The term homosexual can be used as an adjective to describe the sexual attractions and behaviors of people attracted to the same sex. 2.8 Other late 19th and early 20th century sexological terms.Some communities have cants, a rich jargon used among a subgroup almost like a secret language, such as Polari in the U.K., and others. Numerous slang terms exist for homosexuals or homosexuality. Academia continues to coin related terms, including androphilia and gynephilia which designate only the object of attraction, thus divorcing the terms from sexual orientation entirely. Gay people may also be identified under the umbrella terms LGBT. Some of these words are specific to women, some to men, and some can be used of either. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Sapphic, Uranian, homophile, lesbian, gay, effeminate, queer, homoaffective, and same-sex attracted.
Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. Two men at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear indicate their identity with the word gay in the context of same-sex orientation, and protest its usage in the sense of stupid or uncool.
