Does gay ‘diversity’ require new terms?


By RYAN LEE
MAR. 14, 2008

Have you ever partied at one of Atlanta’s many urning nightclubs or attended a tribade rights rally? Even if you didn’t realize it, the odds are high that you have — especially since you’re reading a homophile newspaper.

Since the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, there has been a continuous evolution of terms used to describe men who love men, who were coined “urnings” by German researcher Karl Ulrich in the 1860s, and women who are attracted to women, who used to be known as “tribades” during the 17th century.

With mainstream society committed to using derogatory terms for sexual minorities such as “sodomite” and “queer,” gay people were often compelled to create more affirming labels, said Kira Hall, an associate professor of linguistics and anthropology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.


Kira Hall, a linguistics professor at the University of Colorado, said creating and finding comfortable labels is a common experience among marginalized groups. (Photo courtesy University of Colorado)

“What historical linguistics shows is that any time you have a term associated with a marginalized group, that term, over time, will take on a negative connotation because the group itself is marginalized and seen in a negative way,” Hall said.

The “semantic pejoration” of terms that describe people with same-sex attractions fuels a cycle where people are constantly looking for a safe, validating label,she added.

Many people assume the evolution of language ended when the term “gay” gained colloquial currency in the middle of the last century.

“‘Gay’ is only like 30-40 years old, so in terms of it being a socially collective term, it’s not that old,” said Cleo Manago, who is credited with developing the “same-gender loving” term and identity for black people in the early 1990s.

“I thought the word ‘loving’ was important — to be a normal way of self-reference, a normal way of contextualizing your sexuality and giving you a sense of internal affirmation of your loving,” said Manago, CEO of AmAASI Health & Cultural Centers in Los Angeles.

“I never felt fully affirmed, if affirmed at all, by gay culture,” said Manago, who added his belief is one that many blacks feel similarly. “We need a terminology and a way of being that came from us and that affirms us.”

English philosopher Jeremy Bentham was one of the first advocates to link the mobilization of homosexuals with the creation of an affirming label for that previously unconnected group of people.

“It is by the power of names, of signs originally arbitrary and insignificant, that the course of the imagination has in great measure been guided,” Bentham wrote in 1814, according to “Toward Stonewall,” by University of Virginia history professor Nicholas Edsall.

At least a half-dozen terms, most of them pejorative slang, were popularly used to describe people with same-sex desires before the 20th century: pederasts, buggeries, fairies, and sodomites for men, tribades and Sapphos for women.

The term homosexual became vogue during the latter half of the 1800s, and was embraced by many interested in establishing an identity beyond their sexual acts, according to Edsall.

“The sodomite, in short, was defined by what he did,” Edsall wrote. “The homosexual, on the other hand, is defined by his sexual orientation, by what he is and not by what he does.”

Atlanta resident Ron Floda, 52, remembers when homosexual competed with queer as the term du jour to describe people with same-sex desires. Floda recalled feeling the relief and excitement when people began referring to themselves as gay.

“I prefer ‘gay,’ it’s more comfortable and not as negative as some of the other words used to be,” Floda said.

The term “gay” has always been available to 27-year-old Barry Strain, who considers the label an important part of his identity, “but not overwhelmingly so.”

“I think it’s a nice, most neutral term for that entire grouping,” Strain said.

Media outlets often strive to use terms that are most acceptable to minority groups, and since 1977, the Associated Press style book — the industry gold standard — has recommended using “gay” instead of “homosexual.” One of the last remaining holdouts in the media was the Washington Times, a conservative newspaper that used outdated terms when writing about the “homosexual” agenda.

In a move lauded by gay media watchdogs, the new editor of the Washington Times, Wes Pruden, recently instructed his staff to begin using gay instead of homosexual, and to no longer use derisive quotation marks when referring to gay marriage.

“It was definitely a very progressive thing for them to do,” said Eric Hegedus, president of the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association. “When I heard about it, I was quite pleased. This is a big stride for them, and I think a lot of people noticed.”

The AP Style Book notes that “gay” can be used for both men and women, but “lesbian” is the preferred label for homosexual females.

“When you have a marginalized group, it needs a label that is not a pejorative label, the first aspect is to get a label that sort of canvasses over everyone,” said Hall, the linguistic professor. “As that group becomes less marginalized and more visible, people begin to realize there’s a lot of divisions within that larger group. There’s diversity within ‘gay,’ and that requires new terms.”

The term lesbian has existed for centuries, but wasn’t popularly embraced as a label and subculture until in recent decades.

Lauren Bowden, 22, considers herself lesbian, but said she considers “gay” and the L-word interchangeable.

“They’re the same to me, so I don’t care if someone calls me gay, and most of the time I think of myself as gay,” Bowden said.

However, Bowden’s shopping partner at Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse has a closer connection to the word lesbian.

“I prefer lesbian because it’s obviously more female-oriented, and it means something different than gay,” Dana Bloom, 29, said. “It’s hard to explain how, but the two terms just bring different images to my head when I hear them. They have a different depth to them.”

Manago’s disassociation from the word “gay” is so strong that he is adamant that “same-gender loving” not be interpreted as “just another way of saying gay.”

“‘Gay’ has a particular genesis, purpose and creators, and those people that were involved in that were not trying to affirm black people,” said Manago, who noted that blacks in general have had a dynamic experience with labels, going from Negroes, to blacks to African-Americans.

“The reason for that progression, I believe, is because of doing our best to restore ourselves and have self-determination, and I believe SGL comes from that process,” Manago said.

Changes in terminology often make marginalized groups more digestible to mainstream society — it’s easier to lobby for gay foster parents than for sodomite adoption. The term same-gender loving has had a similar affect on black heterosexuals, Manago said.

“There are some people who think homosexuals are just about sex,” he said. “Knowing that loving is part of the equation has been healing to the community itself, and outside the community in terms of how people see us.”

Steven Emmanuel used to identify as same-gender loving to avoid the connotations that accompany gay, until he felt restricted by that label as well.

“It wasn’t very inclusive of me because I’m not same-gender loving — I love men, women, transgender,” said Emmanuel, author of the “Queer Kid of Color” blog. Emmanuel settled on the label queer because he believed “it’s something that embraces the full fluidity of sexuality and gender” without the cumbersome LGBTQQ-etc. acronym.

Those initials also continue to evolve, with the familiar LGBT now stretching to variations that even some gay people may not recognize. Some groups now refer to LGBTQIQ — with the Qs standing for “queer” and “questioning” and the I meaning “intersexed” — while others add A for “allies” or other combinations.

“There’s so many different labels that mean so many different things — it’s dividing within a community that has already been divided,” Emmanuel said.

Devon Baxley, 18, also embraces the word queer, along with his preferred label, “flaming queen.”

But Floda remembers the sting of such terms, and doesn’t believe younger generations should re-appropriate them.

“There were some guys who drove by here the other night and were shouting ‘queer’ and ‘faggot,’ and they weren’t saying it in friendly way,” Floda said.

“Re-signifying” words is common for members of marginalized attempting to lessen the power of a slur, Hall said.

“I think to a certain degree that works, but it’s kind of a linguistic trick,” she said. “It’s not going to erase those prejudices, but it is going to confuse the use of that term as an insult.”