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Gay
Also written: Gay, Gay people, Gays
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At a glance
Source-by-source
“Avoid defaulting to umbrella terms like gay or homosexual. … When referring to the broader community, queer (as in queer people) or LGBTQ (as in LGBTQ people) is appropriate – gay, however, is not.”
SumOfUs treats 'gay' as too narrow to serve as an umbrella for the LGBTQ community: when referring to the broad community, 'queer' or 'LGBTQ' is the right scope, and 'gay' should be reserved for specific references (gay man, gay couple). The guide accepts gay in its preferred-terms list but bars it from collective umbrella use.
“gay people [not homosexual (adj.) or homosexual(s) (n.)]. … 'Gay community' should only be used when a similar reference to another community would be appropriate, as in: The union's efforts to promote recognition of labor's contributions to human rights focused on the gay community.”
SEIU uses 'gay people' and explicitly rejects 'homosexual' as either an adjective or noun. The stylebook also gives a structural rule for collective use: 'gay community' is acceptable only in contexts where you'd write 'X community' about any other group — i.e., when the community-frame is genuinely operative, not as a stand-in for individuals.
“The Sierra Club uses 'LGBTQI' as a default term for people who identify as gay, transgender, bi, intersex, or queer. 'Gay' and 'queer' are also available to people as a self-description of their own community. Ask the person you are referring to how they would like to be described.”
Sierra Club defaults to 'LGBTQI' as the umbrella and treats 'gay' as a valid self-description for individuals or communities that use it for themselves — but the decision belongs to the subject, not the writer. Asking how someone identifies is the operative rule; gay isn't off-limits, but it isn't the default.
“Refers to men who are attracted to other men; preferred over homosexual, which connotes clinical context or references to sexual activity. Avoid using as a singular noun. … In headlines where space is limited, gay is acceptable to describe both.”
DSG treats gay as the preferred term over homosexual and gives a clear default split: gay for men, lesbian for women, with the subject's own preference as the override. The guide accepts 'gay' as a tight-headline shorthand for both, and explicitly bars 'gay' as a singular noun (don't write 'a gay').
“Men, women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.”
HRC defines gay as a same-gender attraction descriptor open to men, women, and non-binary people — broader than the men-only default found in older journalism style guides. The companion lesbian entry treats lesbian as the term for women (and non-binary people) attracted to women.
“Refers to men who are attracted to other men. Do not use as a singular noun: Juan is gay, not Juan is a gay. Acceptable in tight headlines and in quotations to refer collectively to gays and lesbians.”
NLGJA's 2025 stylebook treats gay primarily as describing men who are attracted to men, accepts it as a tight-headline shorthand for gays and lesbians, and bars its use as a singular noun. Companion entries treat 'homosexual' as obsolete for people, accept 'homosexuality' as the noun for the concept of same-sex attraction (most useful in scientific-research writing), and reject 'gay agenda' as a politically charged opposition framing.
Synthesis
The cross-source consensus on gay starts with what to avoid: don’t use “homosexual” for people. SEIU, DSG, and NLGJA all prefer “gay” and reject “homosexual” as an adjective or noun describing people. DSG gives the reasoning the corpus shares: “homosexual” connotes clinical context and historical references to sexual activity rather than identity, so treating it as the formal-register synonym for gay misreads the term’s baggage. NLGJA treats “homosexual” as obsolete for people and points instead to “homosexuality” as the noun for the concept of same-sex attraction, most useful in scientific-research writing. The second point of grammar is just as universal: gay is not a singular noun. Don’t write “a gay.” DSG and NLGJA make this explicit, and the pattern echoes the transgender-is-an-adjective rule from the rest of this chapter.
The corpus diverges on scope. DSG and NLGJA treat gay as primarily describing men, with lesbian as the parallel term for women; DSG’s “gay for men, lesbian for women” rule is the dominant pre-2020 default, with subject preference as the override. HRC takes a broader position in its 2023 glossary: gay is “a person who is emotionally, romantically or sexually attracted to members of the same gender,” and “men, women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves.” That is a genuine doctrinal split. HRC opens the term to anyone who self-identifies that way; DSG and NLGJA hold the men-as-default with subject-preference exception. Both positions are coherent, and the practical resolution is the same either way: defer to how the subject identifies.
The third thread runs through the progressive movement guides (SumOfUs, Sierra Club). Both say gay is not a substitute for an umbrella term. SumOfUs is most direct: “when referring to the broader community, queer (as in queer people) or LGBTQ (as in LGBTQ people) is appropriate — gay, however, is not.” Sierra Club defaults to LGBTQI as the umbrella and treats gay as a self-description the subject offers, not a writer-applied label. For activist and movement writing, “the gay community” works when describing gay people specifically, but “the LGBTQ community” or “queer community” is the correct umbrella when the broader scope is the point. SEIU adds a structural test: “gay community” should appear only in contexts where you’d write “X community” about any other group.
On associated phrasings, NLGJA rejects “gay agenda” as politically charged opposition framing, “gay lifestyle” as implying choice, and “avowed homosexual” as a slur-adjacent construction with no defensible neutral use. DSG and SEIU largely say the same. These rejections are settled across the corpus.
Audience notes
- Journalists and editors. Use “gay” as an adjective; don’t use it as a singular noun. For collective references, “gay people,” “gay men,” “gays and lesbians” (or “gay” alone in tight headlines per NLGJA and DSG). Don’t use “homosexual” for people; where a noun for the concept of same-sex attraction is needed, “homosexuality” is the acceptable form (most useful in scientific-research writing). “Gay agenda,” “gay lifestyle,” and “avowed homosexual” are not neutral phrasings; use “LGBTQ+ rights” or “LGBTQ+ advocates” as the substitute.
- Defaulting between gay and lesbian. When the subject’s preference isn’t known, DSG and NLGJA’s default of gay-for-men and lesbian-for-women is workable. When the subject has stated a preference, that overrides. Some women prefer “gay”; some lesbians prefer “lesbian” exclusively; HRC’s framing makes the broader read available.
- Umbrella references. Don’t use “gay” to describe the broader LGBTQ+ community. “LGBTQ+ community,” “queer community” (where the audience accepts the reclaimed sense), or “LGBTQI” (Sierra Club’s house default) carry the umbrella correctly. SumOfUs makes this the strictest rule in the corpus; SEIU’s “would you write X community about any other group” test is the practical check.
- Internal-comms and movement writing. Movement guides converge on broader umbrellas (queer, LGBTQ+) and reserve “gay” for the specific reference. External news copy follows DSG and NLGJA — gay-for-men, lesbian-for-women, with self-ID as override. Both rules respect the same underlying principle: gay isn’t an umbrella; treat it as a specific identifier.
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