So 3 questions 1. Is 'Gay' gender-neutral? I've seen both men and women use it but 'lesbian' seems to be reserved for women. 2. Is 'Gay' an adjective, noun or both? I've seen it used both ways. I'm sometimes okay with 'gays' or 'the gays' but 'a gay' makes me cringe. Again 'lesbian' is used both ways too. 3. Are non-binary individuals necessarily bisexual or asexual? I'm clueless about this one
In my experience, 'gay' can be used for both men and women, though some women prefer 'lesbian'. I agree that 'a gay' is cringeworthy. I don't think being non-binary inherently requires someone to define as bisexual. And asexuality has nothing to do with that at all.
Gay can be used by either sex, lesbian is used by women exclusively. I know some women who prefer to call themselves gay because they think lesbian sounds overtly sexual. Also, the word gay can be used as an adjective or a noun but I think it’s generally considered more respectful to say “gay people” as opposed to “the gays” lol. Sexuality does not influence someone’s gender and they’re not required to identify as bisexual nor asexual.
At least you, me, Chip, and George Orwell care about words. Your ear is not letting you down, using the noun is very reductive, essentialist. Adjectives or verbs ("I like guys") are much less ewww.
1. Yes. 2. Adjective, using it as a noun feels cringey to me. 3. No, gender and orientation are very much separate.
Personally I am a "Gay male", I like to refer to my self as Queer. It was once a negative term but it makes me feel like I have power over my sexuality.
