Definition:
– sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex
– of, relating to, or used by homosexuals
– happy and excited : cheerful and lively

Found in:
“Miss Furr and Miss Skeene” by Gertrude Stein

The word “gay” is widely used throughout the text (136 times, to be more exact). Back when it was written, in 1925, the word in question had exclusively the connotation of “happy and excited : cheerful and lively”. Many people attribute Stein’s work for having baptized the term with the meaning “homosexual”, as we are used to nowadays, due to the homoerotic-charged feel of the essay.

That reminds me of the 1943 Busby Berkeley Technicolor Musical, “The Gang’s All Here” starring (my idol) Carmen Miranda. Below, you can see a clip from the movie where she says “gay” several times. Almost 20 years after “Miss Furr and Miss Skeene” was written, the word is still mentioned without its most current meaning (or is it?). She says: “Some people say I dress too gay/ but everyday I feel so gay/ and when I’m gay I dress that way/ something wrong with that?/ No!”