In 2020, the .gay domain launched and immediately started doing things differently. To support LGBTQ communities directly, .gay breaks the industry mold by donating 20% of all new registration revenue to benefit LGBTQ nonprofit groups. The extension raised $148,864.41 during 2020 for its inaugural LGBTQ beneficiaries, GLAAD and CenterLink.
Additionally, the .gay Rights Protections Policy prohibits the use of .gay for harassing and hateful comment, and it provides specific, enforceable remedies for domains that intentionally use .gay to malign or harm LGBTQ individuals or groups. These industry-leading anti-hate policies are the first of their kind.
Business, Professional, and Personal use of .gay
One of the most interesting things about the launch of .gay was that nobody really knew what to expect! The .gay domain extension can be used in so many different ways by so many different people that even the .gay registry was not sure who the most enthusiastic adopters of .gay would be.
Turns out, .gay is used by tons of people and professionals that simply want a fun way to share their personal CV, their developer credentials, or their artistic portfolio. Tech-forward communities like developers and gaymers have been some of the most prominent groups using .gay. Oftentimes these sites aren’t made for showcasing LGBTQ content specifically, but rather because their creators identify within LGBTQ communities or are allied with them.
Big brand examples include Scribd.gay, Canal.gay, Absolut.gay, Etro.gay, CalvinKlein.gay, and Composely.gay. Small business examples include Canadian clothing and gift boutique TheQUILTBAG.gay, LGBTQ-owned therapy practice FullSpectrum.gay, coffee subscription service Coffee.gay, and vintage retailer VintageByBoogie.gay.
.gay sites just for fun!
One of our favorite things about the .gay namespace is the humor, playfulness, creativity, and wit that LGBTQ people share online. Many of the .gay domains we see are simply for fun! These domains are no less worthy of celebration than the professionals and businesses who use their websites in more “traditional” ways. Here are a few of our favorites:
Bus.gay: Just a happy gay bus waving a pride flag!
Calma.gay: Lady Gaga is always a good call.
CouldIBe.gay: Yes, yes you could.
DragonGirl.gay: This Dragon is GAY and there’s NOTHING you can do about it!
Heccin.gay: Tell a special someone that they are heccin’ gay/valid!
Hooray.gay: The power…. of RAINBOWS! Hooray!
I.Am.gay: This cute site lets you pull up your pride colors anywhere, anytime — and it includes ace, agender, aromatic, bi, enby, genderqueer, pan, sapphic, and trans members of LGBTQ communities as well.
ImHella.gay: These simple sites proclaiming LGBTQ existence and validity are actually amazing, and uplift all of us.
Ivan.gay: Someone made Ivan an animated .gay site for their birthday! Now that’s love and friendship.
Lil.gay: This teeny tiny site is currently occupying the #1 slot on 1024b.club.
Peachy.gay: Basically poetry in motion, lauding the all-important Peach emoji in modern discourse. (Click around and find out!)
Potato.gay: The gayest potato — with trauma-informed resources for LGBTQ people in crisis. 💗
Sheep.gay: The gayest sheep — with rainbows and horns! 😈
Smol.gay: In case lil.gay wasn’t enough teensy-eensy gayness
SuperDuper.gay: SpongeBob is gay Pride!
