Probably the #1 thing I hope to impress on younger gay people is please don't use "gay panic" to mean something positive because it has a very specific extremely negative meaning that a lot of people are going to have an instant reaction to
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in reply to @dog's post:
It's also kind of unnerving when I hear people older than me use it
I've seen (mostly younger, mostly online) people use "gay panic" for, like. The feeling of being overwhelmed with attraction for someone. Which is extremely different from what "gay panic" means to me
That makes three definitions I now know of: The two you mentioned, and one where a straight person realizes they may not be straight (due to the overwhelming attraction) and can't handle it so they freak out or lash out in some way. This particular use is more common in media, and it seems to be used by younger people.
I don't like it much either.
I had some kids (ages 25-36) tell me they were "reclaiming" it and oh honey, no
Oh god I didn't even know about this, I've never used it but thanks for bringing it to my attention!