gaydirt -- new word?

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Oct 3, 2004, at 6:09 PM, John Baker wrote:

>         Google Groups has from 3/22/1989:...
>
>         Washington Post has from 4/23/1993:...

two different questions:  when did "gaydar" arise and spread within the
gay community, and when did it spread into wider usage (insofar as it
has)?

i know how fallible memory is, but i'm pretty sure i was using the word
in the 70s.  (i became active in gay rights groups in 1971 and hung out
with gayfolk from about 1964.)  lord knows i'm not going to try to go
through my correspondence from those days...

arnold