Slang terms for gay
Part of the joy of researching 1920’s and 1930’s Homosexual subculture in Brand-new York City was coming across a wide variety of specialized slang and coded terms that flourished among queer men and women of the time. Some of these terms are solely of their occasion, some have survived into the contemporary era, albeit often with modified meanings.
Not surprisingly, for a social group that for the most part did not conduct themselves openly in society, a lot of these terms constitute a kind of confidential language available only to those “in the club”. They describe sexual preferences and types, as well as particular places and activities important to homosexuals of the time.
Folding these terms into the libretto of “Speakeasy – The Adventures of John and Jane Allison in the Wonderland” was a lot of fun. For the most part the meaning of the words should be clear in context. However a little confusion can be fun too, as in this moment, when John Allison eavesdrops on a trio of Gay Florists and Julian Carnation:
FLORIST 1:
You can keep 42nd Street. Give me the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
FLORIST 2:
You and your seafood, Violet!
F What’s the shelf animation of a clearance sale shirt? What’s the expiry hang out on a Grindr hookup? Do potatoes count as carbs? If you touch like a potato, are you a carb? Do you need to hit your junk nourishment habits out on the curb (no pun intended)? Are moccasins better than brogues? More importantly, what is a brogue? When you are gay man, you’ll always be occupied of questions (when you are not full of self-doubt, that is) — but this is 2018, and some questions, while basic, — will always be more vital than the others. Take a few of these as an example. Don’t know whether you are a top or a bottom? Do you feel it’s rude (and very inappropriate) when someone asks you whether you are a slave? Have you always wondered why your friends laughed at you when you said you lovedvanilla? Are you surprised that people could be that into otters? More importantly, what is an otter? It’s 2018, and it’s time for you to acquire with the times. Whether you are an out-and-proud queer man or an in-the-closet newbie, your dictionary of queer slang will always be as varied as your minuscule black book of boys. So the next time someone tells bog queen Synonyms: Bathsheba (composition between bathroom and Sheba to create a name reminiscent of the Queen of Sheba), Ghost (50s, ghost, because they wander the corridors of the bathroom).
The Guysexual’s Urban Dictionary for Gay Slang
LGBTQIA+ Slurs and Slang
Term Contextual note Time/Region References ace queen 1970s term sense “great queen”. Prison slang for a man who wears a more “feminine” look i.e. shaved legs, plucked eyebrows. May be described as part of incarcerated homosexual culture. Should not be confused with the more widely-used designation "ace," a shortening of "asexual." See "asexual." UK, USA, 1970s Mosca de Colores – Gay Dictionary alphabet people Offensive contemporary phrase for LGBTQ+ people, often used by right-wing people reacting to perceived advancements in LGBTQ+ people's rights. 2020s- Green's Dictionary of Slang - https://greensdictofslang.com/ bathroom queen Gay slang statement for people who frequent public toilets looking for sexual encounters. USA, UK Mosca de Colores – Gay Dictionary batting for the other team A euphemistic phrase indicating that someone (of any gender) is gay. This phrase is not a slur or especially
NOTE: In the following selection of definitions from dictionaries published during the eighteenth century, the most usual words relating to homosexuality are "sodomy" and "buggery", which of course is no surprise. I think we can safely consider that "buggery" is widely understood as meaning anal intercourse between males, but the word "sodomy" seems to have a rather broader meaning, i.e. sex of any sort between males. Indeed, in Cocker's English dictionary of 1704 sodomy is defined simply as "male venery", which is really as abstract as the modern synonym "male homosexuality". Incidentally, the word "catamite" is sometimes just a synonym for "sodomite", and was not always restricted to one who submits to sodomy. There are also some other surprises. For example, the word "molly" appeared in a Swedish/English dictionary in 1762, where it is simply defined as a sodomite, a buggerer, without effeminate connotations. "Molly" also appeared in a French/English dictionary in 1767, as well as in several slang (or "cant") dictionaries, along with other slang terms such as "madge". It is also interesting to see the less familiar ter