does the word gay usually include lesbians to you?

No, "gay man" is what comes to mind, however I am aware that the meaning is changing to refer to both genders.

 

Yeah now that I think about it, it's kind of weird to me. Why can't gay refer to lesbians too? Gay means homosexual attraction. If you're a lady who likes other ladies, you're a gay lady. And same for the guys. Free up the alphabet soup for another letter

 

Although I use both, I think It's weird. Straight, bisexuality, and being trans refers to both genders. People may argue that homosexuals of different genders face different issues and types of oppression, but so do bisexuals and trans people.

Also lesbian sounds more like a porn term than a sexuality.

 

I prefer to use "gay" for both men and women. I'm not much of a fan of the term lesbian but I'll use it for women who prefer it.

Lesbian is an odd term though. It's both a sexual orientation and a political affiliation. Perhaps I'm mistaken but it's a separate term because radical feminists who identified as political lesbians wanted it to be separate, so that their issues weren't 'manned out' by gay men. I could be totally wrong about that though. Not sure where I picked that information up...

 

Yes~. Lesbians are gay~.

 

To me someone who is gay is someone who is attracted to the same sex/gender.

 

Straight guys like girls so they're lesbians and straight girls like guys so they're gay. EVERYONE'S GAY! ride:

 

I dislike the word lesbian. I alway use the word gay. It's more serious and more essential (because it can be used also for guys).

 

Of course.

Gay=homosexuality in general

---------- Post added 13th Mar 2015 at 09:54 AM ----------

Saying "gay and lesbians" sounds redundant to me

 

I think there were a few points in my life when I heard a woman say it and I said "But....she's a lesbian?"

I personally think of gay with men and lesbian for women. It's just how I've grown up and I think it works well for me.

 

I tend toward the thinking that "gay" is an umbrella term depending on the usage. It applies to both men and women, and when talking about gay people as a group it sort of covers the "LGBT" category. It just feels like there is more "wiggle room" in the meaning for me, vs. "lesbian" which very specifically means a woman only attracted to women.

 

Gay means homosexual to me so yeah it does include lesbian women.

 

I like the word lesbian better and calling myself gay is problematic -_-

 

Yep, this is me. I'm really not fond of the term lesbian and do prefer gay, myself. The term gay seems more personal because it lends to feeling instead of just something you are. So I guess I kind of think I am gay because I feel an attraction to the same sex, but I am a lesbian because I'm female and gay. I don't go around talking about myself in the third person, why would I refer to myself as a lesbian?

 

I usually use the word for men but in some cases it can include women.

 

When I think of gay I usually think of a man that's attracted to another man .But I have heard many people using it for everyone even lesbian . Some women even call themselves gay .
I call my self lesbian because I just like the word better , plus it's very accurate when it comes to my sexual orientation .

 

I personally prefer gay. Gay just sounds so much more positive to me. Like yeah there are some assholes that use it to mean stupid of something like that but a lot of people I know are pretty comfortable with the word gay and use it in a good way. But lesbian, at least in my experience, is always treated as if it were dirty. When talking about a homosexual woman they know, girls always whisper it and glance around as if it were wrong to even say that. I only ever hear guys use it to make fun of girls for not dating them or dressing a certain way. I had some really bad experiences being bullied by a guy and being called a lesbian like it was the worst thing I could be. It all just makes me sort of uncomfortable with the word. I still use it because it's generally more accepted but I usually prefer calling myself gay.

 

Depends. Without context yes.

 

Yep. Lesbians are homosexual women, and gay means homosexual. :icon_wink That's really all there is to it.