then identified as having AIDS] are homosexual men. Most are Caucasians in their 30's and 40's ... [with] a sex life that has included many partners, more than 500 in several cases." In 1983, Time introduced the word "life-style" in the context of the search for the cause of AIDS. The newsweekly first used the word when quoting Dr. James Curran of the CDC, saying: "When AIDS was confined to the gay community ... our efforts were concentrated on trying to dissect out life-style differences. ... The life-style theory does not, however, explain the emergence of AIDS in non-gay populations." And so it was that the term "life-style" when applied to gay men started to connote sexual promiscuity. This equation came into sharper focus in 1983 (on July 4), when Time ran the headline, "The Real Epidemic: Fear and Despair: AIDS ... is changing the gay lifestyle." The article went on to report that, "AIDS has clearly changed the rules of the sexual game for homosexuals. Anonymous and casual sex can be fatal." And, it concluded: "Unquestionably, AIDS is reshaping homosexual communities and pushing many toward mainstream mores." This approach changed slightly as Time began to report on gay men's fears about contracting AIDS in this way (August 12, 1985): "For most of them, even that large conservative percentage that never enjoyed fast-track, promiscuous sex, [fear of AIDS] is the overriding issue of their lives." Nonetheless, the rest of the article went on to focus on the promiscuous minority, reporting: "the AIDS crisis has caused a drastic change in the life-styles of those homosexuals who were accustomed to multiple partners." The 1990's: Gays and Lesbians in the Military Words Used in the 1990'sabnormal go-go boysacknowledged homosexual lipstick lesbianavowed gay, homosexual pervertbiker dyke poofter...
