gay men and lesbians

Prolagus commented on the word gay men and lesbians

Lawyers made their closing arguments in the federal trial over the legality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage on Wednesday, framing the issue as a war between the civil rights of gay men and lesbians and the traditional understanding and role of marriage.

(source)

"Gay men and lesbians" confuses me. Why not "gays and lesbians"? Or "gay and lesbian persons", or "gay men and lesbian women"?

I have a feeling that using "gay" as a noun sounds somehow inappropriate, and I probably agree (instinctively; I don't know why). But why doesn't the same apply to "lesbian"?

June 17, 2010

reesetee commented on the word gay men and lesbians

In my experience, the same used to apply to "lesbian," but no longer does in most places.

Back in the day, at least in this area, the term "gay" was applied to both genders; during and after the height of the AIDS crisis, you'd more often hear "gay men" and "lesbians"--perhaps in an effort to differentiate between those gay people who were most directly affected by the disease (men) and those who were less often affected. I'm presuming that practice stuck.

June 17, 2010