Gay Queer Fag Homo Dyke The gay community's been called a lot of things. Some of it hasn't been too nice. But to add to the confussion, those of us within the gay community aren't always sure what we want to be called. Scientifically people who are attracted to members of their own gender are called homosexuals. But the root of homosexual is "sex" and none of us want to be known for our sexual acts. I'm a virgin--defining me by sexual acts isn't quite appropriate. But the word itself just seems too clinical in the first place--it's like calling a person a homosapien, it just doesn't sound right. Fag is often used as a slur to demean us, so few of us like to use it as their label of choice. The actual term faggot means a bundle of sticks. In the inquisition of Europe they would tie witches as well as gay men to bundles sticks and burn them alive. So people began calling gay men faggots to scare them with the threat of death by burning. Now it's used a slur with just a basic negative connotation. The term queer has been picking up more acceptance within the gay community. But most still aren't totally comfortable with that term either. Queer denotes something strange, different, and wierd. We are different from heterosexuals, but only in who we love. We aren't wierd, odd, or strange (at least not all of us). We're normal people who happen to be attracted to people of the same sex. Besides, there a lot of queer people out there who are not gay. The lesbian community has it's share of labels as well. The word dyke is often used as put down to make them sound less feminine. Originally Dyke was part of the name of a Queen who led a revolt against the Roman empire. The Romans held a grudge against this Queen and soon calling a woman a dyke was a put down. Today it's still used as a derogitory slur, but some lesbians do use it as their label of choice. Sometimes by using the labels that others use to try and defame us, we can remove some of the hurt that's associated with it. That's why you'll often hear gay men jokingly calling one another fags or flamers. That's why some gay men prefer to use the label queer--by them being known as queers it reminds the rest of the world that they queer doesn't have to mean strange. We don't all fit the stereotypes associated with the labels others use around us. Fairy, Flamer, Puff, Sissy--the idea is homosexual men are thought of as extra-feminine. Although there's nothing wrong with being feminine, the stereotype doesn't fit the average gay man. Likewise, the term dyke is used in reference to the idea that lesbians are somehow less feminine than straight women. Although they might be true in some cases, stereotypes are dangerous because they are never true in all cases. In the end it's hard to know what to call ourselves. For ease I stick with the most common term, gay. Gay used to simply mean "happy." The homosexual community began using gay as a code word among themselves--sort of an inside joke that helped to brighten the very homophobic environment they lived in. Today "gay" is almost exclusively used to refer to homosexuals, and often specifically homosexual men, but people still remember when it meant happy and the gay community realizes that it really still does.

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