We've come a long way from Polari. Gay lingo is much more in the main stream, but that doesn't mean we gays don't need the occasional refresher course. This week, Daniel chats
with James Adomian about the way we label ourselves. It's time to
clarify some common gay terminology both past and present.
Check it out after the break!
Submitted by
on Wed, 2009-11-18 13:01.
Daniel and James, That's Amore!!!
Dear Daniel
That was not NEARLY enough James Adomian. He is foxy and clever and you are wonderful together. This may be my favorite combination.
Please have him come more.
That is all!
Great combo!!
That has to be one of the best Mores For Gays ever, which is definitely saying something considering the high quality of all your videos Daniel.
I love the language tutorial. I constantly use breeder, and love asking people if they are a "member of the family."
James was hilarious and you two should definitely do more videos together. You worked off of each other perfectly.
It is pretty cool to see you on FunnyOrDie. Maybe some breeders will take a look at your hilarious videos and learn a thing or two.
Hope you
You say breeder like it's a bad thing!
I avoid friendships with heterosexuals as much as possible. However, practically everyone I work with is straight. I am not sure if I have ever called them breeders to their faces, but they know not to talk shit about gay people or gay rights in front of me. Most of them are "church-folk" so our conversations tend to stick to mostly office related stuff and comments about the weather.
As for folks who do not support civil rights for gay people, I call them breeder scum. Whether it is voters who support anti-gay constitutional amendments or our dear leader, they are all evil breeder scum who deserve to be treated like the bigots that they are.
I have no desire to win them over. Fear and shame usually works better when you are fighting for civil rights. Worked for black folks at least.
Yikes!
That's some scary stuff. It's always sad to see a victim of bigotry become a bigot himself.
"I avoid friendships with heterosexuals as much as possible."
"I avoid friendships with gay people as much as possible."
"I avoid friendships with black people as much as possible."
Three peas in a pod, as my dear departed mother used to say.
When they hand over my civil rights, then we can be friends
I know many people believe, and I tend to agree, that the best way to win equality for gay people is to be friends with straight people. Other folks can do that if they like. For me, I have a problem being "friends" with someone who does not see me as equal.
I have had a few straight friends, but they were probably the coolest allies ever. Most other straight people follow Brian Kinney's Rule of Heterosexuals: "They either hate you to your face, or hate you behind your back." I know far too many gay people who have straight friends who say stuff like "That's so gay" or watch movies or TV shows that are homophobic or listen to music that is homophobic, go to clubs or bars that are not friendly to gay people, etc. For me, I would rather not have friends like that. Those are not real friends. They may put up with your and your homosexuality, but they do not really care about you.
I do not attack or harm people or deny them their civil rights. In my book, that means I am not a bigot. That is all I expect from straight people -- You do not have to have gay friends, just treat gay people as they deserve to be treated: equal to you.
But...
...you are lumping straight people together into one big pile, and then mindlessly ascribing to that entire group a set of attributes. Not only that, but you automatically assume the worst, and top it by saying you avoid being friends with them. Having negative feelings about an entire group of people, and then reacting to them on the basis of those feelings, is the definition of bigotry.
Do you REALLY not see what you're doing here???? It's an object lesson in how easily and effortlessly one can slide into bigotry without having a clue that that's what you've done.
breeder
Very cute and instructive vlog!
I should tell you, though, that "breeder" is no longer a funny word gay people use to describe their straight friends. It is now a mildly insulting term that "childfree-by-choice" individuals use to describe anybody who's a parent or wants to be one, someday. (I believe adoptive parents are generally included.) I'm not saying you shouldn't use the word, though. I think it would be amusing to try to figure out, between a gay parent and a straight childfree person, which one is the breeder, LOL.
"Is he musical?"
Maybe there could be a sequel to this ep comparing Euro/USA gay terminology (chicken vs twink etc.).
James Adomian was a good contributor and he's pretty fine too :)
A straight guy who hangs around with gay guys
Daniel you mentioned straight guys who hang around with Lesbians but you forgot straight guys who hang around with gay guys.
I've heard the term fagstag for straight guys who hang around with gay guys.
Has anyone heard this one?
Live Long and Prosper
Twink
Interesting how the term has evolved..and anyone from before my time can chime in. When I got my gay education in the mid 70's my "mentor" into the world told me that twinkies were young guys (not necessarily gay) that were golden sponge cake on the outside and creamy filling on the inside! And I have always had that as my definition.
I am not sure when the term evolved into twinks.
Polari to the present
They skipped over the fact that many of the words in Polari are part of the contemporary slang, e.g., trade, chicken, bod, butch and yes drag
A book that is a good fun and easy read on Polari is Fantabulosa: The Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang
There are also several websites devoted to Polari and there have even been academic conventions on the subject!