How a Gay Slur Beme a Part of My Inty | Bon Appét

Contents:

• WHAT DO “UY” MEAN? THE ORIGS OF THE TERM “U” TO SCRIBE A GAY MAN
• HOW A GAY SLUR BEME A LC PART OF MY INTY
• UY GAY
• FY GAY ED MEANG

WHAT DO “UY” MEAN? THE ORIGS OF THE TERM “U” TO SCRIBE A GAY MAN

Much like the words queen and queer, “u” is a slur that has been hurled agast gay men for s. But over time, gay men have begun to reclaim the word the same way that “queen” and “queer” have bee an nocuo part of our lexin, and today e as a term of enarment rather than a rogatory ment on one’s effemacy and attractn towards other men.

Ironilly, the term may have origated om the gay muny self.

Pretty soon, Bra’s gay muny adopted this , transformg to a “vehicle for mpery, bchs, filthy jok, and nuendo”. The word “u” was jt one of many slang words that gay men would throw at each other to poke fun at their effemacy. The evolutn of this slang was perhaps not unlike that of the Amerin gay lgo that n be traced back to the drag and ballroom culture of the 1980s, where “readg” was, as RuPl says, fundamental.

HOW A GAY SLUR BEME A LC PART OF MY INTY

At the time, homosexualy was nsired viant – a mental illns to be rrected through lobotomi, electroshock treatment, and chemil stratn. Over time, the words “u” and “uke” beme ls of an si joke the gay muny and more of a weapon that straight people uld e to remd gay people of their otherns.

For some olr gay men who lived through this era, the term “u” is as hurtful and offensive as the term “f*ggot”. Soon after, the term beme a popular homophobic slur, meant to rerce the ia that gay men were sexual viants.

Some argue that gay people shouldn’t even be llg themselv queer, given all the pa that many olr gay men still attach to . Or at least, the meang that homophob clung to when they hurled the words at .

UY GAY

And more than jt as a term of enarment, the reclaimed “u” uld be ed as a way to celebrate the softns, tenrns, and femy that gay men have felt wrong for so long. My fave sp on is uy pebbl for morng gays, u salad for healthy gays, u juice for thirsty gays, and i thk you get.

FY GAY ED MEANG

Navigatg the world as a gay person is leaps and bounds different than was all those s ago. And while homophobia and transphobia most fely still exist around the world – and even our own backyards – there are people, plac, and moments that serve as solid remrs that LGBTQ people do serve and have a place this world. If they’re a iend, then perhaps ’s a light jab, perhaps a celebratn of gayns, perhaps a ltle b of both.

While some only hear the word “uy” through edians or the morn-day “gay TikTok, ” rurrectg LGBTQ language allows a narrative that mak sexualy a mon nversatn the everyday.

Gay men pecially would e the term among themselv, gently pokg fun at their feme quali. Fast forward to 1952, and the APA’s manual had fed beg gay as a “socpathic personaly disturbance, ” issug a need for therapy volvg physil and mental procr the hop of “curg” homosexualy.