Date:  Fri, 22 Dec 1995 09:21:38 -0600

From:  "Kathleen M. O'Neill" <koneil1[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UIC.EDU>

Subject: Re: WOTY from David Barnhart



>The earliest concrete example we have in the Random House Dictionary

>of American Slang files is 1994, and we've read a moderate amount of

>gay sources. We do have several attestations of earlier use, such

>as Beth's and Ron's above. However, I've also asked a number of

>people who have been active in the New York gay community for years

>who've said that they just learned it six months ago. I'd suggest,

>therefore, that while probably dating back to the 1970s, its wide

>dispersal--even within some gay communities--is very recent.



Well, I don't date back 14 years in my usage of

term, but I can definitely vouch for longer than

six months -- in fact, back to 1991. That's when

I first heard the term, and it was commonly used

among the new group of friends from whom I learned it.



I imagine I'd have heard it sooner had I not grown

up in an environment where, for example, I never once

heard the word "bisexual." =^]



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