"Ooh! Isn't he bold?" as Julian and Sandy would say to "Mr. 'Orne" the heyday of Polari, or the old Brish gay slang. Julian and Sandy's e of Polari on the BBC rad edy "Round the Horne" troduced Polari to a mass dience, intifyg them as gay to those the know. Round the Horne's e of ultimately led to Polari's near-mise as a means of munitn between gay men. I su…
Contents:
- 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 FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
- THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
- THE SECRET GAY LANGUAGE YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF...
- REMEMBERG POLARI, THE FOTTEN LANGUAGE OF BRA'S GAY COMMUNY
- GAY HISTORY: HOW BONA TO VADA YOUR EEK! POLARI – THE GAY LGO
- THE HOR GUI TO GAY BOSTON
- GAY PRI MONTH AND THE ‘SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD’
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!
Heavily ed by Brish gays the 1920s bee of anti-homosexual laws, efforts are beg ma to prerve an entirely queer-based slang. * round the horne gay language *
Born om many different subculture dialects, Polari is a secret language that not only allowed gay men to talk about sex whout beg persecuted or prosecuted but was also a ccial buildg block of queer culture. Although homosexualy was illegal the UK until 1967, unrground queer culture thrived the late 19th and 20th centuri — and much of that was thanks to Polari. While Polari started as a secret language for gay men, quickly beme an open secret, and fewer people were askg “what is Polari?
It was que clear that the men were gay, although this was illegal at the time — and Round The Horne even ma fun of the crimaly:.
Yet, for all the good that Round The Horne did for the acceptance of homosexualy, the more people learned about Polari, the ls queer people wanted to speak themselv.
THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
Polari is a secret language, or cryptolect, that served to help gay men England munite, and remas surprisgly fluential today. * round the horne gay language *
The ph for homosexualy to be crimalized (which me to un 1967), led to a movement away om Polari and mp culture wh the LGBT muny. Begng his study of the language the neti, Baker wrote his doctoral this on the subject, entled Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men. The Story Of Polari, Bra’s Secret Gay Language, this book is an -pth history wh plenty of fun anecdot om Baker’s terviewe.
Wh words like "sha, " "tea, " and "kiki" proment queer culture, sometim feels like 's impossible for straights to unrstand gays... 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.
THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
An troductn to Polari, the old Brish gay slang, cludg a word list. * round the horne 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. Unbeknown to many listeners, the characters equently ed Polari, a secret d language equently ed by homosexuals the 1920s and 30s, and are regnised today for brgg to the mastream.
THE SECRET GAY LANGUAGE YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF...
Once monly spoken by gay men across London, Polari has largely fallen out of e. But s fluence ntu to endure to this day—even makg a surprise appearance Bowie's last album. * round the horne gay language *
In s heyday the 1920s, was somethg that let gay men be openly gay wh one another whout others ever realisg and also allowed them to play nghty when sued. The Story of Polari, Bra’s Secret Gay Language’, said drag queens the 60’s and 70’s would also regularly rporate Polari to their act. ” Read more of today's stori here On July 27, 1967, the Sexual Offenc Act was given royal assent and gave way for the partial crimalisatn of homosexualy.
“As early gay rights groups started to emerge the 1970s, they saw Polari as symbolic of opprsn and they tend to disapprove of . “If you talk to gay men unr the age of 40, almost none of them now know nothg about Polari, but ’s important to look at our herage and look at where we’ve e.
Pre-datg the Sexual Offenc Act, the report remend that ‘homosexual behavur between nsentg adults private should no longer be a crimal offence’. “While most LGBT+ people this untry are okay to live their liv the way they want to, ’s important to remember that’s not the se for everybody and people are still beg attacked for beg gay. “The people who ed were mp and they were que bchy to each other but they refed to hi away om beg gay - they ntued to go out there and puttg themselv at risk.
REMEMBERG POLARI, THE FOTTEN LANGUAGE OF BRA'S GAY COMMUNY
Spoken mostly by gay men this language is a victim of progrs, but some words have survived. * round the horne 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.
GAY HISTORY: HOW BONA TO VADA YOUR EEK! POLARI – THE GAY LGO
* round the horne gay language *
) 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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
THE HOR GUI TO GAY BOSTON
Our Natnal Park Service has symbolilly equated the Stonewall Rts, where the LGBT movement and s gay "pri month" began, wh the Amerin Revolutn. * round the horne gay language *
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.
GAY PRI MONTH AND THE ‘SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD’
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? Before homosexualy was crimalised the UK 1967, the gay muny had to be a lot more discreet when me to fdg a partner, or even jt gossipg about a iend. By the 1930s, most Wt End luvvi had claimed the dialect as their own, which naturally led to s e the many secret gay bars around London.
BBCFeaturg stacks of phemisms, Polari provid gay men a subtle but liberatg way of munitg wh others for pannship or sex, or jt havg a bch about her next door. It was ls than fifty years ago Bra that engagg homosexual sex, lookg a b 'gay' or fallg love wh the wrong person ma you a were no legal protectns for gay people as there are now... If a gay person lled the police pre-1960s, the officer qutn may have arrted that person, focg on the homosexualy rather than the crime.
Polari was the only way for the gay muny to munite at a time when thori were actively seekg to arrt and make exampl of high profile homosexuals. Hugh Paddick and Kenh Williams starred as Julian and Sandy, a uple of mp, out-of-work actors who threw around Polari and sexual nuendos wh gay abandon.