuality, sexual pleasure. Th ...
upon
pubic bone In vertebrates, the pubis or pubic bone () forms the lower and anterior part of each side of the hip bone. The pubis is the most forward-facing (ventral and anterior) of the three bones that make up the hip bone. The left and right pubic bones ar ...
, etc.), appears in Greek and Latin satires from the late first century. The tribade was the most common (vulgar) lesbian in European texts for many centuries. 'Tribade' occurs in English texts from at least as early as 1601 to at least as late as the mid-nineteenth century before it became self-consciously old-fashioned—it was in current use for nearly three centuries.
''Fricatrice'', a synonym for ''tribade'' that also refers to rubbing but has a Latin rather than a Greek root, appeared in English as early as 1605 (in
Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
's ''
Volpone ''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfo ...
''). Its usage suggests that it was more colloquial and more
pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...
than ''tribade''. Variants include the Latinized ''confricatrice'' and English ''rubster''.


Sodomy

Though ''sodomy'' has been used to refer to a range of homosexual and heterosexual " unnatural acts", the term ''sodomite'' usually refers to a homosexual male even though the real meaning is of unreproductive sex. The term is derived from the Biblical tale of
Sodom and Gomorrah In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...
, and Christian churches have referred to the (crime of the Sodomites) for centuries. The modern association with homosexuality can be found as early as AD 96 in the writings of the Jewish historian
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
. In the early 5th century,
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
, a priest, historian, and theologian used the forms ''Sodoman'', ''in Sodomis'', ''Sodomorum'', ''Sodomæ'', ''Sodomitæ''.Hallam 1993 The modern German word and the Norwegian also refer to bestiality. Sodomy in historical biblical reference may not pertain to the acts of homosexuality, but the acts of bestiality and female and male
castration Castration is any action, surgery, surgical, chemical substance, chemical, or otherwise, by which a male loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical cas ...
for the purpose of
sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...
.


Lesbianism

Lesbian writer
Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born October 1969) is an Irish Canadians, Irish Canadian novelist, screenwriter, playwright and literary historian. Her 2010 novel ''Room (novel), Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donog ...
found that the term ''
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
'' (with its modern meaning) has been in use in the English language from at least the 18th century. The 1732
epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...
by
William King William King may refer to: Arts * Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer * William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King * William King (artist) (1925–2015), ...
, ''The Toast'', uses "lesbian loves" and "tribadism" interchangeably: "she loved Women in the same Manner as Men love them; she was a Tribad".


Sapphism

Named after the female Greek poet
Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...
who lived on
Lesbos Island Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the eighth largest in the Mediterranean. It is separated from ...
and wrote love poems to women, this term has been in use since at least the 18th century, with the connotation of lesbian. In 1773, a London magazine described sex between women as "Sapphic passion". The adjective form ''Sapphic'' is sometimes used nowadays as an inclusive umbrella term that expresses the sexuality and romantic attraction of queer women, including bisexuals, nonbinary, and trans people However, this is not accepted by all women who identify as lesbian.


Pederasty

Today, ''pederasty'' refers to male attraction towards adolescent boys, or the cultural institutions that support such relations, as in ancient Greece. However, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the word usually referred to male homosexuality in general. A pederast was also the active partner in anal sex, whether with a male or a female partner. This relationship is socially frowned upon in modern cultures while legally defined by the age of consent.


Homosexual

The word ''homosexual'' translates literally as "of the same sex", being a hybrid of the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
prefix meaning 'same' (as distinguished from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
root meaning 'human') and the Latin root meaning 'sex'. The first known public appearance of the term ''homosexual'' in print is found in an 1869 German pamphlet ("Paragraph 143 of the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n Penal Code and Its Maintenance as Paragraph 152 of the Draft of a Penal Code for the
North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...
"). The pamphlet was written by
Karl-Maria Kertbeny Karl Maria Kertbeny (born Karl Maria Benkert, ; also Kertbeny Károly Mária; 28 February 1824 – 23 January 1882) was an Austrian-born Hungarian journalist, translator, memoirist and human rights campaigner. Kertbeny coined the words ''heteros ...
, but published anonymously. It advocated the repeal of Prussia's
sodomy law A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term ''sodomy'' are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood and defined by many courts and jurisdictions to include any ...
s. Kertbeny had previously used the word in a private letter written in 1868 to
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (28 August 1825 – 14 July 1895) was a German lawyer, jurist, journalist, and writer. He is today regarded as a pioneer of sexology and the modern LGBT rights movement, gay rights movement. Ulrichs has been described as ...
. Kertbeny used (in English, 'homosexuality') in place of Ulrichs' ; ('male homosexualists') instead of , and ('female homosexualists') instead of . The term was coined and originally used primarily by German psychiatrists and psychologists. Havelock Ellis in his 1901 '' Studies in the Psychology of Sex'' wrote about the evolving terminology in the area, which ended up settling on ''homosexuality''. In the preface to the first edition (1900), Ellis calls it ''sexual inversion'', and volume 2 of the book is titled "Sexual Inversion". In the preface to the third edition (1927) Ellis referred to it as "the study of homosexuality". On the first page of chapter 1, he discusses the terminology, naming Ulrichs' use of () from 1862, which later morphed into or Uranian (or Dionian or Dioning as the female counterpart) and using (as the name of the condition. Ellis reported that the first accepted scientific term was ''contrary sexual feeling'' (), coined by
Westphal Westphal or Westphall may refer to the following people: *Alexander Carl Otto Westphal (1863–1941), German physician, son of Carl Friedrich Otto and grandson of Otto Carl Friedrich Westphal * Ari Westphal (born 1994), Brazilian fashion model * B ...
in 1869 and used by Krafft-Ebing and others. This term was never used outside Germany, and soon went out of favor even there. The term ''homosexuality'' was invented by Kertbeny in the same year (1869) but attracted no attention for some time, later achieving prominence. It was easily translatable into many languages, including by Hirschfeld in his 1914 book '' Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes'', one of the top authorities in the field. Ellis continued to use both the terms ''sexual inversion'' and ''homosexuality'' in the 3rd edition, with slightly different meanings. The first known use of homosexual in English is in
Charles Gilbert Chaddock Charles Gilbert Chaddock (November 14, 1861 – July 20, 1936) was an American neurologist, psychiatrist, and translator. He is remembered for describing the Chaddock reflex and is credited with introducing the terms '' bisexuality'', '' hete ...
's 1892 translation of
Richard von Krafft-Ebing Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work '' Psychopath ...
's , a study on sexual practices. The term was popularized by the 1906
Harden–Eulenburg Affair The Eulenburg affair (also called the Harden–Eulenburg affair) was a public controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five civil trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent mem ...
. The word ''homosexual'' itself had different connotations 100 years ago than today. Although some early writers used the adjective ''homosexual'' to refer to any single-gender context (such as an all-girls school), today the term implies a sexual aspect. The term ''homosocial'' is now used to describe single-sex contexts that are not of a romantic or sexual nature. The colloquial abbreviation ''homo'' for homosexual is a coinage of the interbellum period, first recorded as a noun in 1929, and as an adjective in 1933. Today, it is often considered a derogatory
epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
.


Other late 19th and early 20th century sexological terms

* Antipathic sexual instinct:
deviant sexual behavior A paraphilia is an experience of recurring or intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, places, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as a sexual interest in anything other than a legally consenting human ...
outlined in
Richard von Krafft-Ebing Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing (full name Richard Fridolin Joseph Freiherr Krafft von Festenberg auf Frohnberg, genannt von Ebing; 14 August 1840 – 22 December 1902) was a German psychiatrist and author of the foundational work '' Psychopath ...
's ''Pychopathia Sexualis'' * Sexual inversion * Psychosexual hermaphroditism:
bisexuality Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...
. It was believed gay men desired a female body and lesbians desired a male body. Bisexuals desired to become
intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
. * The intermediate sex: similar to sexual inversion, Edward Carpenter believed gay men possessed a male body and a female temperament and vice versa for lesbians * Similisexualism, simulsexuality or similsexualism: homosexuality *
Intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
uality * Catamite * Invert * Third sex


Homophile

Coined by the German astrologist, author and psychoanalyst
Karl-Günther Heimsoth Karl-Günther Heimsoth, also known as Karl-Guenter Heimsoth (4 December 1899, Charlottenburg – July 1934, Berlin), was a German physician, polygraph, and politician. Heimsoth was a member of the Nazi Party and later the Communist Party of German ...
in his 1924 doctoral dissertation , the term was in common use in the 1950s and 1960s by homosexual organizations and publications; the groups of this period are now known collectively as the homophile movement. Popular in the 1950s and 1960s (and still in occasional use in the 1990s, particularly in writing by
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
clergy),''Issues in Human Sexuality: A Statement by the House of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England'', December 1991 (London: Church House Publishing, 1991). the term ''homophile'' was an attempt to avoid the clinical implications of sexual pathology found with the word homosexual, emphasizing love ( -phile) instead. The first element of the word, the Greek root '' homo-'', means 'same'; it is unrelated to Latin , 'person'. In almost all languages where the words ''homophile'' and ''homosexual'' were both in use (i.e., their
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
equivalents: German and , Italian and , etc.), ''homosexual'' won out as the modern conventional neutral term. However, in Norway, the Netherlands and the Flemish/Dutch part of Belgium, the term is still widely used.


Same-sex attracted

Same-sex attracted (SSA) became a phrase used by some religious groups in the late 20th and 21st century as part of the
ex-gay movement The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires and to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual rela ...
. The term has been used for Catholic celibate homosexuals so as to separate individuals from a gay identity and any suggestion of approval of active homosexual relationships, while acknowledging rather than denying their orientation. John F. Harvey, a Catholic priest and moral theologian, founded
Courage Apostolate Courage International, also known as Courage Apostolate and Courage for short, is an approved apostolate of the Catholic Church founded in 1980 by John F. Harvey as part of the ex-gay movement. It runs a twelve-step program, similar to that of A ...
in 1980 as a spiritual support group for same-sex attracted people to live according to the teachings of the Catholic Church on homosexuality. The phrase has also been used by
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
organisations such as
Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a UK organisation of evangelical individuals, organisations, and churches, which is itself a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the Evangelical Alliance aims to promote evangelical Chr ...
to highlight that they reject
conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
but encourage "those who experience same-sex attraction" to live according to Biblical teaching (i.e. sex is only permissible within mixed-sex marriage and a rejection of same-sex marriage). Living Out is an organisation which aims to help people "reconcile their sexuality with the teachings of the Bible", and is led by celibate and opposite-sex married individuals who are
out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...
about their same-sex attraction. The phrase has also gained traction outside of religious communities. The Australian Government has used it as an inclusive and non-prescriptive term, encompassing people who are "gay, lesbian,
bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
,
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
,
pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...
, those who are questioning their sexual orientation, and those who are unsure". On the other hand,
LGB Alliance The LGB Alliance is a British advocacy group and registered charity founded in 2019 in opposition to the policies of LGBT rights charity Stonewall on transgender issues. Its founders are Bev Jackson, Kate Harris, Allison Bailey, Malcolm Clar ...
, a trans-exclusionary activist group, has used the phase to specify their exclusionary viewpoint.


Recent academic terms

Not all terms have been used to describe same-gender sexuality are synonyms for the modern term ''
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
''.
Anna Rüling Theodora "Theo" Anna Sprüngli (15 August 1880 – 8 May 1953), better known under the pseudonym Anna Rüling, was a German journalist whose speech in 1904 was the first political speech to address the problems faced by lesbians. One of the first ...
, one of the first women to publicly defend gay rights, considered gay people a
third gender Third gender or third sex is an identity recognizing individuals categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither a man nor a woman. Many gender systems around the world include three or more genders, deriving the concept either from ...
, different from both men and women. Terms such as
gynephilia and androphilia In behavioral science, androphilia and gynephilia are sexual orientations: Androphilia is sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia is sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androp ...
have tried to simplify the language of sexual orientation by making no claim about the individual's own gender identity. However, they are not commonly used.


Side

''Side'' describes someone who does not practice anal sex and therefore does not define himself as ''top'', ''bottom'' or ''versatile''. This term is sometimes used in American literature to present an alternative to the binary classification which notes the preferred sexual position, such as ''top'' or ''bottom''; the term ''side'' indicates one's affinity for neither of this binary classification.


Jargon and slang


Cants

There are established languages of slang (sometimes known as cants) such as
Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...
in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
,
Swardspeak Swardspeak (also known as salitang bakla (lit. 'gay speak') or "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Taglish (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of LGBT people in the Philippines. Description Swardspeak uses ele ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Bahasa Binan Bahasa Binan (or bahasa Béncong) is a distinctive Indonesian speech variety originating from the gay community. It has several regular patterns of word formation and is documented in both writing and speech. Boellstorf (2004): 248 One pattern ...
in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, Lubunca in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and Kaliardá () in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.


Slang

A variety of
LGBT slang LGBTQ slang, LGBTQ speak, queer slang, or LGBTQIA slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ communit ...
terms have been used historically and contemporarily within the
LGBT community The LGBTQ community (also known as the LGBT, LGBT+, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIA+, or queer community) comprises LGBTQ people, LGBTQ individuals united by LGBTQ culture, a common culture and LGBTQ movements, social movements. These Community, comm ...
. In addition to the stigma surrounding homosexuality, terms have been influenced by taboos around sex in general, producing a number of
euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...
s. A gay person may be described as "that way", "a bit funny", "light in his loafers", "on the bus", "batting for the other team", "a
friend of Dorothy A "friend of Dorothy" (FOD) is a code word (communication), code word for a gay man, first used in LGBTQ slang. Stating that, or asking if someone is a ''friend of Dorothy'', is a furtive way of suggesting sexual orientation while avoiding hostilit ...
", "women who wear comfortable shoes" (lesbians), although such euphemisms are becoming less common as homosexuality becomes more visible.
Harry Hay Henry Hay Jr. (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002) was an American gay rights activist, communist, and union organizer, labor advocate. He cofounded the Mattachine Society, the first sustained gay rights group in the United States, as well as th ...
frequently stated that, in the 1930s–1940s, gay people referred to themselves as ''temperamental''.


Gay

Although the word was originally synonymous with ''happy'' or ''cheerful'', in the 20th century it gradually came to designate someone who is romantically or sexually attracted to someone of the same
gender or sex Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may Gender identity, identify with a gende ...
.


See also

* Terminology of transgender anatomy


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * *


External links


"Gay Language Guide"
– gay slang in various languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Hungarian, Russian, Thai

: an ongoing collection of euphemisms for gay men and lesbians.

– ''catamite'', ''madge'', ''indorser'', ''windward passage'', and more {{LGBTQ Homosexuality LGBTQ linguistics Sociolinguistics