I need to come out of the closet; for those you who aren’t aware, I am a word geek. I even own a book called Word Nerd. It is my ambition one day to fill a backpack with felt markers and pens, Tippex and Cif and travel our fair isle fixing the bad grammar and spelling mistakes on posters and billboards. So, when I go on about words, people usually roll their eyes and switch off, which is understandable as I have, on occasion,  bored myself. However, when some people read this they laughed:

Seventy-nine percent of [US] Democrats said they support permitting gay men and lesbians to serve openly. Fewer Democrats however, just 43 percent, said they were in favor of allowing homosexuals to serve openly.

“Those crazy Americans,” people chuckle. This is serious, though, and is an excellent example of how synonyms can, sometimes, have different meanings. Politicians and ‘interested parties’ know this, which is why we hear about “the fight against terror” and not “taking over the Middle East”. Our lot in the Dáil are as bad, just today the Taoiseach has called for “unity of purpose” in the government, in other words “toe the line lads and stop with the public bickering”.

So what does this all have to do with us gays? It’s interesting that, while US voters who identify as Republican don’t care about “gay” or “homosexual” – they hate us either way, Democrats, who would historically be considered friends to the LGBT community, see “homosexual” as worse than “gay”.

“Homosexuals” seem to be sodomites, sexual vampires who scour the world looking for their next sexual conquest; “gays” on the other hand are seen as funny, smart and they smell so nice.

Just look at any right-wing Christian literature, or ex-gay website. Ok don’t, it’s depressing but I’ve done it for you and you won’t see a gay in them; they’re full of homosexuals.

We’re as guilty in the LGBT community; notice that there is no H in there. So, has “gay” become de-sexed, a safe alternative to the reality that heteros are still a bit afraid of us? And just what do we do in bed anyway?

For lesbians, this is less a political question and more of a social issue. Why? Well, for better or worse, we’re not taken very seriously. Whether you’re a dyke or a lezzer, all you do is cuddle and read poetry and sure you’re a woman anyway so who cares? Women aren’t listened to in politics so, by extension, neither are lesbians.

On an personal level, some prefer dyke, some queer, some fag, some don’t care and are very Cage Aux Folles, I Am Who I Am, about it. (On a side note: isn’t that what God said to Moses too?)

We’ve spent many, many years de-mystifying and reappropriating words like queer, fag and dyke and it seems things have done a 180. Now the once accepted words are those used to whip us. Now, when a politician wants your vote, you’re gay or, even better, a member of that civilly conscious, recycling, middle class “gay and lesbian community”.  If they want the papist vote, you’re “homosexual” and a member of the sexually confused, to be pitied, will never be normal “homosexual community”.

So, people, listen to what said, the words really do matter.

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