"Gay" used to be such a nice word.

When you hear the word now, do you think "happy?"

No.

In the so-called "good old days" I used to think of myself as a "gay bachelor". Women would get a very wrong idea if I called myself that today. How the meaning of a word has changed!

Well, in the same vein, in one of your posts you stated your preference for the word boobs--a euphemism for breasts. Yet you also report feeling comfortable with your body, breasts and all.

So I don't think it means anything about how comfortable one is with his/her orientation. If anything, I think someone who refers to him/herself as gay/lesbian/bi/queer/whatever is probably far more comfortable with his/her orientation, more self-accepting and aware than someone who used the term homosexual. To me, homosexual sounds negative--sort of archaic and weirdly formal/clinical. I don't personally know anyone who identifies as homosexual. But that's kind of irrelevant; as far as I'm concerned, people get to self-identify however they want, and have the right to be called by the terms they prefer.

On a related note, the phrase "I even have some friends who are (black, gay, whatever)," generally shows a pretty significant anti-(whatever) bias.

I'm a Southern White Man.

For years I found myself trying to defend myself from gratuitous attacks accusing me of being a racist and/or a sexist, etc.

I got tired of it.

I decided that since the left was determined that I was a bigot regardless of my protestations or, indeed, my actual sentiments, I would just -- give up.

And embrace my inner bigot.

So I freely concede, even before the cliches flow, that I am a sexist, racist, homophobe.

Happy now?

Because of my close association with the entertainment and literary communities, I am always in close association with people of all sexual states of being. I almost said "persuasions," as if someone could persuade another to be straight, gay, bi, lesbian, transgendered.

It is part of the map that we are born with and as such should not be open to dispute or interpretation by someone whose own inclinations are in another direction.

The most recent tenants in one of my apartments were two gay men. I'm glad they are gone, not because they were gay - that had nothing to do with their problem - but because they had a pet that stank up my property, a guinea pig. If they had been two castratos, their pet still would've stunk!

I don't ask my friends their sexual orientation. It is made apparent by their choice of partners - if they partner off - and is irrelevant if they remain alone.

I'm glad I was not raised to consider a person's sexual orientation an issue in choosing the people I would associate with. If it had been, I would have lost out on a lot of extremely special people who passed through - or remain in - my life.

Sexual orientation isn't catching and I have never been proselytized to switch - though I have been propositioned by people of a variety of orientations. I found it flattering but my choices were made at conception so it was no threat or imposition. When I was single, I must admit, I made advances to a number of women who were gay. People do not wear signs stating sexual orientation - or at least they didn't when I was young and single. When rejected, I didn't take offense. We are what we are.

The only kind of people I reject are ones who try to make my life more difficult. Other than that, I'm easy!

Erica, please. That's a pretty tired old line. We've all been through the same indoctrination in political correctness, and we know what we're supposed to say. Pavlov rings the bell, we start to slobber.

I didn't attack anybody. I merely asked a couple of questions (which, by the way, have not yet been answered) regarding the internal motivations of a group of people who themselves choose to make their sexual choices the centerpiece of their lives. The result, which I did fully expect, is that I am accused of discriminating against a class of people, my completely honest disclaimer to the contrary notwithstanding.

The case simply cannot be made that homosexuals are a victim class in our society. As a group, they are better educated and have higher income than the rest of us. So who discriminates against whom?

Well, let me see! Why GAY instead of "LESBIAN" or HOMOSEXUAL?

1) It's easier.

2) It doesn't evoke the same response from the non-gay side.

3) We like it.

4) I really don't give a whit what you call me. Call me Lesbo, Dyke, Ho, Homosexual, Queer... any of those will do. I am, above all, a human, just like you.

5) Who cares? I am forever fascinated with WHY anyone else would care about my sexuality. It's nobody's business.

6) Once it becomes a non-issue, i.e, the discrimination is gone, we'll melt into the woodwork like everyone else.