“These shifts always reflect a change in sensibility.”

Sometimes it slips away from us, especially in a place where sensibility seemingly went to die, but words and ideas matter.

The Decline and Fall of the ‘H’ Word; For Manys Gays and Lesbians, the Term ‘Homosexual’ is Flinch-Worthy, by Jeremy W. Peters (NYT)

To most ears, it probably sounds inoffensive. A little outdated and clinical, perhaps, but innocuous enough: homosexual.

But that five-syllable word has never been more loaded, more deliberately used and, to the ears of many gays and lesbians, more pejorative ...