Word for gay in the 1920s

Vaseline Alley — also known as Bitches Walk; unbroken line of benches from the southeast corner of Central Park to the Mall; another popular meeting place for gay men. Fruited Plain — Open lawn at north end of the Rambles in Central Park; popular meeting place for gay men.

Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the midth century. Trade also Rough Trade — Ostensibly straight men, generally soldiers, sailors or working class, willing to have sex with men, usually only as the insertive partner.

Or at least, professions. But the F word may have occasional use as well as pansy (coming from the s) and punk (after being used for women it would eventually be used to describe men who sold sex to other men), a good place to look for slang that would have been popular is queer sex workers of the time period or incarcerated queer people (the overlap is significant).

Paddywagon — police car where those arrested during a raid are put and driven to the station. A history of early words used to label homosexuals, leading up to the use of the word 'gay', first in Midwest America in the mid-twentieth century.

I prefer Central Park. In English, some terms in widespread use have been sodomite, Sapphic, Uranian or Urning, homophile, lesbian, gay, and queer. So, to continue the fun, below find a Glossary of the slang terms of the Prohibition era that so far have found their way into Speakeasy:.

Flapper — young woman who wears short skirts, loves jazz, drinks booze, is sexually active and otherwise flouts conservative conventions. They describe sexual preferences and types, as well as particular places and activities important to homosexuals of the time.

A History of 39

You want a true Jocker, pick a sailor! Only punks and gonsils there! Always good for a holiday. Vaseline Alley. All those Muzzlers and Jockers milling about in nature. Notes from a Composer. Some of these terms are solely of their time, some have survived into the modern era, albeit often with modified meanings.

Smack in the middle of Manhattan. Nance — term for homosexual man, could be used both positively and pejoratively. Part of the fun of researching ’s and ’s Queer subculture in New York City was coming across a wide variety of specialized slang and coded terms that flourished among homosexual men and women of the time.

Pansy — term for homosexual man, could be used both positively and pejoratively. Playing Checkers — moving from seat to seat in a darkened movie theater in search of interested sex partners. Before 'gay' became common and accepted parlance, the world invented its own unofficial terms for men who dug men.

Twilight Aristocracy — metaphor for how gay men saw themselves within wider society also Cognescenti, Fraternity, Presbyterians. Rose, please! For the most part the meaning of the words should be clear in context. Some of these words are specific to women.

Queer — odd, unusual; also term for homosexual, used both positively and pejoratively. Some of these terms are solely of their time, some have survived into the modern era, albeit often with modified meanings. However a little confusion can be fun too, as in this moment, when John Allison eavesdrops on a trio of Gay Florists and Julian Carnation:.

To read more about Speakeasy, follow The Speakeasy Chronicles. Two men at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear indicate their identity with the word gay.

The Incredible Forgotten Queer

The Fruited Plain. To hear music demos from the Speakeasy score, go to its Soundcloud page. Some names were self-created and others were thrust, often cruelly, upon gay, bi.