Distinguishing Between Gay & Homosexual

Key Difference – Gay vs Homosexual

Homosexual refers to people of the same sex engaging in sexual relations and is a term that explicitly describes a person’s sexual orientation. Gay has come to mean a man having sexual relations with another man, although the word originally had different meanings. Today, gay and homosexual are synonymous, though they have not always been so.

What is Gay?

Gay is part of the acronym LGBT, which stands for lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. This means that the word has become an adjective to describe the sexual orientation of men having sexual relations and emotional attraction towards other men. It is also a noun to refer to a category of men having physical and emotional relations with other men. However, the word gay did not always mean homosexual – it was originally used to reflect happiness, energy, verve, brightness, and carefree attitude. It was during the 1920s and 1930s that the word gay seemed to take on new meanings, with men having physical relations with other men being referred to as gay. By the middle of the 1950s, gay came to be officially recognized as a word for homosexual men. Homosexual men preferred to be called gay, as homosexual sounded too clinical and almost offensive.

What is Homosexual?

Homosexuality is a sexual orientation where members of the same sex display romantic and sexual feelings towards each other. Homosexual is a clinical term used by doctors and scientists to study the sexual behavior of members of a species. Thus, homosexual is a term that could be applied to males as well as females. However, homosexual females have a special term – lesbians – whereas gay has been accepted as a specific term to refer to homosexual men. The word homosexual is not a general word used by people in everyday lives. However, it is not gender-specific, which means that it could be used to describe two girls or two boys having sexual relations with each other. Men having sexual attraction towards each other prefer to use the word gay for themselves, as it is not laden with negative connotations.

What is the difference between Gay and Homosexual?

Definitions of Gay and Homosexual:

Gay: Gay is a word that is a part of the acronym LGBT that stands for lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

Homosexual: Homosexual is a clinical term that refers to persons of a particular sex having sexual feelings towards persons of their own sex.

Characteristics of Gay and Homosexual:

Nature:
Gay: Men having sexual behavior towards other men prefer to be called gay, as it has much fewer negative implications.

Homosexual: Homosexual is not gender-specific and can be applied to men as well as women.

Other meanings:
Gay: Gay was originally used to refer to a carefree attitude and also applied to happy, bright, and showy people.

Homosexual: This term does not consist of an alternative meaning.