Why do people in the rest of the world say "gays"?

[erratic]

Coming from Canada, where it seems that everyone says "gay men," "gay people" or "queer men" when referring to gay men, I find it somewhere between quaint an bizarro when people use the word "gays" to describe them.

What's up with "gays"?

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Erratic, I think some Canadians say 'gays.'

 

[B_Think_Kink]

I usually say gay men or gay individual(s).

 

[No_Strings]

Huzzah! The gays are coming! The gays are coming!

:grouphug::dance:

:tongue:


I've never the term collectively like that, and I haven't heard many people do it either to be honest.

 

[frizzle]

Dunno, just a collective term for gay people. But then again I only ever hear Brits use the term "poofs".

 

[erratic]

Erratic, I think some Canadians say 'gays.'

Okay, Alberta and Scott Thompson aside. :wink:

 

[erratic]

Dunno, just a collective term for gay people. But then again I only ever hear Brits use the term "poofs".

My niece says "poofs" but she means "farts."

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Okay, Alberta and Scott Thompson aside. :wink:

Funny. My salad daze were in Alberta.
You psychic, boi?

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

Dunno, just a collective term for gay people. But then again I only ever hear Brits use the term "poofs".

A perfectly reasonable answer.
Hey, you're losing your asshole quality.
Big change.
May I ask why?

 

[D_Keziah Binbanger]

In Quebec we say "gays" but in French so it's "gais"...

 

[frizzle]

A perfectly reasonable answer.
Hey, you're losing your asshole quality.
Big change.
May I ask why?

I'll always be your arsehole :wink:

 

[D_Gunther Snotpole]

I'll always be your arsehole :wink:

Let 'er ripppppp.

 

[elf]

I think "gay people" is just more polite than "gays" as "jewish people" sounds better than "jews".

 

[B_becominghorse]

Coming from Canada, where it seems that everyone says "gay men," "gay people" or "queer men" when referring to gay men, I find it somewhere between quaint an bizarro when people use the word "gays" to describe them. What's up with gays.

Lots of people say 'gays', I think it's more frequent than anything but 'gay people' or 'gay men' or gay guys', and maybe even more so. 'Queer men' is almost never said except by radical gays themselves. I never refer to myself as a 'queer man', never having found this interesting, nor 'gay man', but rather 'homosexual', which is the only way it stays sexy. I actually think 'gay' is a stupid term, but I use it because it's common usage, but 'queer' still has the old negative connotations as well, not just the activist ones, and a lot more than 'gay' does. The difference in 'gayness' and 'homosexuality' is light-years to me, but most use 'gay,' I think, in some form. I love being a homosexual, but I don't like being 'gay' or 'queer'. I think they could even be said to be forms of euphemism (of different kinds, but subtly avoiding the most important fact). Also, 'gay women' is used and makes little sense, because 'gay' obviously was made for males and comes from the stereotypes of silliness associated with gay men, and which are not part of all homosexuals, but definitely do exist like crazy, no matter what the politics tells you.