SIGNIFICANT OTHER: Increasingly Significant Issue

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>By the way, I first heard the word "gay" here in Oberlin from a lesbian
>student who described herself to me as gay, in 1961.  Over the decades,
>"gay" has come more frequently to refer to men only.

Incidentally, as y'all may know, "gay" in sexual contexts retains a still
older sense in the English of South Asia AFAIK, and "gay girl"/"gay-girl"
is conventional for "prostitute" (or sometimes "promiscuous woman" I
think). This is said to reflect Victorian-era British usage.

 From the Pakistani Web-newspaper DAWN (2002):

<<Insiders said that some cinema houses had become 'booking points' of
gay-girls under the cover of musical shows and dramas.>>

 From the Bangladeshi Web-newspaper "Daily Star" (2002):

<<There are some hotels where boarders are not visible. Gay-girls and
'customers' are seen visiting frequently these hotels both at day and night
time. There are 17, such hotels, 10 in Shaheb Bazar area, two in Laxmipur,
three in Rani Bazar and two in Railway Station and Bus Terminal area.
Police often arrest gay-girls and their 'customers' from these hotels.>>

-- Doug Wilson