Law Weblog

“Gay” not “homosexual”

The Lord Chancellor has banned the word “homosexual” from official documents in his department. Lord Falconer has ordered for the word to be removed on the grounds that it “may be considered offensive”.

Apparently the pressure group Stonewall regards the word as derogatory, “It originates from a medical definition when same-sex attraction was construed as mental illness.’ The report said “it should no longer be used in official documentation. Stonewall recommends that ‘lesbian, gay and bisexual’ is a more appropriate term.”

News report