Gay Today: Quote

Quotes & Quips

Compiled By Jack Nichols

Gay: The Use of a Word

The most common meaning of gay in everyday use is now 'homosexual'. Many people regret the loss of the older meanings 'jolly', 'merry', 'bright', 'colourful'; they can still be used, but only with great care when there is no possible ambiguity. As a noun, gay usually refers to a man. Many homosexual women prefer the older term lesbian, although some will use gay as an adjective: I'm a lesbian; I'm gay. Gay people may use queer among themselves, but regard its use by heterosexuals as offensive.

The Hutchinson Guide to English Usage

GLBT : A News Man's Response

For the sake of readable newswriting, for the sake of the trees that are cut down to produce newspapers, and for the sake of Internet bandwith, the word "gay" in Wockner International News should, when relevant, be interpreted to be inclusive of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, transvestites, transgendered people, two-spirited people, intersexed people, men-who-have-sex- with-men, women-who-have-sex-with-women, queers, fags, dykes, homosexuals, sexual minorities, and people who are unsure of their sexual orientation but think they might be gay.

Here is an example: "Toronto's gay-pride parade is bigger than Vancouver's." When "gay" refers only to homosexual males, Wockner International News will use "gay male," "gay men" or a similar appropriate construction.

When any one of the classes of people listed above makes news by itself, this group will be named precisely. For example: "Transsexuals Picket Parliament," or "Bisexuals Crash HRC Dinner."

Rex Wockner—International News Report, August 16

Comedian: Hey, But I'm Not Gaaaay!

Why is everyone making these assumptions? Maybe it's because I'm single, in my 30s and work in showbusiness. Maybe it's because I am naturally flirtatious with both men and women. Maybe it's because of that time at my gran's funeral, when I was caught by all my friends and family rimming the vicar in the vestry. I'm joking – we were just kissing. No, we weren't. None of that happened. Really. Sorry, I know it's pathetic trying to joke my way out of this, but however liberal a man thinks he is, there is still part of him that is afraid of the feelings that he tries to suppress. It's interesting that people who are opposed to homosexuals aren't called homosexualist, but homophobic. It's not about hatred, it's about fear. Not of them. Of yourself.

Comic Richard Herring (left): Kissing a vicar in a vestry is no joke ... but rimming him is damn funny!

Richard Herring—The Guardian
newspaper (London)—August 21

A Nose Grows in Texas

As Governor, Mr. Bush has pushed for welfare recipients convicted of felony drug possession to be cut off for life. He also approved a law that authorized jail time for those convicted of selling or possessing less than one gram of cocaine.

Alan Dershowitz—"Bush's Ill-Advised Silence"—The New York Times, August 21

Cocaine? Will He Say He Did?

That's a game. And you just fell in the trap. I refuse to play. Do I think the rumors are planted? I know they're planted. And they're ridiculous and absurd.

George W. Bush, Jr.--Republican Presidential Candidate—Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Its Hard to get Good Help these Days

The Central Intelligence Agency announced today that it had suspended the security clearance of its former Director, John M. Deutch, after concluding that as Director he had improperly handled national secrets on a desktop computer at his home.

Steven Lee Myers—" Former Chief of CIA Is Stripped Of Right to Classified Information" The New York Times— August 21

Cat's Diary

Day 752—My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant.

Cat's Diary—Paradox magazine, September

The Grander Heights of Conspicuous Display

I believe that the main project for gay and lesbian pairings should be the creation of something other than wasteful extravagance, should be the building of a common culture based on thoughts, ideas, shared values.

Brendan Lemon—"Last Word"—The Advocate, August 31

A Call to Joy

Joy is the energy of life. Imagine it as a tiny flame alive in every cell, ready to dance outward at the first hint of permission….Part of the energy is sexual. Yet, there's a lot more involved than just getting each other into the sack. Joy is erotic in the broadest sense, a creative force that infuses every interaction with others and the world. It inspires us to bring forth new life wherever we turn our attention. Maybe we access it by claiming and enjoying our sexual gifts to their fullest measure. Maybe we let the same energy inspire us to create through art or other forms of personal expression. Maybe we let it infuse our jobs, our relationships, even our dreams with passion and spontaneity.

John R. Stowe—Visionary--The Newsletter of Gay Spirit Visions, Vol. 5, No. 2

What's Past is Past

There's no way we should-- or can—look to reconstruct the conformist, statist America of the Forties or Fifties. America is funky, dynamic, uncouth and ever changing by nature, and the "mood of self examination" of people in their 30s is going to lead not to a Fifties revival but—if we're lucky—to a dynamic "new way of being" with "new vices" and "new sins".

Mark Satin—"Cultural Decline is Out, Funk and Hope is In"—Mark Satin Report, July