Gay in Tucson, Arizona, remembers her grandmother inviting guests in with take off your cape and fascinator and have a seat. Originally, a fascinator was a kind of scarf that held one’s hair in place and added an air of mystery, and thus...
Gaywater is not the opposite of conversion therapy. It’s a southern American term for whiskey, especially the illegal kind. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Gaywater” You know the term gay water? I’ve seen...
The noun camp and the adjective campy refer to movies, theater, or a style or an exaggerated manner of creative or personal expression that combines high and low elements of culture. These terms were first used in the underground gay community, and...
Marty from Philadelphia asks when gay shifted from meaning “merry” or “happy” to meaning “homosexual,” and why that particular word took on the newer sense. English borrowed gay from French in the 1300s for “merry” or “jolly,” while late-1800s hobo...
zap n.— «Following the 1969 Stonewall riots, as the nascent gay rights movement became increasingly combative, a gay Philadelphia teenager initiated his own guerrilla war aimed at television, including the CBS Evening News. Mark Segal...
boner dyke n.— «Ditto calls the song a “boner dyke anthem for straight girls who like to turn guys on by making out or, like, faking gay.”» —“Beth Ditto Calls Katy Perry “Offensive to Gay Culture”” by...