The Fotten Secret Language of Gay Men - Atlas Obscura

Contents:

• CHICKEN (GAY SLANG)
• GAY CHICKEN
• THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
• WHO'S THE REAL WNER 'GAY CHICKEN'?
• GAY CHICKEN ED MEANG
• GAY CHICKEN
• GAY CHICKEN
• GAY CHICKEN
• MAN WS WORLD'S LONGT GAME OF "GAY CHICKEN": {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 29, 2013/4:22 PMBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 29, 2013 / 4:22 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MAN WS WORLD'S LONGT GAME OF \"GAY CHICKEN\": WATCH","DATEPUBLISHED":"2013-09-29T20:22:11.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2013-09-29T20:22:11.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"DAN AVERY","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}GAY CHICKEN ISN'T SOMETHG YOU ORR AT A FE BOYSTOWN, 'S AN HEAD-SCRATCHG "GAME" PLAYED BY PRUMABLY STRAIGHT GUYS TO SHOW HOW HETEROSEXUAL THEY ARE. HOW? BY KISSG ANOTHER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE EDY CLIP ABOVE, OM THE NORWEGIAN EDY SHOW KOLLEKTIVET, EXPLAS THE LOGIL GYMNASTICS BEHD THE GAME'S THKG AND TAK THEM TO THEIR ILLOGIL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS
• GAY-CHICKEN ED MEANG
• GAY CHICKEN
• GAY CHICKEN
• THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

CHICKEN (GAY SLANG)

Chicken n be ed, ually by gay men referrg to other gay men, to mean a young gay man or young-appearg gay man. Any boy unr the age of nsent, heterosexual, fair of face, and unfaiar wh homosexualy ("So many chickens were flappg around that I thought we were tourg Colonel Sanrs' plantatn”) 2. In the subculture of the gay muny which handkerchiefs or bandanas as a , people who intify as "Chicken" wear a Kewpie doll their left back pocket.

GAY CHICKEN

A past-time enjoyed by 16-17 year old boys, where both lean close to each other, about to kiss, until one pulls away, showg that he has plete boy arms and assigng the other the tle of furtht this ever seems to go to is lip ntact, though there has been one ocssn where tongu may momentarily played too often, people may thk you are iends who are only permted to observe the ntt, often fd themselv beg bored wh semi-homoerotic activy, as always ends at the good Wanna play gay chicken? *they kiss*Greg: Wanna play gay chicken? *they nearly kiss*Greg: Wanna play gay chicken?

THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

Are you gay? Greg: Wanna play gay chicken?

Gay Friend: This is sh.

WHO'S THE REAL WNER 'GAY CHICKEN'?

You guys the Gay Chicken chicken like the regular game of chicken except that stead of drivg at each other on a llisn urse, players make homosexual advanc until one player will "chicken out". However, like the normal game of chicken, the worst rult for both players is when neher chickens out, the se of gay chicken rultg some form of homosexual act. If neher chicken out, then the two are many other variants on Gay Chicken like nng a hand up each other's thigh or simply kissg to the air, wkg, etc..

One form may take is a straight out gay actn that would immediately creep out the other person whout them even tendg on playg the game, e.

In this way, Gay chicken be more like a prank than a one-on-one game of Oh look.

GAY CHICKEN ED MEANG

Rex: Tom's not very good at gay chicken.. Nope, he chickened Man gay chicken disturbs me.

I wonr about him the Gay Chicken mug. The first person to give up is looked at as gay, bee he is not fortable wh his the Gay Chicken mug. The one that pulls away first is the proclaimed Gay Chicken.

"Man, Mike is a pro at Gay Chicken, he even tongue.

GAY CHICKEN

""No way, I uld never do that, I uld only last a few mut e no homo.

I uld last only a few sends, sce I'm not gay haha. "Get the Gay Chicken mug.

GAY CHICKEN

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.

GAY CHICKEN

Among nfirmed gay men, however, there was nothg subtle about Polari nversatns.

MAN WS WORLD'S LONGT GAME OF "GAY CHICKEN": {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 29, 2013/4:22 PMBY DAN AVERYSEPTEMBER 29, 2013 / 4:22 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"MAN WS WORLD'S LONGT GAME OF \"GAY CHICKEN\": WATCH","DATEPUBLISHED":"2013-09-29T20:22:11.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2013-09-29T20:22:11.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"DAN AVERY","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;} .TWTER-TWEET-RENRED, {M-WIDTH:65%;WIDTH:TO !IMPORTANT;} {WIDTH:100%;} {MARG-LEFT:TO !IMPORTANT;MARG-RIGHT:TO !IMPORTANT;} IMG{MAX-WIDTH:100%;WIDTH:100%;} > IAME{BORR:NONE;MAX-WIDTH:100%;} > *{MAX-WIDTH:NONE !IMPORTANT;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}GAY CHICKEN ISN'T SOMETHG YOU ORR AT A FE BOYSTOWN, 'S AN HEAD-SCRATCHG "GAME" PLAYED BY PRUMABLY STRAIGHT GUYS TO SHOW HOW HETEROSEXUAL THEY ARE. HOW? BY KISSG ANOTHER {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE EDY CLIP ABOVE, OM THE NORWEGIAN EDY SHOW KOLLEKTIVET, EXPLAS THE LOGIL GYMNASTICS BEHD THE GAME'S THKG AND TAK THEM TO THEIR ILLOGIL {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

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.

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.

GAY-CHICKEN ED MEANG

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.

GAY CHICKEN

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. Given s associatns wh stereotypil reprentatns of gay men, Polari may not seem to have a place the 21st century.

GAY CHICKEN

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?

THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN

I am not sure how I feel about "Gay Chicken.