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Gay Dictionary - a study in culture and history
AC-DC
Bisexual
ANDROTROPE
A gay male, as suggested by Kurt Hiller in 1946. Hiller disliked the negative connotations of 'homosexual'; but the term did not catch on.
ANGEL FOOD
A gay man in the Air Force
AUNTIE
An older gay man; generally pejorative. Implies a sense of being dainty and engaging in gossip.
BABY-BUTCH
A young, masculine acting lesbian
BEAN QUEEN
A non-Latino man attracted to Latino men
BENT
(British slang) Homosexual
BERDACHE
A member of a Native American tribe who lived with, dressed as, or identified with the opposite sex. A Berdache often occupied a revered and unusual position within the tribe. It comes from the French for slave boy.
BILITIS
From Chansons de Bilitis, a collection of lesbian love poems published in 1894 by Pierre Louys and supposed on the work of Sappho. The word is best known as part of the name of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), a lesbian organization formed in 1955 by Del martin and Phyllis Lyon.
BISEXUAL
Attracted to people of both sexes
BOSTON MARRIAGE
A live-in relationship between two women; used mainly in 19th cent. New England and could refer to both a lesbian relationship or to situations where two women chose to live independent of men while pursuing their own careers.
BROWN FAMILY, THE
Circa 1940, refers to the homosexual subculture
BULL DYKE
A lesbian who dresses and behaves in a masculine fashion
BUTCH
Strong or tough. Displaying traits considered masculine. Describes both physical build and personality, and applied to both genders.
CAMP
An ironic, often gay-identified approach to life, dress and speech gaining popularity following Susan Sontag's essay, "Notes Toward a Definition of Camp" in the Parisian Review in 1964.
CATAMITE
From Catamitus, the cupbearer for the Roman god, Jupiter. A boy kept for sexual purposes. The term was first used in the 17th cent. See Ganymede
CHICKEN
A young gay male, usually in his teens or early twenties.
CHICKEN HAWK
An older gay man who pursues boys or very young men.
CHUBBY CHASER
A man attracted to obese men
CLONE
First appearing in the 1970s, it refers to a gay man of a certain, somewhat standardized appearance. The classic look includes short-cropped hair, trim mustache, flannel shirt and Levi's brand 501 jeans -- on a relatively well sculptured body. Interchangeable with Castro clone after the main street of San Francisco's gay district.
CLOSET
The place where gay women and men figuratively hide their homosexuality. "In the closet" means not being open about being gay. This person may be referred to by others as A closet case or closet queen.
COME OUT
To acknowledge your homosexuality; either to oneself or others
CRUISE
To actively look for a sex partner in areas others are likely to be found engaged in the same pursuit.
CUT SLEEVES
In Chinese the phrase, tuan hsiu applies to male homosexuality. From the story of Emperor Ai-ti (6 B.C. to A.D. 2) whose favored young boy fell asleep on the sleeve of his robe. The emperor, cut off the sleeves of his robe rather than disturb the sleeping boy.
DASH
Open to experimenting with homosexuality, but not self defined as gay
DIESEL DYKE
A lesbian who dresses and behaves in a masculine style
DINGE QUEEN
A non-black gay man attracted to black men. Long since considered racist.
DIONING
The heterosexual apple of a gay man's eye. Coined in the 1860s by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs to describe the object of a homosexual man's attraction. See Urning
DOUBLE RIBS
A euphemism for male homosexuality used in ancient China
DRAG
Dressed in a way usually identified with the opposite sex. Differs from transvestitism in that drag usually refers to a specific act of cross-dressing, while transvestitism is applied to the general enjoyment of the act.
DRAG QUEEN
A man who dresses like a woman. Also applied to a man who dresses as a woman and performs in cabaret acts.
DROP A HAIRPIN
Give a clue one is homosexual
DUTCH GIRL
A lesbian
DYKE
A lesbian. Derived from 19th cent. slang, dike, referring to male clothing. When first used it carried a derogatory connotation of masculine appearance or behavior. The connotation is still present, but many lesbians adopted the word as their term of preference.
EONISM
Transvestitism. Coined by Havelock Ellis, after the cross-dressing Frenchman, the Chevalier d'Eon, but never gained acceptance.
FAG HAG
A heterosexual woman who socializes extensively with gay men. Sometimes, but not always pejorative
FAGGOT / also FAG
A male homosexual. Like dyke, the term was originally an epithet, but has been adopted by many gay men. In the early years of the Gay Liberation movement, some activists suggested it's derivative was from fagot, kindling used during the Inquisition when heretics, homosexuals and others, were burned at the stake. Others look to fag, the younger boys in British boy' schools used to do menial tasks for the upperclassmen.
FAIRY
A common derogatory term of the 20th cent. for a male homosexual, especially one who acts and dresses in an effeminate manner. Recently reclaimed by gay men. Radical faeries, are asserting pride in their refusal of the traditional male roles.
FEMME
A lesbian or gay man who acts or dresses effeminately
FINOCCHIO
(Italian slang) Homosexual. Sometimes denoting effeminacy. Refers to the fennel plant, but the origins are not known
FRENCH EMBASSY
Any location where gay sex is readily available. Typical a gym or the Y.
FROG QUEEN
A French-Canadian gay man; also a gay man attracted to Frenchman.
GAY
Homosexual. In the 17th cent. the term was expanded from it's earlier meaning of cheerful to refer to men with a reputation for being playboys (gay Lothario first appeared in 1703). By the early 1800s, it was further expanded to refer to women with a reputation for sexual promiscuity. The term was first self-applied in the early 20th cent. By the 1970s, it was a standard, non-slang synonym for homosexual.
GOVERNMENT-INSPECTED MEAT
A gay man in the Armed Forces
HETEROSEXUAL
Attracted to the opposite sex. Considered the opposite of homosexual, it was used in the late 19th cent. to identify people attracted to both sexes; what we call today, bisexual.
HOMOGENIC
Homosexual. Suggested by Edward Carpenter.
HOMPHILE
Homosexual. Philos is the Greek word for love. Gained popularity in the U.S. in the 1950s. Falling from favor at the height of the Gay Liberation movement in the early 1970s.
HOMOPHOBIA
Irrational fear of gay people and homosexuality. Coined by George Weinberg in Society and the Healthy Homosexual.
HOMOSEXUAL
Attracted physically to the same sex. Coined in 1869 by Karl Maria Kertbeny. First in U.S. medical journals in the 1890s, and in general usage by the 1920s.
HUNDRED-AND-SEVENTY-FIVER
Homosexual. Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code of 1871 outlawed homosexual practices; thus a hundert-fund-und-siebziger, or 175er, violated this paragraph.
IN THE LIFE
Gay. Most common with the black community. Dates back to the 1920s.
INTERMEDIATE SEX
Homosexual. Used by Edward Carpenter and others around the turn of the 20th cent., but fell into disfavor
INVERSION
Homosexuality. First appeared in the Italian as inversione in 1878, encompassed a philosophy of homosexuality and providing a new term for its practitioners (inverts). Havelock Ellis used the term in 1897 when referring to Caesar. Often used by gay people into the early 1900s in spite of its negative connotations.
KINSEY SIX
A person who is completely homosexual, as opposed to one with some bisexual inclinations. Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey developed a scale from 0 to 6 to indicate a subject's sexual orientation. A person with no homosexual feelings was ranked a zero. Someone exclusively homosexual was a 6.
LESBIAN
A gay woman. The ancient Greek poet, Sappho lived on the island of Lesbos. As Sappho became known for her poems celebrating love between women, the term lesbian changed from "one who lives on Lesbos" to "a woman like Sappho and her followers."
MARICÓN
The Spanish equivalent for faggot
MARIPOSA
Spanish for butterfly, has also come to refer to a male homosexual
NANCE
(British slang) Effeminate
PANSY
An effeminate gay man. Usually derogatory, it has been used since the 1920s.
PANSY WITHOUT A STEM
1960s camp term for a lesbian
QUEEN
Effeminate gay man, from the 16th cent., quean, a disparaging word for an unpleasant or promiscuous woman.
QUEER
Homosexual. First used in the early 20th cent.
SAPPHISTRY
Lesbian love, derived from Sappho
SEAFOOD
A gay sailor
SIGNIFICANT OTHER
From the 1970s; a partner in a serious relationship.
SIX
See Kinsey Six
SLACKS
An obsolete term for lesbians
SNOW QUEEN
A non-white gay man attracted to white men
SODOMY
Sexual acts deemed unnatural by religious and legal precedents.
SOTHER
See Significant Other
SUGAR DADDY
An older man who provides for a younger sex partner
TEMPERAMENTAL
A euphemism for homosexual. Earliest usage 1920s
TRANSSEXUALITY
Identification with and a desire to be the opposite sex
TRANSVESTITISM
Dressing in clothing of the opposite gender.
TROLL
To cruise
TS
A transsexual, now called Transgender
TV
A transvestite
TWILIGHT
(Obsolete) Homosexual. Prominent in the 1920s
TWINKLE TOES
An young effeminate gay
TUNA
A young gay sailor
URNING
A homosexual male. Introduced in 1864 by Karl Heinrich Ulrichs. Giving rise to the term Third Sex.
VICE ALLEMANDE
(French) 19th cent. term for homosexual. It translates as "the German vice."
WATER CHESTNUT
A gay Japanese man