Gay slang
Encyclopedia
LGBT slang, LGBT speak or gay slang is a set of slang
used predominantly among lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT
) people. It has been used in various languages, including English and Japanese since the early 1900s as a means by members of the LGBT community as a group to self-advertise as a way for an individual to identify with the whole, and as a way to speak in code to brevity and speed to other members to other LGBTs.
Because of sodomy law
s and threat of prosecution due to the criminalization of homosexuality
, LGBT slang also serves as an argot
, a secret language and a way for the LGBT community to communicate with each other publicly without revealing their sexual orientation
to others.
Since the advent of queer studies
in universities, LGBT slang and argot has become a subject of academic research among linguistic anthropology
scholars.
. For example, the word drag
was popularized by Hubert Selby, Jr.
in his book Last Exit to Brooklyn
. "Drag" has been traced back by the Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) to the late 19th Century. Conversely, words such as banjee
, while well-established in a subset of gay society, have never made the transition to popular use.
was developed by gay men and lesbians in urban centers with established LGBT communities.
Although there are differences, modern gay slang has adopted many Polari words, as detailed in the table below:
" – a "woman whose friends are mostly homosexual men." Although the literal English translation of okoge is burnt rice that sticks to the bottom of a pot. This is in reference to the Japanese equivalent to "faggot," okama (御釜, お釜, or 御竈; pot). Although there was a popular Japanese film titled Okoge
(1992) the term remains little-known beyond Japan.
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
used predominantly among lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people. It has been used in various languages, including English and Japanese since the early 1900s as a means by members of the LGBT community as a group to self-advertise as a way for an individual to identify with the whole, and as a way to speak in code to brevity and speed to other members to other LGBTs.
Because of sodomy law
Sodomy law
A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms...
s and threat of prosecution due to the criminalization of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, LGBT slang also serves as an argot
Argot
An Argot is a secret language used by various groups—including, but not limited to, thieves and other criminals—to prevent outsiders from understanding their conversations. The term argot is also used to refer to the informal specialized vocabulary from a particular field of study, hobby, job,...
, a secret language and a way for the LGBT community to communicate with each other publicly without revealing their sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
to others.
Since the advent of queer studies
Queer studies
Queer studies is the critical theory based study of issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people and cultures. Universities have also labeled this area of analysis Sexual Diversity Studies, Sexualities...
in universities, LGBT slang and argot has become a subject of academic research among linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...
scholars.
Cultural impact
Many terms that originated as gay slang have become part of the popular lexiconLexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
. For example, the word drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
was popularized by Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hubert "Cubby" Selby, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His best-known novels are Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream . Both novels were later adapted into films within his lifetime....
in his book Last Exit to Brooklyn
Last Exit to Brooklyn
Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby, Jr. The novel has become a cult classic because of its harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s and for its brusque, everyman style of prose....
. "Drag" has been traced back by the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) to the late 19th Century. Conversely, words such as banjee
Banjee
Banjee or banjee boy is a term from the 1980s or earlier that describes a certain type of young Latino, Black, or multiracial man who has sex with men and who dresses in stereotypical masculine urban fashion for reasons which may include expressing masculinity, hiding his sexual orientation and...
, while well-established in a subset of gay society, have never made the transition to popular use.
English
Slang is ephemeral. Terms used in one generation may pass out of usage in another. For example, in the 1960s and 1970s the terms "cottage" (UK) and "tearoom" (US) were used to denote public toilets used for sex. By 1999 these had fallen out of use to the point of being unrecognizable by members of the LGBT community.United Kingdom
During the first seven decades of the 20th century, a specific form of PolariPolari
Polari is a form of cant slang used in Britain by actors, circus and fairground showmen, criminals, prostitutes, and by the gay subculture. It was popularised in the 1960s by camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne...
was developed by gay men and lesbians in urban centers with established LGBT communities.
Although there are differences, modern gay slang has adopted many Polari words, as detailed in the table below:
| Glossary of gay slang taken from Polari | |
| Word | Approximate meaning |
| basket | the bulge of male genitals through clothes |
| bumming | the act of gay sex |
| chicken Chicken (gay slang) Chicken can be used, usually by gay men referring to other gay men, to mean a young gay man or young-appearing gay man - stereotypically describing an adolescent youth, usually one with an innocent nature.Author Bruce Rodgers defines the term as "1... |
young man |
| cottaging Cottaging Cottaging is a British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory , or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere... |
having or looking for sex in a public toilet |
| gym bunny/Muscle Mary | A person who works out merely for aesthetics |
| zhoosh | style |
Japanese
Although many slang words used in modern Japan are "loanwords" from American English, some native Japanese slang words remain in Japan's LGBT community such as the term "okoge," which serves the same purpose of the English slang word, "fag hagFag hag
Fag hag is a gay slang phrase referring to a woman who either associates mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men, or has gay and bisexual men as close friends. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate with gay...
" – a "woman whose friends are mostly homosexual men." Although the literal English translation of okoge is burnt rice that sticks to the bottom of a pot. This is in reference to the Japanese equivalent to "faggot," okama (御釜, お釜, or 御竈; pot). Although there was a popular Japanese film titled Okoge
Okoge
is a gay-themed Japanese film written and directed by Takehiro Nakajima, released in 1992. It is also a common slang term.- Cast :- Awards :* 1992 Hochi Film Award: Best Actress , Best Supporting Actor...
(1992) the term remains little-known beyond Japan.
See also
- Bahasa BinanBahasa BinanBahasa Binan is a dialect of Indonesian originating with the gay community. It has several regular patterns of word formation and is documented in both writing and speech....
- Friend of DorothyFriend of DorothyIn gay slang, a "friend of Dorothy" is a term for a gay man. The phrase dates back to at least World War II, when homosexual acts were illegal in the United States. Stating that, or asking if, someone was a "friend of Dorothy" was a euphemism used for discussing sexual orientation without others...
- Gayle language
- IsiNgqumoIsiNgqumoIsiNgqumo is an argot used by the homosexuals of South Africa and Zimbabwe who speak Bantu languages, as opposed to Gayle, a language used by the homosexuals of South Africa who speak Germanic languages. IsiNgqumo developed during the 1980s...
- Lavender linguisticsLavender linguisticsLavender linguistics is a term used by linguists, most notably William Leap, to describe the study of language used by gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer speakers. It "encompass[es] a wide range of everyday language practices" in LGBTQ communities. The term derives from the longterm...
- PolariPolariPolari is a form of cant slang used in Britain by actors, circus and fairground showmen, criminals, prostitutes, and by the gay subculture. It was popularised in the 1960s by camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio show Round the Horne...
- SwardspeakSwardspeakSwardspeak is an argot or cant slang derived from Englog and used by a number of homosexuals in the Philippines.-Description:...
- Terminology of homosexualityTerminology of homosexualityThe terminology of homosexuality has been a contentious issue since the emergence of LGBT social movements in the mid-19th century. As with racial terms within the United States—such as negro, black, colored, and African American—the choice of terms regarding sexual orientation may imply a certain...
External links
- List of words and phrases
- GLTB Slang Dictionary
- Lavender Linguistics, from Guardian Unlimited
- Polari: British Gay Slang
- Queer Slang in the Gay 90s
- "Gay Language Guide" – gay slang in various languages: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Japanese, Hungarian, Russian, Thai