Magic Words: "Gay"
How redefining "gay" has changed perceptions.
Previously, we looked at the notion of “Magic Words:” words which have been imbued with a magical-type power to change the course of conversations and even thinking. The postmodern movement argued that words have no intrinsic meaning and are just masks for power. It should then not surprise us those who thought in this way would then start to use words as a means of power and control over thought. I have dubbed the words they use to form discourse to be “Magic Words.” We will start to look at specific magic words, starting this week with “Gay.”
Gay is a curious word that within the last 50-60 years has seen a shift in its primary meaning. Many of us may remember growing up with the cartoon The Flintstones with its theme song promising “We’ll have a gay old time.” Likewise, in the beloved Christmas carol “Deck the Halls,” we sing “Don we now our gay apparel.” These songs clearly have no sexual overtones whatsoever. Rather, gay used to mean to be merry or lighthearted.
Today, however, it seems archaic to speak this way. The word is now almost universally used for homosexuality. What happened?
From Stately to Homosexual
Well, it is, as is often the case, not a clear or simple path. In the 14th century, gay started out meaning to be “stately and beautiful; splendid and showily dressed.” By the end of the 19th century, it came to include the idea of promiscuity, such that a “gay house” was a brothel. One can imagine how this came from how brothels tended to be showily decorated, and the idea of being “gay” could include having lighthearted sexual adventures. It seems this word slowly took a more homosexual tinge during the 20th century. [1]
Nevertheless, the old meaning of simply lighthearted and celebratory continued to be the common usage of the word, with homosexuality as a secondary slang usage. The shift happened during the same time the very notion of homosexuality arose. By the early 20th century Sigmund Freud had developed the notion that one’s sexual behavior was key to their personal identity.[2] For Freud, being homosexual was a mental disorder, but soon those who engaged in this lifestyle started to push back and insist they were fine. This led them to embrace the term “gay” as a more positive definition of themselves.
Then, under the influence of Michel Foucault, this became a more concerted effort. Foucault, one of the leading thinkers in the development of postmodernism and deconstruction, argued words have no meaning in themselves, rather a writer uses those words in order to try to influence, or exercise power, over others.
The basic idea of deconstruction, therefore, is to try to take a part a piece of writing to find what sorts of hidden power plays are going on. Deconstructionists try to determine what the author was trying to do with the choice of words, as those words control people by influencing their thoughts.[3] However, there is a flip side to this idea. If every work of writing and word choice is really a play for power, why not use this intentionally? Foucault, who was a homosexual, argued the homosexual rights movement should reinvent itself and change the discourse by controlling the words which were used.
This thinking was then applied by the homosexual, or gay, rights movement of the 1960s and 70s. At this time, the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) monumental Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) listed homosexuality as a mental disorder. Due to this, as well as society’s broader disapproval of homosexuality, it was determined they had a branding issue. So, as of 1971, gay came to be defined as "a (usually male) homosexual."[4] By rebranding themselves, they were able to change the term which was used from one with a negative connotation to one with a positive one. The very use of the term “gay” implies these men are living happy, carefree lives, which makes one more likely to support them.
This shift ended up carrying over into the APA voting in 1973 to remove homosexuality from the DSM and replace it with “sexual orientation disturbance” for those who are “in conflict with” their sexual orientation. Then, in 1987 the APA completely removed homosexuality from the DSM.[5]
The power of “Gay”
In many ways, homosexuals, both male and female, are now a protected class in our society. Growing legal protections are given to this group based purely upon a behavior. One of the key elements to this shift is the now positive portrayal of homosexuals. This has infiltrated movies, television, books, and even commercials. However, one of the first key moves which was made was the renaming of male homosexuality as “gay.”
With this positive image, a lifestyle which had been considered to be repugnant by the vast majority of the population around the world was now seen in a positive light. The Declaration of Independence declared: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Well, if everyone has a right to the pursuit of happiness, the logic goes, then we should not oppose someone who is gay.[6] This logic actually has two equivocations in it. First, when Jefferson wrote of “the pursuit of Happiness,” he was referring to seeking the Good (or upright) Life, not pleasure. Second, as we have seen, “gay” is no longer being used as a synonym for happy. Nevertheless, the Magic Word, “gay” ends up subtly framing the way one thinks of things, even without their realizing it.
Herein is the real danger of “Magic Words;” they end up distracting us from the real issue and questions at hand. When the life of a homosexual is described as “gay,” it implies that this is a happy and therefore good; however, the real questions are unasked: “Are homosexuals, overall, happy people?”; “Is homosexuality a healthy lifestyle for the individual?”; “Is homosexuality a healthy thing for a society to promote?”.
[1] “Gay,” Dictionary, Online Etymology Dictionary, 28 October 2022, https://www.etymonline.com/word/gay.
[2] Jerome Neu, “Freud, Sigmund,” in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, ed. Robert Audi, Second. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 332.
[3] It should be noted that Deconstructionists argue that an author often doesn’t even realize the power-plays they are doing, so this is not always considered to be intentional.
[4] “Gay.”
[5] Neel Burton, “When Homosexuality Stopped Being a Mental Disorder | Psychology Today,” Psychology Today, 24 June 2024, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201509/when-homosexuality-stopped-being-a-mental-disorder.