How come the word homosexual might (with some squeamishness to be sure) be applied to gay guys, but gay girls are called something else.

I am not surrounded by gay friends. My close circle of friends include a couple of gay guys and one gay girl.

I have observed that the word homosexual is rarely used to describe them, but when it is used, it is often applied to the guys, sort of a clinical term.

They all refer to themselves as gay, but the girls have a gender specific description-lesbian.

The guys seem to only have the word gay, but truth is that would include the girls.

None of them really like the word homosexual, but they don’t get pissed off about it either.

But either there is no gender specific word for homosexual men, or like many males, they don’t want to talk about it.

So, is there a gender specific word, like lesbian, that identifies gay men?