myth V truth

Myth: The word GAY for homosexuals comes from the Stonewall riots where the police were marching on the crowd while the crowd was doing a Tiller Girls dance back at the police chanting 'We are as GOOD AS YOU - GOOD AS YOU - G.A.Y. ' There is no evidence to back this up at all.

TRUTH: In centuries past, single women - who needed a man for financial support, were called SPINSTERS and a single woman was seen with pity.

Single men were called ' BATCHELORS GAY' - meaning HAPPY TO BE SINGLE - and not seen as a bad thing but a good thing. Not homosexual - just happy NOT to be married and ' playing the field' - 'spreading his oats' - enjoying being single. Eventually the word gay became embroiled with single men and eventually homosexual single men and gay became the word for homosexuality.