From “gay” to “poofter” to “fairy” - the words ed by others to fe gay people n say a great al more about them than .
Contents:
GAY SLANG 101
* making out gay slang *
If gay life was a giant ballroom (and kd of is), kky leathermen have been lgerg the back, the shadows, for generatns. Long before hookup apps like Grdr and Scff, gay and bisexual men seekg sual sex wore lored handkerchiefs their pant pockets ditg what kd of sex they were seekg and whether they were a domant/top or submissive/bottom.
The lor is pretty extensive and clus var kks and fetish, and is still ed today by gay clothg brands like Nasty Pig and CellBlock 13 — and, obvly, by kky gay men. 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.
While the gay slang terms and languag serve jt as much attentn, one article wouldn’t be enough to ver everythg.
DICK LESCH’S GUI TO SEVENTI GAY SLANG
To hi their inti pla sight of other queer people, gay and bisexual men would refer to each other wh nam.
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. Homosexualy remaed illegal across the Uned Stat the mid-twentieth century – that is, until Illois beme the first state to crimalize same-sex relatns 1962. In the 60s and 70s, gay men even had a “hanky ” – a system that volved wearg bandanas wh lors that signified whether you were a top, bottom, to BDSM, etc.
One of the most well-known phras to e out of this time is “iend of Dorothy”, which is for a gay man. Judy Garland, who played Dorothy the film, was also a queer in who patronized gay bars and often surround herself wh queer iends. 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.