The AP Stylebook updated their LGBT oriented entries last months after a gazillion years of being behind in terminology. GLAAD wrote a press release applauding this change;, but LGBTQ media groups have been letting the AP know they were off the mark for years. In fact, the NLGJA, National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association has had a stylebook with preferred language and phrases for several years now. While the updates are a sign of progress, The New York Times and several other major news sources stopped using the word “homosexual” back in the late 1980’s except on rare occasions. They will finally stop using the phrase “sexual preference” (preference conjures that tricky debate of choice—Are you born gay? Did you choose? As if this were a question still worth asking), will restrict the use of “homosexual” (because it’s so medical, formal and yucky and connotes a strictly sexual and non-affectional relationship), and will begin using the word “transgender.” Baby steps.

According to GLAAD:

In the previous edition of the AP Stylebook (2005), the entry for gay read as follows:

Gay: Acceptable as popular synonym for both male and female homosexuals (n. and adj.), although it is generally associated with males, while lesbian is the more common term for female homosexuals. Avoid references to gay, homosexual or alternative "lifestyle."

The updated 2006 entry reads:

Gay: Used to describe men and women attracted to the same sex, though lesbian is the more common term for women. Preferred over homosexual except in clinical contexts or references to sexual activity.

Include sexual orientation only when it is pertinent to a story, and avoid references to "sexual preference" or to a gay or alternative "lifestyle."

Will we see the death of that ludicrous, amorphous thing called the “gay lifestyle” when the AP Stylebook come out this spring? While we’re celebrating that they’ve gotten rid of the word “lesbianism,” maybe the AP can include a bit about actually writing stories about LGBTQ citizens in the first place.