Slang used predominantly among the LGBT community From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LGBT slang, LGBT speak, queer slang, or gay slang is a set of Englishslanglexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ+ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ+ community identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to others.[1][2] The acronym LGBT was popularized in the 1990s and stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender.[3] It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.[4]
LGBT slang has played an integral part in LGBTQ+ culture for decades. Slang language initially emerged as a way for queer people to communicate with one another while avoiding detection by mainstream society.[5] Queer people have always existed,[6] but historically, they have had to be discreet about their identities and lives, particularly when being LGBTQ+ was illegal and or socially condemned.
LGBT slang is used as a way to signal one's identity and build solidarity within the community. When queer people use these certain words and phrases, they demonstrate to others that they are part of the LGBTQ+ community and share a common experience. This connection can create a sense of belonging for those historically rejected and isolated by mainstream society.[7]
LGBT slang is also used by the community as a means of reclaiming language and deconstructing oppressive norms. Queer slang often includes playful references to sexual acts, which can serve as an assertion of sexual agency and a rejection of shame.[8]
During the first seven decades of the 20th century, a specific form of Polari was developed by gay men and lesbians in urban centres of the United Kingdom within established LGBT communities. Polari was featured on the BBC radio programme Round the Horne in 1964, exposing the wider public to the secret language.[12][13] Although there are differences, contemporary British gay slang has adopted many Polari words.[1][14] The 1964 legislative report Homosexuality and Citizenship in Florida contains an extensive appendix documenting and defining the homosexual slang in the United States at that time.[15][16]SCRUFF launched a gay-slang dictionary app in 2014, which includes commonly used slang in the United States from the gay community.[17] Specialized dictionaries that record LGBT slang have been found to revolve heavily around sexual matters.[18]
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" (chiefly British) and "tearoom" (chiefly American) were used to denote public toilets used for sex. By 1999, this terminology had fallen out of use to the point of being greatly unrecognizable by members of the LGBT community at large.[19]
Many terms that originated as 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. Conversations between gay men have been found to use more slang and fewer commonly known terms about sexual behavior than conversations between straight men.[20]
In the Philippines, many LGBT people speak with Swardspeak, or "gay lingo", which is a more extensive use of slang as a form of dialect or way of speaking. Other argots are spoken in southern Africa (Gayle language and IsiNgqumo) and Indonesia (Bahasa Binan). More specifically, in a country like Thailand, LGBT slang was always present in their history due to their religious, behavioral, and social nature. However, before the term LGBT was introduced, the Thai community would use the terms Kathoey and Tom. The term Kathoey was used to describe transgender women who dress, act, or partake in surgery to become female, and the term Tom as well as "handsome girls" in Thai was used to describe women who liked women. Homosexuality and transgenderism has always existed throughout their history, as their behavioral nature did not align with heterosexual ideals.[21]
100-footer – an obviously gay or lesbian person (as if visible from 100 feet away) (US)[22]
butch queen – in ball culture, a gay male who presents as a gay male; that is, neither as a trans individual nor a heteronormative male. This mostly refers to someone who looks the part of what most would identify as “gay”[33]
butchy femme – a gender expression between femme and futch[34]
camp, campy – exaggerated and amusing, in a way that is typically associated with gay men or femininity[35]
clone – a San Francisco or New York Greenwich Village denizen with exaggerated macho behavior and appearance (US)[26]
closeted – keeping one's sexuality or gender identity a secret from others[26]
cocksucker – a person who practices fellatio, usually a gay male[26]
Molly/Tommy – In 18th century England, the term "molly" was used for male homosexuals, implying effeminacy; "tommy", a slang term for a homosexual woman in use by 1781, and may have been coined by analogy. See Molly house[61]
outsider – being "neither/nor" when it comes to normative taboos and self-centered communities[62]
platinum star gay – gay men who were born by a C-section procedure[63]
queer – originally a slur against homosexuals, transgender people, and anyone who does not fit society's standards of gender and sexuality; later reclaimed and used as umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities[37]
sapphic or WLW (woman-loving-woman) – used to encompass attractions and relationships between women, regardless of their sexual or romantic orientation, sometimes including non-binary gynephiles[65][66]
scissoring – used to refer to lesbian intercourse, though is often derogatory
side – a homosexual male who does not enjoy anal penetration (giving or receiving), but will engage in other forms of same-sex activity (fellatio, frottage, handjobs, etc.).[67]
switch – a person who enjoys both topping and bottoming, or being dominant and submissive, and may alternate between the two in sexual situations, adapting to their partner. Synonymous with vers
tomgirl – the equivalent of a tomboy, but for boys with feminine traits
top – the dominant or inserting sexual partner, usually in a homosexual relation or activity[64]
service top – a submissive top, someone who applies sensation or control to a bottom, but does so at the bottom's explicit instructions
tongzhi (同志, "comrade", lit. "same will, same purpose") – a term used to describe members of LGBTQ+ communities in some Chinese languages[73]
trade – a straight-passing male partner, commonly used by gay men or trans women (derived from Polari) (US)
vers – a person who enjoys both topping and bottoming, or being dominant and submissive, and may alternate between the two in sexual situations, adapting to their partner
fruit (also fruit loop, fruit packer, butt fruit) – a slur against gay men; originally a stereotype of gay men as "softer" and "smelling good"[37][105]
dyke ("bull dyke", "bull dagger", alternatively "bulldagger", "bulldicker"[129]), from 1920s black American slang. A slur reclaimed by women who are attracted to women in the 1950s[37][130][131][132]
hasbian / has-bian – a woman who previously identified as lesbian but now identifies as heterosexual or bisexual.[138][139]
kiki – a term used primarily from the 1940s until the 1960s to indicate a lesbian who was not butch or femme and did not have a preference for either butch or femme partners[140]
kitty puncher / pussy puncher – with both "kitty" and "pussy" referring to a woman's vulva/vagina, and "puncher" as a variation on various derogatory terms for gay men, such as "donut puncher"[141]
lesbian until graduation (LUG) – a young woman who is assumed to be temporarily experimenting with same-sex behavior, but will ultimately adopt a heterosexual identity[142]
lipstick lesbian – a lesbian/bisexual woman who displays historically feminine attributes such as wearing make-up, dresses, and high heels[143]
unicorn – a bisexual, usually a woman,[161] who desires multiple partners and is willing to join an existing couple and sexually satisfy both members of the couple.[162][163] So-named because bisexuals willing to enter such an arrangement are considered rare or non-existent,[164] while couples seeking such a partner ("unicorn hunters") are common.[161]
futanari (ふたなり, "to be of two kinds", seldom: 二形, 双形, lit. "dual form") – Japanese word for hermaphroditism, which is also used in a broader sense for androgyny.[165][166]:79,81 The term is also heavily associated with a genre of hentai defined by sexualization of characters simultaneously possessing breasts, a penis and a vulva, and has gained a negative connotation for the sexual connotations[167][168]
hermie – an androgynous or intersex person, though the term is often considered a slur.[169]
altersex – a term describing people who alter their sex, such as through hormone replacement therapy or gender-affirming surgery, who were not born intersex. This term is especially used in the case of people who do not describe their sex as male or female due to their medical transition, without appropriating intersex terminology. Considered derogatory if used to deny the validity of someone's medical transition to male or female[170]
Salmacian – named after Salmacis, standing for someone who acquires, or wishes to acquire, mixed genitalia[171]
boymoder – a transgender woman or girl who socially presents in a masculine gender role, typically in places where transgender individuals are discriminated against, or due to not being out as transgender.[174] The equivalent for a trans guy is 'girlmoder'
diamoric – a term for attractions and relationships involving at least one non-binary individual[176][177][178]
egg – a transgender person who has not yet realized they are trans;[179] used by transgender people when aspects of one's personality or behavior remind them of gender-related aspects of themselves before they realized they were trans. As such, the realization that one is trans is referred to as one's "egg cracking"
enbian or NBLNB (also NLN) – a term for attraction and relationship between non-binary people[180][181][182]
girlmoder – a trans guy who socially presents in a feminine gender role, typically in places where transgender individuals are discriminated against, or due to not being out as transgender.[174] The equivalent for a trans girl is 'boymoder'
lady boy – English translation of kathoey, similar or equivalent to transgender woman, but may refer to feminine gay men or intersex people[184]
shemale – a trans woman with male genitalia and possibly female secondary sex characteristics.[197] Primarily a term used in pornography and often derogatory[198]
hon – a non-passing transgender woman. This term is primarily used by trans women in online communities (mostly 4chan). It is derogatory[174]
trap — slur for someone whose perceived gender is opposite their anatomical sex, particularly a trans woman or feminine boy. Implies that others who are attracted to them (typically heterosexual men) are maliciously deceived (i.e. "trapped") regarding their "real" gender.[201] Is derogatory and dehumanizing[202]
troon — portmanteau of "trans" and "goon". Originally a term for members of the Something Awful forum ("goons") who are transgender. Used as a slur for trans women, connoting violent or sinister ulterior motives for transitioning[203]
cuntboy or pussyboy/dickgirl – a female-to-male (FtM) and male-to-female (MtF) transgender/transsexual person, respectively, who has not had genital surgery.[204][205] It is often derogatory
clock – to recognize someone as being transgender[174][206]
deadname – as a noun, a transgender person's birth name. As a verb, to refer to someone by their deadname.[174] The etymologically identical term necronym is also sometimes used with the same meaning
girldick – a transfeminine person's penis, especially one changed by hormone use. Also known as gick, girlcock, or gock[174]
malefail – to be gendered as feminine when trying to present in a masculine gender role[174]
packing – the act of wearing padding or a phallic object to present the appearance of a penis[207]
passing – to be perceived as a gender one is attempting to pass as.[208] Usually in relation to trans people
TME or TMA/TMC – transmisogyny-exempt or transmisogyny-affected/confined, ascribing those who are, or not, target of transphobia directed at trans women[212][213]
transgenderism – a term used by anti-trans extremists seeking to dehumanize transgender people by saying that being transgender is an ideology rather than an identity.[214] In the past (the mid to late 20th century), the term was used non-derogatorily to refer to being transgender, though this meaning has become obsolete
breeder – a heterosexual person, especially one with children[215][216]
The following slang terms have been used to represent various types of people within the LGBT community:
bear – a larger and often hairier man. The bear subgroup is among the oldest and largest of the LGBT community. Pride.com states "Bears are on the heavier side, either muscular, beefy, or chunky. They wouldn't dream of shaving their body hair (which comes in abundance) and they usually have a full beard to match."[235]Attitude magazine describes bears as "typically older" with a big build, a belly, and lots of hair.[236] There are many bear 'subtypes', including the black bear (Black or African American men), the brown bear (Hispanic men), the grizzly bear ("dominant bears of extreme stature or hairiness"),[237] the koala bear (Australian men),[238] the panda bear (men of Asian descent),[239] and the polar bear, which represents an older bear with white hair[235]
cub – a younger bear.[236] Pride.com describes cubs as "baby bears" or "large, hairy guys in their teens and 20s who are on their way to becoming a bear"[36][64][235]
wolf – Pride.com says, "Similar to an otter, a wolf has some hair and is in between a twink and a bear. However, there are some key differences between wolves and otters. Wolves typically have a lean, muscular build and are sexually aggressive."[235]Attitude says wolves are "typically older and masculine" with a "muscular/athletic build"[236][36]
bull – Pride.com says a bull is a "hunky, muscular" bodybuilder who weighs 200 pounds or more. The website says, "These men are big, strong and have muscles you didn't even know existed."[235]Attitude says bulls have a "super-muscular build" with any hair style, and can be any age[236]
chicken – a young twink.[235]Attitude says chickens are "hairless and young" with a slim or skinny build[236]
chickenhawk – a typically older man who seeks younger men. From chickenhawk, a designation for several birds which are thought to hunt chickens[235]
pig – someone who is "more focused on sex than anything else, often into kinkier and somewhat seedier sexual practices", according to Pride.com[235]
pup / puppy – in animal roleplay, someone who wants to be treated like a puppy, "with love and affection", by a handler.[235]Attitude says pups are "young and submissive" with a slender build and little hair[236]
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