Why is homosexuaity still news today? — Page 2

although Joel Grey was not, in my opinion, "crush material," as soon as an attractive male comes out as gay, I can almost hear....

Back when I was last single (mid-70s) I wouldn't have kicked him out of bed.

(Sorry. TMI.)

He has a small part?

---

In answer to the OP's question, it isn't.

While we're on the subject, is "homosexuality" still an ok term? I thought the gay community wasn't particularly enamored of it. On the other hand, there's no good noun to describe the state of being gay -- "gayness" sounds silly, as far as I'm concerned. If "lesbian" and "lesbianism" are still accepted, I'm not sure why "homosexual" and "homosexuality" are not.

---

AHLiebross,
Gaveston, I suspect that there are so many May-December marriages in the performing world because people have seen clips of stars in their younger days and are able to see past their current age. Like you, they think about how "sexy" someone was in his or her (usually his, but not always) younger days.

Then there's Patrick Stewart, who acts WAY younger than his age, and, in my opinion looks the same way he did in STNG. His wife is less than half his age. I never thought of him as my type of "crush material," but I sure knew other women who did.

Of course, I'm straying FAR from the topic

While we're on the subject, is "homosexuality" still an ok term? I thought the gay community wasn't particularly enamored of it. On the other hand, there's no good noun to describe the state of being gay -- "gayness" sounds silly, as far as I'm concerned. If "lesbian" and "lesbianism" are still accepted, I'm not sure why "homosexual" and "homosexuality" are not.

---
None of this makes any sense!?

---

I heard disney is making a movie called pinces and it's about two gay princes.

---

"Homosexual" applies to both men and women, though. It's not the male version of "lesbian", like you seem to think.

---

I'm sure she meant considered a pejorative (by ignorant cretins).

---

My point is that I'm trying to discern what the polite terms are to refer to gay people in general and to the state of being gay.

In years past, "Negro" and "colored" were polite ways to refer to black people, but if someone uses the dated term "colored" today, that person may well be a bigot. Similarly, I'm concerned whether particular terms to describe gay people are dated.

Only a particular community can decide what it considers polite with regard to describing its members. I'm just trying to avoid insulting anyone.

---

I mean, I haven't heard anyone use the word "homosexual" in years. It's perfectly polite to just say "gay."

I think it's pretty simple. "Gay" is slang for homosexual just like "straight" is slang for heterosexual. I don't find any of the four offensive.

^ And some prefer "queer," which is fine by me as well.

The problem with "queer" is that in some places and to some people it is still used as a slur, so it's not wise for people who are not themselves queer to use the term.
Also,something to consider with "homosexual", the term exclusively applies to people who are sexually attracted to their own gender. There are people who are only romantically, and not sexually, attracted to their gender, so the word "gay" would apply to them, while "homosexual" would not.