LGBT slang

LGBT slang, LGBT speak or gay slang is a set of slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBT people. It has been used in various languages, including English and Japanese, since the early 1900s as a means by which members of the LGBT community can identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to other LGBTs.[1][2]

Summary

Because of sodomy laws 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.[2][3][4]

Cultural research

Since the advent of queer studies in universities, LGBT slang and argot has become a subject of academic research among linguistic anthropology scholars.[5]

Cultural impact

Many terms that originated as Corbette gay slang have become part of the popular lexicon. 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.

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, this terminology had fallen out of use to the point of being greatly unrecognisable by members of the LGBT community at large.[6]

United Kingdom

During the first seven decades of the 20th century, The blow-Job was called 2 Male giving one another pleasure a specific form of Polari was developed by gay men and lesbians in urban centres with established LGBT communities.[7][8]

Although there are differences, modern gay slang has adopted many Polari words, as detailed in the table below:

Source: Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang[9]
Glossary of gay slang taken from Polari
WordApproximate meaning
basketthe bulge of male genitals visible through clothing
beara large, often hairy man
bummingthe act of anal sex
chicken/fox/twinkyoung man
cottaginghaving or looking for sex in a public toilet
cuba young bear
gym bunny/Muscle MaryA person who works out merely for aesthetics
HadaBlow-Job
Kudaspeaking
howdytouching another male/female's behind
MichealAnal Sex
wolfa man who tends to fall evenly between a fox/twink and a bear/cub
zhooshstyle
twinkusually young or young-looking, bodily-hairless man

North America

The 1964 legislative report Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida contains an extensive appendix documenting and defining the homosexual slang of the time.

Scruff launched a Gay Slang Dictionary app in January 2014.[10] It includes commonly used slang in the United States from the gay community. Some of these cross over with the British slang, and some are only American.

Source: Scruff - Gay Slang Dictionary[11]
Glossary of U.S. gay slang taken from Scruff
WordApproximate meaning
beara large, often hairy man
bear chasera man who pursues bears
bottomthe receptive sexual partner, receives rather than gives
Cubtypically heavier, hairier, and younger gay man.
daddytypically an older gay man
discreetgay man who is reserved, private, or secretive about his identity
kinknon-standard sexual activity, fetish, or interest.
NSAno strings attached; casual sex.
otterthinner, hairier gay man
pozHIV positive person
topthe inserting sexual partner, gives rather than receives
twinka small, often bodily-hairless guy

H. Max published a short book including gays language in the late 80s. It also includes commonly used slang terms in the United States from the gay community.

Source: Max, Gay(s) Language[12]
Glossary of U.S. gay slang taken from Max
WordApproximate meaning
Angel foodAir Force serviceman
Artistegay who excels at fellatio
ass blowto lick or suck anus as opposed to blow job
Auntieolder, often effeminate, gossipy gay
baby butchyoung boyish lesbian
ballstesticles
bang, toactive role in anal or vaginal intercourse
basketmale genitalia
baths, thebathhouses frequented by gays for sexual encounters
bathshebagay who frequents gay bathhouses
B/Dbondage and discipline
beach bitchgay who frequents beaches and resoles for sexual encounters
bean queennon-Latin gay who seeks Latin males - from rice-and-beans in Latin cuisine
beat offto masturbate
beatmeatmasturbation or ejaculated penis
beef gravysemen
beefcakemasculine male
bentgay as opposed to straight
bilingualto lick or suck penis and anus
BJblow job
black jackblack penis
blind, to make seeto fellate uncircumcised penis
blind cockuncircumcised penis
blindsforeskin
blinds, to draw theto fellate uncircumcised penis
blow jobfellatio as opposed to ass blow
blueberry piesailor
bonepenis
bottom manpassive partner in anal intercourse as opposed to top man
boxfemale genitalia
boygulgirlish youth
brown outto lick or suck anus
brown, toto perform anal intercourse
brownie queengay who prefers passive role in anal intercourse
brush teeth, toto perform fellatio
bucket boypassive partner in anal intercourse
bugger, toto perform anal intercourse
bull dykemannish lesbian as opposed to baby butch or dinky dyke
bung holeanus
bunsbuttocks
butchmasculine appearance or behavior as opposed to femme, nelly or swish
butcher knifepenis
buttplugsex toy designed to be inserted in rectum
cafeteriarepeated fellatio in backroom or bathhouse
camp, toto act effeminate, bitchy
campyeffeminate, bitchy
candy canepenis
casting couchseduction with promises of career advancement
catcherpassive partner in anal intercourse as opposed to pitcher
cha-cha queeneffeminate Latin gay
cheeksbuttocks
cheesedried accumulation underneath unclean foreskin
chickenunderage boy
chicken dinnerto fellate underage boy
chicken hawkgay who preys on underage boys
chicken queengay who seeks underage boys
chubby chasergay who seeks obese males
circle jerkgroup multiple masturbation
cloneSan Francisco/New York Greenwich Village gay type with exaggerated macho behavior and appearance
closet, in theto deny one's homosexuality as opposed to come out
closet queengay who hides his homosexuality
clusterfuckgroup gay sex
cockpenis
cock ringpubic ring used to prolong erection
cocksuckerone who practices fellatio, also gay male
cumsemen
come outto admit one's homosexuality as opposed to in the closet
cum, toto ejaculate
comedrumcondom
Copenhagen capontranssexual
cornhole, toto perform anal intercourse
creamsemen
cruise, toto seek a casual gay sex encounter
cupcakessmall, well-rounded buttocks
curtainsforeskin
curtains, to draw theto fellate uncircumcised penis
cutcircumcised


Other slang that is not included in either.

Source: N/A
LGBT Slang
WordApproximate meaning
Power BottomDominant in bed, but receives rather than gives
SpaghettiSomeone who is straight until in a sexual situation with the same sex
DavidA boy that claims to have a “fetish for guys”

Japanese

Although many slang words used in modern Japan are "loanwords" from American English, many 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 hag" – a "woman whose friends are mostly homosexual men".[2] Although the literal English translation of okoge is burnt rice that sticks to the bottom of a pot, it is a reference to the Japanese equivalent to "faggot", okama (御釜, お釜, or 御竈; pot).[13]

Historical Slang

Wayne R. Dynes' Encyclopedia of Homosexuality offers a historical look at LGBT slang.[14]

Term Definition
Buggery In England in the early 18th century, the term "buggery" had become a well-known signifier for "criminally unnatural" intercourse. While "criminally unnatural" could refer to a number of things, in this context it almost always was in reference to anal penetration.
Camp "Camp" refers to a specific form of humor commonly associated with gay men. It is based on frivolity and spectacle.
Cruising The earlier recorded use of the term "cruising" comes from ancient Rome. It is used to express the active, social search for one or more sexual partners.
Dyke "Dyke" is a common slang word to refer to a more masculine lesbian. It was originally used as a slur, but after the Vietnam War in the 1970's, lesbians began to reclaim it.
Faggot This term was first recorded in American in 1914, in a Portland, Oregon publication of criminal slang. It is a slur against gay men.
Fairy The term "fairy" was a common slur in America during the period of 1925-1960. It signifies a stereotypical or "obvious" homosexual.
Fruit "Fruit" is a slur against gay men. Its origins lie in the stereotypes of gay men as "softer" and "smelling good".
Macho In Spanish, macho simply means "male". In the context of LGBT slang, it is a term for a more masculine, "tough guy" homosexual.
Punk This is a less common use of the word "punk". Here, it refers to a smaller, younger gay man who, in prison settings, is forced into a submissive role and used for the older inmate's sexual pleasure.
Queen A "queen" is a very effeminate male homosexual. More recently, the term has been used in compounds such as "drag queen" or "rice queen".
Queer The word "queer" has long been a slur against homosexuals, transgender people, and anyone who does not fit into society's standards of gender and sexuality. It carries a heavy connotation of wrongness, otherness, or strangeness.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Paul Baker (2002). Polari – The Lost Manguage of Gay Men. Routledge. p. 119. ISBN 9780203167045. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Long, Daniel: "Formation Processes of Some Japanese Gay Argot Terms", American Speech, Vol. 71, No. 2 (Summer, 1996), pp. 215–224. Duke University Press, 1996.
  3. ↑ Ken Cage and Moyra Evans (2003). Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens: A History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa. Jacana Media. p. 16. ISBN 9781919931494. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  4. ↑ Lena Hamaida (2007). "Subtitling Slang and Dialect" (PDF). EU High Level Scientific Conference. p. 5. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  5. ↑ Proschan, Frank: "Review: Recognizing Gay and Lesbian Speech", American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 99, No. 1 (Mar., 1997), pp. 164–166.
  6. ↑ Leap, William, ed.: Public Sex/Gay Space, Columbia University Press, 1999. p. 61.
  7. ↑ Paul Baker (2002). Polari – The Lost Language of Gay Men. Routledge. p. 1. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  8. ↑ Quinion, Michael (1996). "How bona to vada your eek!". WorldWideWords. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  9. ↑ Paul Baker (2002). Fantabulosa: The Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. Continuum. ISBN 9780826473431. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  10. ↑ "SCRUFF, Gay App, Launches 'Gay Slang Dictionary'". Huffington Post. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Scruff, Gay Slang Dictionary". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016.
  12. ↑ Gay(s) Language: A Dic(k)tionary of Gay Slang. Banned Books. 1 January 1988. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-934411-15-8.
  13. ↑ McLelland, Mark (2000). "Male Homosexuality and Popular Culture in Modern Japan". Intersections: Gender, History & Culture in the Asian Context (3). Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  14. 1 2 Encyclopedia of homosexuality. Volume II. Dynes, Wayne R., 1934-. London. ISBN 9781317368113. OCLC 953858681.

Further reading

  • Baker, Paul (2002). Fantabulosa, a dictionary of Polari and gay slang. Continuum. pp. 242 pages. ISBN 0-8264-5961-7.
  • Rodgers, Bruce (1972). The Queens' Vernacular : a gay lexicon. Straight Arrow Books. pp. 265 pages. ISBN 0-87932-026-5.
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