Amelioration or perjoration of words

[Inchante]

this topic reminds me of a conversation on another site that actually turned quite toxic.

It was started by a few gay men who had decided that they no longer wanted to be known as "gay", because that term reflected someone (in their minds) who was not what they were......loud, effeminate, showy, catty/bitchy.

They went on to declare themselves "androphilies" after reading the book "Androphilia - A Manifesto" by Jack Malebranche, an author who rejects gay culture, and feels that the word "gay" should be done away with.

I must admit, I've not read the book, so I can't give a review on it or the content.

It should be androphiles. And I have to disagree with words like homophile and androphile. Too much Latin/Greek is never good. It makes one sound like an animal or disease, neither of which are very good if we want to be viewed as what we are--human.