Words can be like people. Once you get to know them, you can enjoy a friendship or move on and find others with whom you are perhaps more compatible. With this in mind, I am continually surprised that mainstream news outlets in this day and age still use the word "homosexual" as a friendly umbrella term to describe someone who is gay.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) publishes a reference guide that may be useful to underline this point. In the 8th Edition (Updated May 2010) in the "Offensive Terms to Avoid" section, the guide provides a simple explanation (below) of why the term "homosexual" is not the friendliest of words you can use to define or describe someone who is gay:

Offensive: "homosexual" (n. or adj.)

Preferred: "gay" (adj.); "gay man" or "lesbian" (n.); "gay person/people"

Please use "gay" or "lesbian" to describe people attracted to members of the same sex. Because of the clinical history of the word "homosexual," it is aggressively used by anti-gay extremists to suggest that gay people are somehow diseased or psychologically/emotionally disordered – notions discredited by the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association in the 1970s. Please avoid using "homosexual" except in direct quotes. Please also avoid using "homosexual" as a style variation simply to avoid repeated use of the word "gay." The Associ­ated Press, The New York Times and The Washington Post restrict use of the term "homosexual" (see AP, New York Times & Washington Post Style).

I guess the real question is whether or not people want to be friendly...