gay or not gay...?

Ever since I read Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, I've been on a lookout for Murakami's works. Back in 2009, it was still difficult to find his books but nowadays it's way better. I should learn how to be content but sometimes it's quite a challenge when you're too fussy or too adamant. Just a few days ago I downloaded all his e-books. I do support e-books but simply because I adore his works so much, once again I went out to hunt for the physical genuine ones today (the last Murakami book I bought was about 3 weeks ago-- speak of being broke).

Saddened by the fact that most bookshops do not have a brand new copy of Kafka on the Shore, I picked up Sputnik Sweetheart. Bloody thin but I think After Dark is thinner. Despite its so called lack of content, I still bought it because the synopsis was convincing enough and it was also out of ire that they do not have a clean copy of Kafka. Yes, I'm about to get to the core of my post.

If you're easily offended by homosexuality, do not continue reading. I won't be responsible if you feel like throwing up or killing me with a gigantic crucifix after you finish reading the post (I highly doubt you'll feel like doing so, there's nothing graphic about homosexuals down there). 

"..Surprised that she might after all be a lesbian, Sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend K about big questions in life..."

the word 'lesbian'. The L word to be exact (no pun intended) reminded me to update my blog.  Ponder this for a moment. Do you refer to your lesbian friends as LESBIANS? Or do you actually label them gay?

Now I've been observing people for quite some time. I can't help but notice how straight people like to label their lesbian friends as lesbians instead of gay friends. I'm not sure of other countries but in Malaysia, it is extremely rare for straight beings to say things such as "*inserts a girl's name* is gay". Prevalently, you'll hear things from straight people such as "*inserts girl's name* is a lesbian". It's like a rule that most straight beings adhere to, use the G word for males, the L word for females.

The funny thing here is (perhaps you won't find it funny but seriously, I find this REALLY funny), most lesbians like to label themselves gay or simply put, they use the word 'gay' in lieu of 'lesbian' in day to day conversations and whatnot. Of course, this is only applicable to english speaking people. I've a friend who said that she preferred being labeled 'gay' instead of a 'lesbian'. Hah.

In the LGBT community, statements like, "You're sooo gay" and "She's soooo gay" are really common but if things like that come out from your mouth when you're talking to a someone who hasn't been exposed much to LGBT related content or perhaps they themselves do not have lesbian or bisexual friends, they might give you odd looks. Now they're not to be blamed. 

With that said, I can't help suspecting that a girl/lady/woman is gay/bisexual when she uses the word 'gay' (as in to refer to all homosexuals including lesbians) because like I said, it's only common for gay girls to use that word. 

This post of mine might seem to contain stains of sophistry here and there but hey, do think about it. I have close to ZERO straight friends who use the word 'gay' when they speak of their lesbian friends. Close to zero means I do have a few straight friends who use the word 'gay' on girls. Thing is, her close friends belong to the LGBT community so she must have been exposed to terms like these. This is even more noticeable among adults. My parents/relatives/cousins who are way older than me have NEVER EVER used the word 'gay' to label female homosexuals.

Are you starting to think that my post is absurd? Believe me, this is not a joke post. I'm not babbling trash here. Your thoughts will be highly appreciated. :)