Gay vs Homosexual

There's something about the words "Homosexual", "Heterosexual", and even "Bisexual" that just don't sound right, I don't know why.

 

Did you know that in Sweden homosexuality was considered a disease until the late 1900's so you could call sick into work like " Yeah, I gotta case of the gays."

 

Labels are important to society — and have been since long before you and I walked this Earth. One characteristic of humans is that we label and categorize. You can even see that in the times of the ancient Romans. If you're a bottom, you might be called Pathicus which is a very blunt way of saying that you're a receiver. Or even Pusio which is boy or lad (fairly common in modern bdsm relationships the sub might be referred to as boy).

Of course male-male sex in ancient Roman culture is a well documented event, although it would be very different from what we're used to. Roman culture was based on of you were dominant/masculine/active or if you were submissive/feminine/passive. But, you couldn't normally freely penetrate a free-born male who was in good standing with society. There was specifically a law against this. However they were free to use male prostitutes, concubines, etc. In Roman society being penetrated was considered to be a loss of societal standing. There's even documented cases of two males doing the martial rites.

Anyways long story short: labels are great use whatever makes you happy. (Sorry I minored in historical empires the Romans are my favorite)

 

Ach no problem. I'm chock full of interesting information but I tend to be long winded.

 

Honestly, no matter what word we choose for ourselves, there are people who are going to hurl it as an insult. Plenty of people use "homo" as an insult, and even the full "homosexual" has been tossed around as an insult for non-homosexual related things. No matter what word we use for ourselves, there's an ignorant person out there waiting to use it as an insult. People at my high school, for instance, would sometimes use the words "black" or "Jewish" as an insult. For example, if someone couldn't get their locker open, they'd yell "My locker is being Jewish!"
I found the stupidity mind-boggling.
You can use whatever word you want though. It isn't really wrong. People will probably judge you for your choice of words though, it's unavoidable. If you use "homosexual," people might think of you as self-hating.
I personally don't use the word homosexual unless it's in a scientific context. To me, it's very reminiscent of plain old "homo" which has been hurled derogatorily way more than gay and queer has, and it has the syllable "sex" in it. See, that's the problem with people, it's where their minds always go. When they hear the word "homosexual," they hear "homoSEXual." One of my biggest problems with homophobic people is how they obsess over gay sex.
I never liked how the word "gay" is used as an insult, but it did grow on me. The word "queer" never grew on me, and I don't prefer to be labelled with it. Some people will still label me queer though, and I don't really care about it so long as they don't use it to my face. I don't really care how most people label me though, so long as they don't attach any blanket assumptions to it that are incorrect.
If you are having a conversation with someone and are prompted to clarify your sexual orientation, such as talking about dating, and you really don't want to say "I'm gay" or "I'm a homosexual," you could side step labels altogether by just saying something like "I only date guys." Of course, they'll probably immediately say something like "Oh, you mean you're gay?" But it will at least prevent you from having to say the word yourself.

 

Huh, I had no idea anyone would consider it homophobic. I'm curious how she learned that association. To me it just seems formal and like you said more syllables, but nevertheless accurate. You could say you like guys or dudes or whatever works for you since you're referring to yourself, the choice is yours. When referring to someone else then I'd use the word they prefer just like I would with gender.

 

The only time I've seen/heard it used was (aside from old scientific/medical papers) in a homophobic manner. Always comes across as clinical and like its some disease

 

It's not wrong per se. Sometimes I make jokes at my expense like " a raging homsexual". I know it's hypocritical, but me making jokes at my own expense is really the only time I feel okay with the term. I was trying to specifically think why I hate it, and I think it's basically what @gravechild said.

Where I'm from "that's gay" was left back in the 2000s ( or at least early 10's) lmao

 

Because of my age I can kind of relate to the OP I grew up in a time where anything not normal was “gay”. I can kind of see how you are desensitized to that word and feel that Homosexual has more of a punch to it. When I tell someone, I usually say “I’m into dudes.” Or “I like men, but not the thol cigarettes.” It kinda lightens the mood for the follow up convo, if there is gonna be one. But among my friends it’s not uncommon for me to refer to my self as a big ol mo, fag, homo, professional panty chaser(someone who likes drag queens) gay, but like you I find when I really want to punctuate that I like the same sex I use the word Homosexual. It just seems to be that sledgehammer of honesty. There’s no gray or kidding about it. It means what it means and someone can’t take it out of context.

 

I absolutely loathe the word "gay." I don't like it as a term for homosexuals, I don't even like it as a term for being happy. It's a word that whenever I hear it, makes me cringe. As you can probably tell from my username and profile picture, I'm a fan of William Burroughs, who was a homosexual, and when they asked him what being gay meant to him he said "I have never been gay a day in my life," and he preferred the term "queer," which is what I go by, too.

 

I prefer "queer" as an alternative to "LGBT". It rolls off the tongue better being one syllable as opposed to four, and especially if you include more abbreviations to such as "LGBTQIA", I think "queer" works much better. Plus, I can imagine homophobic people being especially annoyed with the abbreviations.

 

There's always "QUILTBAG," which is both an abbreviation and a word made from an abbreviation that covers most of the queer spectrum.

 

I think homosexual sounds sexy. I mean come on, it's got the words "homo" and "sexual" in it. What's not to like!