Terminology of homosexuality

Words that describe homosexuality have changed a lot since the mid-1800s. In English, some common words have included sodomite, Sapphic, Uranian or Urning, homophile, lesbian, gay, and queer. Some of these words refer especially to women, some to men, and some can be used for either. People who are gay may also be included under the umbrella term LGBT.

The word homosexual was first used in German in 1868. Scientists and scholars keep creating new words to talk about these ideas, like androphilia and gynephilia, which describe who someone is attracted to without mentioning their own identity.

Many informal words and phrases are also used within communities. Some groups have special ways of talking, almost like a secret language. For example, Polari is a jargon that has been used in the UK.

Prescribed usage

The word homosexual can describe feelings and actions related to people who are attracted to others of the same gender. Some people feel that using this word to talk about a person can feel cold and old-fashioned. Because of this, many prefer words like gay or lesbian when talking about people.

Today, many choose words like gay, lesbian, or bisexual+ to talk about someone's feelings toward others of the same gender. These words are seen as more friendly and respectful. Some people also use the words same gender loving or same-sex-oriented.

History

The choice of terms regarding sexual orientation may imply a certain political outlook, and different terms have been preferred at different times and in different places.

Historian and philosopher Michel Foucault argued that identities related to love between people of the same gender did not emerge until the 19th century. Prior to that time, he said, the terms described practices and not identity. Some scholars, however, have argued that there are significant continuities between past and present ways of thinking about these topics.

In his Symposium, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato described three ways people could love, including love between two men and love between two women, and provided explanations for their existence using an invented creation myth.

The word homosexual translates literally as "of the same sex", being a hybrid of the Greek prefix homo- meaning 'same' and the Latin root sex meaning 'sex'. The first known public appearance of the term homosexual in print is found in an 1869 German pamphlet written by Karl-Maria Kertbeny. The term was coined and originally used primarily by German psychiatrists and psychologists.

The term homophile was an attempt to avoid the clinical implications of the word homosexual, emphasizing love instead. It was popular in the 1950s and 1960s by groups supporting people who loved others of the same gender.

Other terms from the late 19th and early 20th century include:

• Antipathic sexual instinct
• Sexual inversion
• Psychosexual hermaphroditism
• The intermediate sex
• Similisexualism, simulsexuality or similsexualism
• Intersexuality
• Catamite
• Invert
• Third sex

Recent academic terms

Some older words were used to talk about people who feel love for others of the same gender, but they are not the same as the word we use today, homosexuality. For example, Anna Rüling, an early supporter of people who love others of the same gender, thought of them as a third gender, meaning different from both men and women. Other words like gynephilia and androphilia tried to make talking about love simpler by not focusing on a person’s gender, but these words are not used much today.

The word side is sometimes used to talk about someone who does not focus on certain ways of being close, offering another way to think about these matters besides just two choices.

Jargon and slang

Many different words and phrases have been used by people in the LGBT community to talk about their lives and feelings. Because of old ideas and misunderstandings, some people used indirect ways to describe being gay, like saying someone was "that way" or "a bit funny." These indirect phrases are used less today as more people understand and accept different types of love.

The word gay has changed meaning over time. Long ago, it meant happy or lively. Over the years, its meaning shifted, and by the mid-20th century, it became the main word that many people in the community use to describe being romantically attracted to someone of the same gender or sex. Today, gay is a positive and widely accepted term for many people.