LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Conversing In Lavender Language |
by Rebecca James |
Fag? Butch? Gay? Where did these terms come from? GLBT people rely on many words to express their sexual orientation. Throughout the 20th century, print media and technology grew and people became less isolated. They required more labels and descriptions for themselves and the communities they created. Evidence of sexual relationships between two people of the same gender is not difficult to find prior to the 20th century in ancient writings. However, until the science of psychology developed the concept of homosexuality and heterosexuality in the late 1800s, there was not necessarily the same polarized view of sexuality that predominated the 20th century. References to same-sex relationships are made in the Christian Bible, essays by Plato and other famous philosophers and authors; in general, these written works were referring to a sexual behavior and social bonding practice that did not require other labels to define it. Modern translations of many of these works alter the original connotations of these relationships by employing current language and the social stigmas attached to it. With this in mind, the focus of the following list of words concentrates on euphemisms and slang terms developed at the height of the homosexual-heterosexual division, when the subject was not only taboo but positively deadly to identify with. It encompasses words from approximately 1870 to the 1960s. During this time, being gay meant being subjected to a life of secret codes, basement clubs with special passwords, and strict rules to follow to protect your identity. People found ways to communicate their sexual orientation without using the derogatory medical diagnosis. Literature, music, and the visual arts produced during this era are often encoded; this prompted the development of the modern queer theory movement, part of which attempts to understand the hidden content of these works. After the Stonewall riots in New York City in 1969, the vocabulary of the gay community exploded. Entire dictionaries have been dedicated to the subject since then; Bruce Rodger's The Queen's Vernacular (1972) and similar books provide references that are more modern. The term Boston marriage was fashionable in late 19th century New England. It was a polite term to describe a long-term relationship between two otherwise unmarried women. Typically, these women were financially independent feminists whose social relationships and interest primarily concerned other women. Women in Boston marriages often considered each other their soulmate. They frequently used terms of endearments such as lover, but not all relationships would be considered sexual by today's standards. They were treated as a couple by most of popular society. Henry James' novel The Bostonians is one example of this kind of relationship. Other famous examples include Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein, and Jeannette Marks and Mary Woolley. Another term for female-female relationships at this time was romantic friendship. Both terms referred to women born of high social status and were considered legitimate and respectable relationships. Legitimate unions between women are not an American (or British) phenomenon. For example, in the recent novel The Language of Threads, the author describes similar relationships between women committed to the Japanese silk factories in the early 1900s. These women underwent a special ceremony, not unlike marriage, that professed their commitment to each other or to their all-female communities. The term butch developed in about 1950, it was used to describe a woman in men's clothing. During this time, the "butch-femme" style was standard for lesbian couples. It was rejected by the 1960s and 1970s lesbian-feminist movement, but has remained a lesbian subculture. Dyke and its earlier spelling dike were first recorded in 1942 as a slang term for a lesbian or mannish woman. One possible etymology of this word is gradual changes made in the word hermaphrodite (to maphrodite, to dite, to dike). Fag and faggot are terms with several possible etymologies; different scholars frequently subscribe to the one that best suits their argument. One theory suggests that the word refers to the sticks used in the burning of heretics; eventually the name transferred to the embroidered patch worn by unburned heretics. A second theory notes that in the 18th century, a faggot was a silly woman and suggests that the word is a play on the stereotype of male homosexual effeminacy. Using the term to describe sexual relations between two men may also be linked to the British public school fag, a junior boy who must perform menial and possibly sexual favors for older boys. Finally, the Yiddish term faygele means little bird, which would be another play on stereotypical behavior. The word adapted its more modern American connotations via prison slang. It was listed in a 1914 report on the vocabulary of prison inmates by Jackson and Hellyer. Gaycat or geycat was another term used in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Geycat referred to a young male tramp; in approximately 1930, this word began to imply that the young tramp would be traveling with an older man with whom he was involved sexually. It was eventually shortened to simply gay. Gay turned up as prison slang for a man that would provide sexual services in prison to other men; it was first recorded in 1935. It was eventually adopted by a larger culture to describe the relationships between two people of the same sex. Gertrude Stein used the word extensively in her story Miss Furr and Miss Skeene; although she played on the other definition of gay that meant "especially happy," Stein was in fact referring to the relationship between the two women. In the 1980s and today, the term could also refer to anything "silly" or "stupid"not necessarily a definition embraced by people in same-sex relationships. Homosexual was first recorded in Kraft-Ebing's Psychopathia in 1892, a scientific textbook. It defined a homosexual as a person who has a "propensity for one's own sex." This term and the theories surrounding it significantly changed the perception of same-sex relationships. Literally meaning a resident of the Island of Lesbos, the term lesbian began to refer to the relationships of the island's now famous poet Sappho at about the same time the term homosexual came into use. In 1890, a medical dictionary included the term to define the practice of tribadism, or one type of sex practice between two women. Same-sex oriented is a modern term preferable to the older 'homosexual' because of the stigma surrounding the earlier word. Also employed are the terms 'sexual preference, affectional preference, and affectional orientation.' Whenever possible, modern 'politically correct' writers avoid terms that include 'preference' because of the implication that same-sex orientation is a choice, which is not the current theory. Using 'affectional' instead of 'sexual' is also common to avoid the automatic association between same-sex relationships and sexual behavior. Throughout history, the words we use to define ourselves and others have affected every part of our lives. Words can be used to divide or unite a community, and their changing meanings and popularity will continue to color everyday speech and formal writing. The development of words in the gay vocabulary is evidence of an evolving culture and the changing attitudes of the rest of society. Rebecca James lives in Allentown, PA, where she is pursuing a BA in English. She will be spending summer 2001 working as a massage technician in Rehoboth's Spa by the Sea. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 11, No. 4, May 4, 2001. |