Lesbians and 'Gays'
» Love and Lust
North Carolina has a decent gay newspaper, The Front Page. A headline on the latest issues says "Gays and Lesbians [do something or other]."
One of the first sections you see in Books Do Furnish A Room is "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender."
I'll admit to wickedly smiling that Lesbian comes first. Back when the acronym "lgb (eventually)t" the letter 'l' came first. I remember enough about the intramural fisticuffs of gay politics know be fairly sure that the letter's precedence emerged because there were gay men who wanted to make it clear they weren't part of the partriarchy. I'm apt to color my own speech for kindred reasons.
I wouldn't claim to know the social discomforts that a sane woman living in an unsane place can experience. I remember once going with a woman friend to drop off some photos. The clerk kept making eye contact with me first. They were her pictures. Am educational moment.
My wicked smile came because the ordering of "lgbt" is ladies first. Not that I care.
What did strike me was the implication that there are gays and there are lesbians. That 'gay' somehow means gay men.
Well, that is better than the invidious implcations of teenagers saying "thats so gay."
