The Fotten Secret Language of Gay Men - Atlas Obscura

Contents:

• POLARI: ORIG OF GAY SLANG (READ IT, MARY!)
• GAY SLANG 101
• GAY MARY ED MEANG
• GAY SLANG: A SECRET LANGUAGE THAT BEGAN AS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE
• THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
• 12 SLANG WORDS FOR GAY – USE THE TERMS TO ADDRS THEM!
• GAY DICTNARY ENGLISH

POLARI: ORIG OF GAY SLANG (READ IT, MARY!)

Homosexual subculture exprsn where one over the edge gay man dit that the news or cint that has happened to him isjt too terrible to expla (but he's gog to tell you anyway); Mary...

Many untri around the world have their own versn of queer slang, om Brish gay slang rived om the rhymg slang Polari to beki – the Philipp’ queer language that borrows om a slew of sourc, cludg pop culture, Japane, Spanish, and the untry’s lol languag.

But the Onle Slang Dictnary c 1960s gay male culture as the earlit known source, particularly rtoonist Joe Johnson’s characters “Miss Thg” and “Big Dick”, which appeared early issu of The Advote.

GAY SLANG 101

In the 60s, Lesch was the print of a gay rights anizatn lled the Mattache Society and me up wh the “Sip-In” – a monstratn held at New York Cy bars that banned service to out gay people. Ntie – bear – benr – bottom – bum band – bum chum – bumr – bummer – butch – butt hugger – rpet muncher – tcher – chaser – chickenhawk – chicken hawk – cub – drag kg – dyke – fag – faggot – Fairy – femme – flamer – u – fudge packer – gay – gaylord – girliend – GLBT – hasbian – homo – homo thug – the closet – jobby jabber – lemon – lez – lipstick lbian – mge muncher – mo – nellie – nelly – Peter Puffer – pole smoker – poof – Poofter – power top – puff – queer – shirt lifter – sister – versatile – wasbian. When searchg the ter for pictur of ourselv travel tips for our upg voyage across this great land, we stumbled upon the most tertg b of rmatn: the Polari, gay slang words and their origs.

Polari–much like a “gay Ebonics, ” if you will–is the unrground language created amongst London’s “Confirmed Bachelor” set, cir the late 1800’s, as the boys mixed wh the gypsi, tramps and theiv search of a nghty good time.

They picked up words here and there om the var languag around them, put a gay sp on all, and formed their own method of speech; as the Indtrial Revolutn drove men to crowd all-male boardg ho to search for work the ci, Polari beme a handy method of discsg “sensive” issu whout their heterosexual unterparts ever knowg any better. Molly and tommy: In 18th century England, the term molly was ed for male homosexuals, implyg effemacy; Tommy, a slang term for a homosexual woman e by 1781, may have been ed by analogy wh molly.

GAY MARY ED MEANG

A female given of Mary1First rerd before 1000; Middle English Marie, Old English Maria, om Late Lat, om Greek María, om Hebrew Miryām; see Miriam age note For MaryWhen referrg to a gay man, the term Mary n be ntemptuo. ” Combg the vernaculars of sailors wh a mix of Cockney and Yiddish fluenc, gay men also began to throw a sprkle of classroom-level French to add eher sophistitn or an ironic tone of refement, whichever the speaker choos.

GAY SLANG: A SECRET LANGUAGE THAT BEGAN AS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE

But if you were to drop the lgo “Sea Queen” a sual nversatn wh, say, some late 1800s gay sailors, is credibly likely that they will know exactly what you are talkg about. Gay slang, origally born on the outskirts of society as a means of formg a secret nnectn between different members of varyg ostracized muni, is today rightly valued as a powerful cultural fluencer of how morn Wtern society evaluat and exam art, culture, and media.

As gay slang be more and more graed to the heteronormative lexin, is imperative to pay rpect by takg the time to unrstand that there have been centuri of folx who helped give vobulary to what was prevly unfed. Vada (“look at”), dolly eek (a pretty face), and chicken (a young guy) are all words om the lexin of Polari, a secret language ed by gay men Bra at a time when homosexualy was illegal.

THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

Durg the terim years, when beg openly non-straight brought the risks of social isolatn and crimal prosecutn, Polari provid gay men wh a subtle way to fd one another for pannship and sex. In the late ‘60s, as gay liberatn groups were fightg for regnn and equaly, Polari h mastream Brish pop-culture the form of Julian and Sandy, two flamboyant, not-officially-but-pretty-obvly gay characters on a BBC rad show lled Round the Horne.

Dolan brgs up the pot that gay men shouldn’t have to be “straight-actg” orr to be accepted: “Might not be more fun to embrace a b more mp and actually have fun wh ourselv and wh each other? Whether you’re g them ironilly or scerely, slang words for gay dividuals are a way to exprs sir knowledge and bsh up on your termology and get ready to add some flavor to your nversatns.

12 SLANG WORDS FOR GAY – USE THE TERMS TO ADDRS THEM!

But for those who embrace their queer inty wh open arms, ’s jt one more way to celebrate who we whether you’re a Lola yourself or jt love someone who is, let’s all take a moment to raise a glass to our beloved feme gays. So next time you hear someone g slang words for gay people, remember that language is fluid and has the power to hurt or ’s choose our words wisely and aim for clivy for all.

Get ready to meet the Flamg Queen – an over-the-top flamboyant gay man who knows how to turn on the charm and steal the his larger-than-life personaly and lorful wardrobe, the Flamg Queen is the life of the party and a te in the LGBTQ+ muny.

GAY DICTNARY ENGLISH

Its name has taken on a new meang morn-day ed by gay men to refer to themselv, the term u fly is an tertg addn to the expandg vobulary of slang words for the LGBTQ+ muny. However, ’s worth notg that slang words for gay folks have changed over the years and ntue to evolve “u” to “flamer” to “queer, ” the words we e to scribe ourselv and others n be a powerful tool for self-exprsn and let’s embrace the diversy of human sexualy and genr exprsn and leave the bread-based idms behd.