Polari is a secret language, or cryptolect, that served to help gay men England munite, and remas surprisgly fluential today.
Contents:
- THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
- POLARI: THE LANGUAGE GAY MEN ED TO SURVIVE
- REDISVERG POLARI: HOW THIS SECRET GAY LANGUAGE HELPED CREATE LGBT CULTURE
- THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
- GAY SLANG: A SECRET LANGUAGE THAT BEGAN AS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE
- A SECRET GAY LANGUAGE HAS GONE MASTREAM THE PHILIPP
- SEATTLE PODST IS BRGG BACK POLARI, THE SECRET GAY LANGUAGE
- TALKG POLARI: HOW THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF POLARI WAS EMBRACED BY THE LGBT+ MUNY AND WHY 'S BEG KEPT ALIVE TODAY'IT WOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE SHAME FOR TO DIE OUT PLETELY AS ’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF HISTORY'MENBOOKMARKSHARENEWSBYADAM MAIDMENTREPORTER18:35, 22 AUG 2020UPDATED14:32, 23 AUG 2020BOOKMARK55 YEARS AGO, EVENTS LIKE MANCHTER PRI WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE PLACE BUT MEMBERS OF THE GAY MUNY WERE STILL FDG A WAY OF BEG 'PROUD' (IMAGE: CARL SONIK/MANCHTER EVENG NEWS)THE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 THE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
- THE FETS AND JABS OF POLARI, BRA’S GAY SLANG
- GAYLE: SOUTH AI’S SECRET GAY LANGUAGE
THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
Heavily ed by Brish gays the 1920s bee of anti-homosexual laws, efforts are beg ma to prerve an entirely queer-based slang. * secret gay language *
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. In the 1930s was spoken among the theater typ of the Wt End, om which crossed over to the cy’s gay pubs, gag s stat as the secret language of gay men. In England, homosexualy was officially nsired a crime until 1967, when the Sexual Offenc Act legalized private “homosexual acts” between nsentg adults over 21.
) The Act me a after the ernment’s Wolfenn Report, which igned bate by remendg the partial crimalizatn of homosexual acts. 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.
Among nfirmed gay men, however, there was nothg subtle about Polari nversatns. The Hidn History of Gay Life at Sea, Pl Baker and Jo Stanley wre that Polari played a role “allowg gay men to nstct a humoroly performative inty for themselv.
POLARI: THE LANGUAGE GAY MEN ED TO SURVIVE
Spoken mostly by gay men this language is a victim of progrs, but some words have survived. * secret gay language *
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.
But the ‘60s, they were the extent of gay men’s media reprentatn Bra.
Julian and Sandy prented a nundm: as lovable gay characters on a very popular show, they enared themselv to Brish dienc an era of homophobia. But some gay liberatn groups me to rent the image that they—and Polari—perpetuated.
REDISVERG POLARI: HOW THIS SECRET GAY LANGUAGE HELPED CREATE LGBT CULTURE
* secret gay language *
By the early ‘70s, as LGBT groups fought for rights beyond those granted by the 1967 Sexual Offenc Act, the image of the mp gay man had bee the target of ire. Many who were lobbyg for sexual equaly, says Dolan, “felt was about gay people prentg themselv as jt ordary folks.
“Gay men unr 40 barely know of at all.
When Ecclton and Fairbairn posted the film onle, they were surprised by the enthiastic rponse—and the level of fascatn wh Polari, this myster, cipherable “gay language. “The kds of nts still exist where opprsn is still entrenched, ” says Ecclton, cg Swardspeak, a language based on English and Tagalog that is ed among gay men the Philipp.
THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
The LGBTQ+ muny is known for havg unique and creative ways of self-exprsn. One secret language began as an act of fiance agast an anti-gay society. * secret gay language *
Given s associatns wh stereotypil reprentatns of gay men, Polari may not seem to have a place the 21st century. But the backlash agast mp has mellowed—’s not the way to be gay, but ’s one way among many.
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?
Wh words like "sha, " "tea, " and "kiki" proment queer culture, sometim feels like 's impossible for straights to unrstand gays... But once upon a time, that was exactly what Brish gays wanted. Called Polari, the gay slang is posed of back slang, circ slang, and broken Yiddish and Italian.
GAY SLANG: A SECRET LANGUAGE THAT BEGAN AS AN ACT OF DEFIANCE
Swardspeak is more than gay lgo—'s a mon bridge between the credible diversy of languag to be found the natn of islands. * secret gay language *
The "secret language" was ed heavily by gays the circ, navy, and theater, and arose out of the need to discs gay matters unr a clever guise, due to homosexual acts beg illegal Bra until the passage of the Sexual Offens Act 1967.
Here's some of the amg slang: Basket - the bulge of male genals through clothFantabulos-wonrfulEf - face (backslang) DollyEf - pretty face Chicken - a young guySome Polari words still exist morn gay slang. As gays began to fight for acceptance and rights, they ma a ncentrated effort to remove the Brish society's one-dimensnal view of all gays as beg overly mpy and effemate.
A SECRET GAY LANGUAGE HAS GONE MASTREAM THE PHILIPP
Seattle Podst is Brgg Back Polari, the Secret Gay Language. Gayish podst reclaims LGBT history by teachg s dience Polari - PR12808736 * secret gay language *
Check out Atlas Obscura pots out, Polari was a great self-performative outlet for Brish gays to not only exprs themselv but also easily intify and n wh fellow memebers of the queer muny. Polari was spoken to skirt the UK’s strict anti-homosexualy laws.
SEATTLE PODST IS BRGG BACK POLARI, THE SECRET GAY LANGUAGE
”That may seem like a strg of nonsense words om Dr Sss’s The Cat the Hat or Anthony Burgs’s A Clockwork Orange but ’s a real-life greetg gay men the UK would say to each other the 1950s and 60s. ”Until 1967, homosexual sex was illegal England and Wal. To avoid imprisonment, gay men ed Polari, a language that the Oxford English Dictnary says is “ma up of Italianate phras, rhymg slang and nt terms.
Spoken mostly by gay men this language is a victim of progrs, but some words have survived. In this atmosphere secretive queer venu like the women-only Gateways Club opened up to ter to people takg advantage of the slippg of social norms durg the 1950s Polari was spoken predomantly - although not exclively - a gay muny facilated by this perd who ed as a way to both intify each other and disguise themselv. “Homosexual acts were illegal, you were likely to be beaten up, attacked or arrted.
TALKG POLARI: HOW THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF POLARI WAS EMBRACED BY THE LGBT+ MUNY AND WHY 'S BEG KEPT ALIVE TODAY'IT WOULD BE AN ABSOLUTE SHAME FOR TO DIE OUT PLETELY AS ’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF HISTORY'MENBOOKMARKSHARENEWSBYADAM MAIDMENTREPORTER18:35, 22 AUG 2020UPDATED14:32, 23 AUG 2020BOOKMARK55 YEARS AGO, EVENTS LIKE MANCHTER PRI WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TAKE PLACE BUT MEMBERS OF THE GAY MUNY WERE STILL FDG A WAY OF BEG 'PROUD' (IMAGE: CARL SONIK/MANCHTER EVENG NEWS)THE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 THE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
“If you were a chicken [Polari for young gay man] and walked to a bar you wouldn’t know what they were sayg, ” says Dolan. They were blatantly gay characters.
Meanwhile progrsive movements for gay rights found ltle e for the d language of Polari, eher chewg favour of beg loud and proud or seekg to prove pary wh straight society through forms of assiatn. As a rult of this, the language s origal ntext has fallen to isn’t the end of the story though and today words once uttered by gay men backstreets have ma their way all over the world, even to the lips of Bra's Royal 1982 when Prcs Anne was photographed fallg om a horse, she famoly told paparazzi to ‘naff off, ’ perhaps not realisg she was g a Polari reference for heterosexual men. The artist translated part of the Wolfenn Report - a famo paper that first remend the crimalisatn of homosexualy 1957 - to Polari on requt of the ernment.
Such is the story of Polari, the secret d language ed by gay men the UK om the 1920s-70s. Comg to s own the late 1940s, Polari was the secret dialect of the unrground gay scene, allowg men to nverse eely about themselv and their sexual activi a time when they uld be imprisoned for their sexualy.
THE FETS AND JABS OF POLARI, BRA’S GAY SLANG
In Queer London, a book documentg the history of gay culture the cy, thor Matt Houlbrook scrib Polari as “a way of creatg a space which to be queer, ” and nothg uld be more te. Lally-drags are troers, and sheh — adapted om the French chichi — means showy, overly affected and gay.
“Fsy” also lacks the nuance of sheh, an adjective that scrib the troers both visually and culturally, bee if somethg is sheh is also herently gay.
GAYLE: SOUTH AI’S SECRET GAY LANGUAGE
* Although the term “drag” (meang men drsg women’s clothg) dat back to 1800s theatre termology, by bg wh the word “queen” or “quean” (which was a self-intifier for gay men London the mid 1800s-mid 1900s), Polari speakers created the current meang of the term “drag queen”: Queer men/people who drs women’s clothg for entertament.