LGBT slang, LGBT speak, or gay slang is a set of English slang

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

used predominantly among LGBT people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBT community identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to others. The acronym LGBT was popularized in the 1990s and stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender.

History and context

Because of sodomy laws and threat of prosecution due to the

criminalization Criminalization or criminalisation, in criminology, is "the process by which behaviors and individuals are transformed into crime and criminals". Previously legal acts may be transformed into crimes by legislation or judicial decision. However, ...

of homosexuality, LGBT slang has served as an argot or cant, a secret language and a way for the LGBT community to communicate with each other publicly without revealing their sexual orientation to others. Since the advent of

queer studies Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBT studies is the education of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoria, asexual, queer, questioning, inte ...

in universities, LGBT slang and argot has become a subject of academic research among linguistic anthropology scholars. Butch Femme Society by David Shankbone

During the first seven decades of the 20th century, a specific form of Polari was developed by

gay men Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including ' ...

and

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

s in urban centres of the United Kingdom within established LGBT communities. Although there are differences, contemporary British gay slang has adopted many Polari words. 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. SCRUFF launched a gay-slang dictionary app in 2014, which includes commonly used slang in the United States from the gay community. Specialized dictionaries that record LGBT slang have been found to revolve heavily around sexual matters. 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. Many terms that originated as gay slang have become part of the popular

. 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. 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. Though, 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 well as their behavioral nature did not align with heterosexual ideals.

General slang terms

* 100-footer – an obviously gay or lesbian person (as if visible from 100 feet away) ( US) * or (man-loving-man) – an umbrella term for attractions and relationships between men, regardless of their sexual or romantic orientation, sometimes including non-binary

androphile Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation, as an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to men or masculinity; g ...

s * baby gay – a young or recently out gay person (US) * baby trans – a young or recently out transgender person (US) * baths – bathhouses frequented by gay men for sexual encounters (US) * beach bitch – a gay man who frequents beaches and resorts for sexual encounters (US) * beard – a person used as a date, romantic partner, or spouse to conceal one's sexual orientation * beat – having or seeking anonymous gay sex (Australia) * bent – gay, as opposed to straight (UK) * bender – someone who has homosexual intercourse (UK) * binding – a technique in which individuals wear tight clothing, bandages, or compression garments, known as binders, to hide and flatten their breasts * bottom – a receptive male partner in intercourse; also used as a verb for the state of receiving sexual stimulation ** – someone who dominantly or energetically plays the receptive role in intercourse * – portmanteau of "boy pussy"; a male anus, in the context of

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse is generally the insertion and thrusting of the erect penis into a person's anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex information, anpage 118for information about the clitoris. ...

. Also used to refer to trans man's vulva. * – a masculine-looking drag queen * butchy femme – a gender expression between femme and futch * camp, campy – effeminacy, effeminate * clone – a San Francisco or New York Greenwich Village denizen with exaggerated macho behavior and appearance (US) *

closeted ''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other (LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and human ...

– keeping one's sexuality or gender identity a secret from others (US) * cocksucker – a person who practices fellatio, usually a gay male (US) * come out (of the closet) – to admit or publicly acknowledge oneself as non-heterosexual/non-cisgender (US) *

cottaging Cottaging is a gay slang term, originating from the United Kingdom, referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory (a "cottage", "tea-room"Andre "tearoom; t-room ''noun'' a public toilet. From an era when a great deal of homosexual c ...

– having or seeking anonymous gay sex in a public toilet, or 'cottage' (UK) * cruising – seeking a casual gay sex encounter (historically from ancient Rome) * down-low – homosexual or bisexual activity, kept secret, by men who have sex with men (US) * en femme, en homme – the act of wearing clothes stereotypically of the opposite sex * fag hag – a woman who associates mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men (US) * femboy – a feminine or androgynous male * femme – a feminine homosexual (US) * – a shorter alternative to folks * – a gender expression between femme and butch, or a feminine butch * Game of Flats – an 18th century English term for sex between women The reference is to A. G. Busbequius, Travels into Turkey, English translation (London, 1744). The original book, published much earlier, was invariably cited whenever lesbianism was mentioned, e.g., William Walsh's A Dialogue Concerning Women (London, 1691) and in

Martin Schurig Martin Schurig (1656–1733) was the first physician to occupy himself with the anatomy of the sexual organs.gaydar – the supposed ability to detect someone's sexual orientation (from ''gay'' + ''radar''). Corresponding terms include , , , and . Bidar is also called , a jocular pun on Wi-Fi. *

gaymer Gaymer and gay gamer are umbrella terms used to refer to the group of people who are identified as homosexual and have an active interest in video games or tabletop games, also known as gamers. Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender gamers are o ...

– an LGBT person who plays video games (from ''gay'' + ''gamer'') * gaysian – a gay Asian person * gold star – a homosexual who has never had heterosexual sexual intercourse (US) * *

heteroflexible Heteroflexibility is a form of a sexual orientation or situational sexual behavior characterized by minimal homosexual activity in an otherwise primarily heterosexual orientation, which may or may not distinguish it from bisexuality. It has been ...

– to be mostly heterosexual * homoflexible – to be mostly gay * Horatian – from the belated nineteenth century, term utilized at Oxford amongst Lord Byron along with his compatriots to a bisexual individual; a bisexual+ masculine person (UK) * 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. * platinum star gay – gay men who were born by a C-section procedure (US) * * poz – HIV-positive person (US) *

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

– originally a slur against homosexuals, transgender people, and anyone who does not fit society's standards of gender and sexuality; recently reclaimed and used as umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities * sapphic or (woman-loving-woman) – synonymous with lesbian, but used nowadays to encompass attractions and relationships between women, regardless of their sexual or romantic orientation, sometimes including non-binary gynephiles * side – someone who prefers not to have anal sex * swish – effeminate or effeminacy (US) * switch – see vers *

tomgirl Effeminacy is the embodiment of traits and/or Gender expression, expressions in those who are not of the female sex (e.g. boys and man, men) that are often associated with what is generally perceived to be feminine behaviours, mannerisms, styles, ...

– see femboy *

top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

– the dominant or inserting sexual partner, usually in a homosexual relation or activity ** – a submissive top, someone who applies sensation or control to a bottom, but does so at the bottom's explicit instructions * trade – a straight-passing or heterosexual male partner, commonly used by gay men or trans women (derived from Polari) (US) *

vers Vers may refer to: *Vers (Lahn), a river of Hesse, Germany *Vers (Lot), a river of southern France, tributary of the Lot *an abbreviation for the trigonometric function "versine" *an abbreviation for versatile (sex), commonly used in Western gay m ...

– 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

Terms describing gay men

* artiste – a gay man who excels at fellatio (US) * auntie – an older, often effeminate and gossipy gay man (US) * bathsheba – a gay man who frequents gay bathhouses (US) * chicken – a youthful gay man * chubby chaser – a man who seeks overweight males (US) * cupcake – young attractive man, usually a jock type, with a good body. * daddy – a typically older gay man (US) * finocchio (from Italy, meaning fennel) * flit * flower – a typically effeminate gay man * friend of Dorothy – a gay person. Historically used as a shibboleth to identify other LGBT people. Likely a reference to Judy Garland, who portrayed

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

in ''The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) and had a large gay fan-base. * gaysian – a gay Asian * light in the loafers / light in the pants / light in the fedora * punk – 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 flamboyant or effeminate gay man. Alternatively, short for drag queen. ** bean queen (also taco queen or Salsa queen), gay man attracted to Hispanic men ** brownie queen – obsolete slang for gay man interested in anal sex (used by men who disliked anal sex) ** chicken queen – an older gay man interested in younger or younger appearing men ** grey queen – a gay person who works in

financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...

; grey flannel suits). ** potato queen – a gay Asian man attracted mainly to white men.Ayres T (1999). China doll - the experience of being a gay Chinese Australian. ''Journal of Homosexuality'', 36(3-4): 87-97 ** rice queen – a gay man attracted mainly to East Asian men.

Slurs

* anal assassin (UK) or "anal astronaut" * arse bandit or Ass bandit * backgammon player (late 18th century Britain) *

batty boy In Jamaican Patois, ''batty boy'' (also ''JSAP'', ''batty man'', and ''chi chi bwoy/man'') is a slang expression often used to refer to a gay or Effeminacy, effeminate man. The term batiman (or battyman) is also used in Belize owing to the populari ...

– a slur for gay or effeminate man ( Jamaica and U.K.) * bent, bentshot or bender *

bixa ''Bixa'' is a genus of plants in the family Bixaceae. It is native to Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and South America, and naturalized in other places.Molina Rosito, A. 1975. Enumeración de las plantas de Honduras. Ceiba 19(1): 1–118. ...

/ (Brazil) * brownie king / brown piper * bufter, bufty (mainly Scottish) or booty buffer * bum boy / bum chum, also bum robber * butt pirate, butt boy, butt rider, butt pilot, or butt rustler * chi chi man (Jamaica and the Caribbean) * cockstruction worker – a gay, bi or queer man who works in

construction industry Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...

* homo – shortening of

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. Often derogatory. *

homo thug Banjee (as in: "banjee boy" or "banjee girl") is a term originating in the Ball_culture#Houses, house system and ball culture of New York City which seem to be "from the hood" or embodying an urban, tough swagger. The term is mostly associated wit ...

faggot Faggot, faggots, or faggoting may refer to: Arts and crafts * Faggoting (metalworking), forge welding a bundle of bars of iron and steel * Faggoting (knitting), variation of lace knitting in which every stitch is a yarn over or a decrease * F ...

/ fag – slur against gay men. First recorded in a Portland, Oregon publication in 1914 * fairy – a slur reclaimed by gay men in the 1960s * flamer * fruit (also fruit loop, fruit packer, butt fruit) – a slur against gay men; originally a stereotype of gay men as "softer" and "smelling good" * fudge packer *

maricón The Spanish language employs a wide range of swear words that vary between Spanish-speaking countries, Spanish speaking nations and in regions and subcultures of each nation. Idiomatic expressions, particularly profanity, are not always direct ...

or (in Spanish) * ogay * Pansy * poof/poofta/ (Australian) * sod (from Sodomy) * or ''veado'' – a gay male or an effeminate man (lit., a corrupted form of "deer", derived from ''desviado'', meaning deviant) (Brazil)

Terms describing lesbians

* baby butch – a young, boyish lesbian (US) * baby dyke – a young or recently out lesbian (US) * bambi lesbian – a lesbian who prefers cuddles, hugs, kisses, and other affectionate and sensual non-sexual acts over sexual acts * bean flicker – Likening the clitoris to a bean * boi – a boyish lesbian (UK) * – a lesbian with male presentation * bull dyke – a masculine lesbian, as opposed to a baby butch or dinky dyke (US) *

butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, an Old West outlaw gang *Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Miller (wrestler) (born 1944), ring name of New Zealand professional wr ...

– a masculine lesbian * Carpet muncher (or "rug muncher") *

dyke Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes, ...

("bull dyke", "bull dagger", alternatively "bulldagger", "bulldicker"), from 1920s black American slang. A slur reclaimed by women who are attracted to women in the 1950s ** diesel dyke ** drag dyke * dykon – portmanteau of ''dyke'' + '' icon''. A celebrity woman who is seen as an icon by lesbians; may or may not be a lesbian herself (US) * (in French) * 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 * kitty puncher / pussy puncher – with both "kitty" and "pussy" referring to a woman's vagina, and "puncher" as a variation on various derogatory terms for gay men, such "donut puncher". * 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 Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...

* lipstick lesbian – a lesbian/bisexual woman who displays historically feminine attributes such as wearing make-up, dresses, and high heels * muff-diver – a lesbian * pillow princess – a lesbian who prefers to receive sexual stimulation (to bottom) (US) * (Brazil) or (Portugal) * soft butch – an androgynous lesbian, in between femme and butch (US) * stem, stemme – someone whose gender expression falls somewhere between a stud and a femme * stone butch – a very masculine lesbian, or a butch lesbian who does not receive touch during intercourse, only giving (US) * stud – a black butch

Terms describing bisexuals

* AC/DC – reference to "swinging both ways" (US) * – euphemism for bisexual, derived from ambidextrous * bicon – portmanteau of ''

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

'' + '' icon''. Used to refer to a bisexual celebrity * Gillette Blade – a 1950s era term for bisexual women, whose sexuality "cuts both ways" * switch hitter – from the baseball term * unicorn – a bisexual, usually female, who desires multiple partners and is willing to join an existing married couple and sexually satisfy both members of the couple. So-named because bisexuals willing to enter to such an arrangement are considered rare or non-existent, while couples seeking such a partner ("unicorn hunters") are common.

Terms describing androgynous or intersex people

* – Japanese word for hermaphroditism, which is also used in a broader sense for androgyny. Krauss, Friedrich Salomo et al. ''Japanisches Geschlechtsleben: Abhandlungen und Erhebungen über das Geschlechtsleben des japanischen Volkes; folkloristische Studien'', Schustek, 1965 The term is also heavily associated with a genre of

hentai Hentai is anime and manga pornography. A loanword from Japanese, the original term ( ) does not describe a genre of media, but rather an abnormal sexual desire or act, as an abbreviation of . In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exis ...

defined by sexualization of characters simultaneously possesssing breasts, a penis and vagina. * hermie – an androgynous or intersex person, often considered a slur. * altersex – a term describing an alternative sex in fiction or a body plan that is usually inaccessible in real life.

Terms describing transgender and non-binary people

* boymoder – a transgender woman 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. * Copenhagen capon – a transsexual; someone who has undergone sex reassignment surgery. The term alludes to Christine Jorgensen, a trans woman who underwent sex reassignment surgery in Copenhagen in the 1950s. A capon is a

neutered Neutering, from the Latin ''neuter'' ('of neither sex'), is the removal of an animal's reproductive organ, either all of it or a considerably large part. The male-specific term is castration, while spaying is usually reserved for female animals. C ...

rooster. * / – a female-to-male (FtM) and male-to-female (MtF) transgender/transsexual person, respectively, who has not had genital surgery, sometimes used for fictional characters * egg – a transgender person who has not yet realized they are trans; 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 * – a non-binary person. Derived from the abbreviation NB. * hon – a non-passing transgender woman. This term is primarily used by trans women in online communities, especially 4chan. It is considered derogatory. * lady boy – English translation of kathoey, similar or equivalent to ''transgender woman'', but may refer to feminine

or intersex people. * repressor – a person who is fighting the wish to change their gender expression. * shemale – a trans woman with male genitalia and possibly female secondary sex characteristics.Autumn Sandeen
Blaming The Victim, Angie Zapata, For Her Own Death
Shadowproof, 19 Mar 2009 Primarily a term used in pornography and often considered derogatory. * – a trans woman (short for "trans girl"). Sometimes considered derogatory, due to its association with

transgender pornography Transgender pornography is a genre of pornography featuring transsexual or transgender actors. The majority of the genre features trans women, but trans men are sometimes featured. Trans women are most often featured with male partners, but they ar ...

. ** / – a trans man (short for "trans boy" and "trans guy") * tranarchist – transgender

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

. *

tranny ''Tranny'' is an offensive and derogatory slur for a transgender individual. During the early 2000s, there was some confusion and debate over whether the term was a pejorative, was considered acceptable, or a reappropriated term of unity and pr ...

– slur used for transgender people. * ( portmanteau of ''trans'' + ''lesbian'') – a transgender lesbian. See also . * — slur for someone whose perceived gender is opposite their anatomical sex, particularly a trans woman or effeminate boy. Implies that others who are attracted to them (typically heterosexual men) are maliciously deceived (i.e. "trapped") regarding their "real" gender. Considered derogatory and dehumanizing.

Terms related to transgender and non-binary people

* chaser / tranny chaser – someone attracted to transgender people. Often used in a pejorative fashion, chasers to value them for their trans status alone, rather than being attracted to them as a person * clock – to recognize someone as transgender. * deadname – as a noun, a transgender person's birth name. As a verb, to refer to someone by their deadname. * girldick – a transfeminine person's penis, especially one changed by hormone use. Also known as girlcock or gock. * malefail – typically of transfeminine people, to be gendered as feminine when trying to present in a masculine gender role. * packing – the act of wearing padding or a phallic object to present the appearance of a penis * passing – being perceived by strangers as cisgender. *

skoliosexual Sexual attraction to transgender people has been the subject of scientific study and social commentary. Psychologists have researched sexual attraction toward trans women, cross dressers, non-binary people, and a combination of these. Publicati ...

– to describe attraction to non-binary people. * stealth – passing to the extent that most people do not know that you are trans. * TERF – acronym for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist"; a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

whose advocacy excludes or opposes the rights of trans women; more generally, anyone hostile to transgender people. Such feminists typically prefer the term ''

gender critical Feminist views on transgender topics vary widely. Third-wave feminists and fourth-wave feminists tend to view the struggle for trans rights as an integral part of intersectional feminism. Former president of the American National Organization f ...

''.

Terms describing cisgender or heterosexual people

* breeder – a heterosexual person, especially one with children * cishet – Someone who is cisgender and heterosexual and/or heteroromantic. * chaser – a cisgender person who has a sexual fetish for transgender people, usually transgender women. * fag hag – a heterosexual woman who specifically associates with gay men. *

fag stag Fag stag and fruit fly are slang terms for a heterosexual man who either enjoys, prefers the company of (or simply has numerous friends who are), gay or bisexual people. The latter term comes from the derogatory term for homosexuals (fruit). The ...

– heterosexual man who enjoys company of gay men. * – a cisgender woman who identifies as a heterosexual woman ''except'' in the context of her attraction to gay/bisexual men; in these instances, she regards herself as a gay man too. * guydyke or lesboy – a cisgender man who identifies as a heterosexual man ''except'' in the context of his attraction to lesbian/bisexual women; in these instances, he regards himself as a lesbian too.

Terms describing asexuality or aromanticity

* ace – short for asexual. * aro – short for

aromantic A person's romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender with which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a Interpersonal relationship#Romance, romantic rela ...

* , aro-ace, aro/ace – both

and asexual * ace of spades – an aromantic asexual * ace of hearts – a romantic asexual * ace of diamond – a demiromantic demisexual * ace of swords – a greyromantic

greysexual Gray asexuality, grey asexuality, or gray-sexuality is the spectrum between asexuality and sexuality. Individuals who identify with gray asexuality are referred to as being gray-A, gray ace, or grace, and make up what is referred to as the "ac ...

* squish – a non-romantic or platonic version of crush * queerplatonic relationship – committed intimate relationships which are not

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

nor (necessarily) sexual in nature * zucchini – queerplatonic partner.

LGBT subgroups

The following slang terms have been used to represent various types of people within the

LGBT community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay men, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a comm ...

: *

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

– a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged

masculinity Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors con ...

. The bear subgroup is among the oldest and largest of the LGBT community. Pride.com says "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. They exude masculinity, and are some of the kindest men you'll meet in your entire life." ''Attitude'' magazine says bears are "typically older" with a big build, a belly, and lots of hair. 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"), the koala bear (Australian men), the panda bear (men of

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

descent), and the polar bear, which represents an older bear with white hair. ** cub – a younger bear. Pride.com describes cubs as "baby bears" or "large, hairy guys in their teens and 20's who are on their way to becoming a bear". ** bear chaser – a man who pursues bears ** otter – a man who is slender and hairy. ** 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." ''Attitude'' says wolves are "typically older and masculine" with a "muscular/athletic build". * 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." ''Attitude'' says bulls have a "super-muscular build" with any hair style, and can be any age. * chicken – a young twink. ''Attitude'' says chickens are "hairless and young" with a slim or skinny build. * chickenhawk – a typically older man who seeks younger men. From ''chickenhawk'', a designation for several birds which are thought to hunt chickens. * pig – someone who is "more focused on sex than anything else, often into kinkier and somewhat seedier sexual practices", according to Pride.com. * pup / puppy – in animal roleplay, someone who wants to be treated like a puppy, "with love and affection", by a handler. ''Attitude'' says pups are "young and submissive" with a slender build and little hair. * silver fox – an older man with gray hair * twink – a young or young-looking gay man, with little body hair and a slender build * twunk – a twink with well-developed physique (from ''twink'' + ''hunk'')

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Lavender Linguistics, from Guardian Unlimited

Frederick, Brian J. (2012) Partying with a purpose: Finding meaning in an online "party 'n' play" subculture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lgbt Slang Slang terms LGBT-related slurs Sociolinguistics lists Lists of slang