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Twink (gay slang)
Encyclopedia
Somatotype and constitutional psychology
Constitutional psychology is a theory, developed in the 1940s by American psychologist William Herbert Sheldon, associating body types with human temperament types....
build, little or no body hair
Androgenic hair
Androgenic hair, colloquially body hair, is the terminal hair that develops on the body during and after puberty. It is differentiated from the head hair and less visible vellus hair, which are much finer and lighter in color. The growth of androgenic hair is related to the level of androgens in...
, and no facial hair
Facial hair
Facial hair is a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men often start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty or adolescence, approximately between 17–20 years of age, and most do not finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later...
. In some societies, the term chick or 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...
is preferred. The related term twinkle-toes, which implies that a man is effeminate
Effeminacy
Effeminacy describes traits in a human male, that are more often associated with traditional feminine nature, behaviour, mannerisms, style or gender roles rather than masculine nature, behaviour, mannerisms, style or roles....
, tends to be used in a derogatory manner. The terms can be complimentary or pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
.
Origin
The term's namesake is the "golden-coloredBlond
Blond or blonde or fair-hair is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color...
phallic
Phallus
A phallus is an erect penis, a penis-shaped object such as a dildo, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. Any object that symbolically resembles a penis may also be referred to as a phallus; however, such objects are more often referred to as being phallic...
-shaped snack cake" Hostess Twinkie
Twinkie
The Twinkie is an American snack cake made and distributed by Hostess Brands. They are marketed as a "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling".-History:...
, commonly regarded as the quintessential junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
: "little nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
al value, sweet to the taste and creme-filled." Cream is among the well-known food-related euphemistic
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
terms for semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
. In Queering Pornography: Desiring Youth, Race and Fantasy in Gay Porn, essayist Zeb J. Tortorici notes that gay twink porn thrives on the production and performance of "consumable and visually/anally receptive masculinity."
A twink is "memorable for his outer packaging", not his "inner depth". The golden color also alludes to those who are excessively sun tanned
Sun tanning
Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. The process is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as a tanning bed, but can also be a result of windburn or reflected light...
. The tanned, "blond California surfer" had been popularized in the mid-1970s before the onset of the AIDS pandemic
AIDS pandemic
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is a widespread disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus .Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to the deaths of more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in recorded history.Despite recent...
in the early 1980s, which ushered in the notion of the gay male as physically muscular, clean-cut, and extremely healthy.
The junk food reference has a number of connotations, including a perceived lack of intelligence and being ideal only for a short term, but not having lasting qualities or being very healthy. Most of these concerns no longer apply, as the definition of twink has broadened, and qualifiers (such as muscle or femme) narrow the meaning to a more specific type of twink.
Usage
Facial hair
Facial hair is a secondary sex characteristic of human males. Men often start developing facial hair in the later years of puberty or adolescence, approximately between 17–20 years of age, and most do not finish developing a fully adult beard until their early 20s or even later...
. The term has been used by bears in a derogatory and pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
manner. In some cases, it is a neutral descriptive term, and can be contrasted with bear. Closely related (in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is boi, although this generally represents a more feminine look or a generational way of defining oneself. The term is often modified by various descriptors, e.g., femme twink, Euro
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
twink and muscle
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
twink. The term is often used in the gay porn industry.
There is a backronym
Backronym
A backronym or bacronym is a phrase constructed purposely, such that an acronym can be formed to a specific desired word. Backronyms may be invented with serious or humorous intent, or may be a type of false or folk etymology....
that states that twink stands for teenaged, white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, into no kink
Kink (sexual)
In human sexuality, kinkiness and kinky are terms used to refer to a playful usage of sexual concepts in an accentuated, and unambiguously expressive form....
", although none of these criteria are either necessary or sufficient to be a twink.
Twink code
Similar to other "codes", like the bear codeThe Natural Bears Classification System
The Natural Bears Classification System , also called the bear code, is a set of symbols using letters, numbers and other characters commonly found on modern, Western computer keyboards, and used for the self-identification of those who self-identify as "bears" in the sense of a mature gay or...
, the twink code is a set of symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s using letters, numbers, and other characters commonly found on modern, Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
computer keyboard
Computer keyboard
In computing, a keyboard is a typewriter-style keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches...
s, and used for the describing and rating of twinks. These codes are used in email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
, and Internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
postings to identify the physical type and preferences of the poster but have mostly fallen out of usage. The code includes physical traits such as "c" for color of hair (from blond to black), "l" for length of hair (from bald/clean-shaven to very long),
"h" for degree of hairlessness, "y" for youthful appearance, and "e" for endowment
Human penis size
Human penis size is the measured length and width of the human penis. The most accurate measurement of the human penis comes from several measurements at different times, as there is natural variability in size due to arousal level, time of day, room temperature, frequency of sexual activity, and...
. It also includes personality traits such as "q" for "queeniness
Queen (gay slang)
In gay slang, queen is a term used to refer to flamboyant or effeminate gay men. The term can either be pejorative or celebrated as a type of self-identification.-Drag queen:...
" and sexual preferences such as "k" for "the kinky
Kink (sexual)
In human sexuality, kinkiness and kinky are terms used to refer to a playful usage of sexual concepts in an accentuated, and unambiguously expressive form....
factor".
See also
- Age disparity in sexual relationshipsAge disparity in sexual relationshipsAge disparity in sexual relationships refers to sexual relations between people with a significant difference in age. Whether these relationships are accepted and the question of what counts as a significant difference in age has varied over time; and varies over cultures, different legal systems,...
- FreshmenFreshmen (magazine)Freshmen is an American pornographic magazine published monthly by Specialty Publications, a division of LPI Media, and founded in 1991. The magazine is geared toward gay men, and features nude photos of men, 18–25 years old. Freshmen has featured young college-aged males since its inception in 1992...
- Gay pornographyGay pornographyGay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....
- List of pornographic magazines
- List of pornographic sub-genres
- OTB VideoOTB VideoOTB Video is a Dutch company specialising in the production of gay pornographic films, mostly featuring Latino twinks. While OTB Video is the company name, it is also used as a studio name. Recently , a second studio name was added: titles are formally published by "OTB Video Releasing"...
- Secondary sex characteristicSecondary sex characteristicSecondary sex characteristics are features that distinguish the two sexes of a species, but that are not directly part of the reproductive system. They are believed to be the product of sexual selection for traits which give an individual an advantage over its rivals in courtship and aggressive...
- Sexual attractionSexual attractionSexual attractiveness or sex appeal refers to an individual's ability to attract the sexual or erotic interest of another person, and is a factor in sexual selection or mate choice. The attraction can be to the physical or other qualities or traits of a person, or to such qualities in the context...
- Sexual orientationSexual orientationSexual 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,...
- Stud (LGBT usage)Stud (LGBT usage)The word stud in LGBT-usage is a man who has a well built body and usually plays the top role. The word comes form the agricultural usage of the word which describes an animal that is not castrated, which means that it is capable of producing and offspring. In the usage, the word usually implied...