Ernie at Little.Yellow.Different. wrote about his experiences, or seemingly lack thereof, of one particular "community" within the "gay community." I replied to his post and started to think about the terminology and its connotations we use in the term "gay community." I wonder if people who use it in fact mean different things at different times? For example, when I think of the "gay community," the only communal, or rather common, element I can think about is being gay. Period. Nothing about fashion or finance or education or zip-code or preferences or bars. Does simply being gay make one a part of the "gay community?" That somehow seems to be too surface-level, but perhaps I am over analyzing this. I think the term "community" has meanings beyond only attraction to one' own sex, but I wonder . . .

What does being part of the "gay community" mean?