In the 12th Century, the word ‘gay’ meant ‘carefree’, ‘full of mirth’, or ‘bright and showy’. By the 17th Century, it had also come to mean ‘addicted to pleasures and dissipations’ and ‘of loose and immoral life'.

In the 19th Century, ‘gay’ referred to a woman who worked as a prostitute. A ‘gay man’ was, ironically, someone who slept with lots of female prostitutes.

By the 1930s, ‘gay’ had assumed its modern meaning and by 1955 it was formally defined as meaning ‘homosexual’.

Gay men, themselves, encouraged the use of the term ‘gay’, feeling that ‘homosexual’ sounded too clinical and was a bit of a mouthful.

The series celebrates the labels that help people express their individuality and define their place in the world.