How old were you when first encountered the word "gay?"

[Emiliano]

I remember hearing my sisters say it when they talked about boys. When I was a kid we had a gay neighbor across the hall, that was explained to me at some point by one of my sisters too. I remember that because her explanation led to some confusion in my mind later about what two gay men actually did with each other.

There also was/is? a free children's theater in the village and maybe it was in 3rd grade that my class took a field trip there. I remember my teacher prepping us about other people's lifestyles before we went. A kid in my class clarified it was because that's where all the gay people lived. I remember being really curious about the trip, but super bored by the play.

I don't think I was very sheltered from the word or the concept. So much so that it's really hard to pinpoint the first time I heard it.