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

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...

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 Greek word (), neuter of () meaning 'of or fo ...

used predominantly among

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

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, ...

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

, LGBT slang has served as an

argot A cant is the jargon or language of a group, often employed to exclude or mislead people outside the group.McArthur, T. (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (1992) Oxford University Press It may also be called a cryptolect, argo ...

cant Cant, CANT, canting, or canted may refer to: Language * Cant (language), a secret language * Beurla Reagaird, a language of the Scottish Highland Travellers * Scottish Cant, a language of the Scottish Lowland Travellers * Shelta or the Cant, a la ...

, a secret language and a way for the LGBT community to communicate with each other publicly without revealing their

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

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 Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages and has grown over the past century to encompass mo ...

scholars.

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, includin ...

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 The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...

(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

s 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; gyn ...

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 A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsanal 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 A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inc ...

'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 Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. 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 huma ...

– 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 homosexua ...

– having or seeking anonymous gay sex in a public toilet, or 'cottage' (UK) * cruising – seeking a casual gay sex encounter (historically from

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

) * down-low – homosexual or bisexual activity, kept secret, by

men who have sex with men Men who have sex with men (MSM) are male persons who engage in sexual activity with members of the same sex. The term was created in the 1990s by epidemiologists to study the spread of disease among all men who have sex with men, regardless of ...

(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 Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

. * gaymer – an LGBT person who plays

video games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedbac ...

(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 l ...

– 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 In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

– see vers *

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

– see femboy * top – 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 Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

– 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 ...

– 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 The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

– 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 A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any Convention (norm), custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many s ...

to identify other LGBT people. Likely a reference to

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, who portrayed Dorothy 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 Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

– 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) **

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 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, accountancy companies, ...

; 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 – a slur for gay or effeminate man (

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

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 co ...

* 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 pe ...

. Often derogatory. *

homo thug Banjee (as in: "banjee boy" or "banjee girl") is a term originating in the 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 with New York City and m ...

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 * ...

/ fag – slur against gay men. First recorded in a

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

publication in 1914 * fairy – a slur reclaimed by gay men in the 1960s * flamer *

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

(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 or (in Spanish) * ogay *

Pansy The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', ...

* poof/poofta/ (Australian) * sod (from

Sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...

) * 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 – a masculine lesbian * Carpet muncher (or "rug muncher") * dyke ("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 An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

''. 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), an ...

lipstick lesbian "Lipstick lesbian" is slang for a lesbian who exhibits a greater amount of feminine gender attributes, such as wearing make-up, dresses or skirts, and having other characteristics associated with feminine women. In popular usage, the term is also ...

– 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 Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

butch

Terms describing bisexuals

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

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsbisexual 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, whic ...

'' + ''

''. Used to refer to a bisexual

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in spor ...

* 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 Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

. 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 exi ...

defined by sexualization of characters simultaneously possesssing breasts, a penis and vagina. * hermie – an androgynous or

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

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 Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and a ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

in the 1950s. A

capon A capon (from la, cāpō, genitive ''cāpōnis'') is a cockerel ( rooster) that has been castrated or neutered, either physically or chemically, to improve the quality of its flesh for food, and, in some countries like Spain, fattened by for ...

is a neutered 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 ''Kathoey'' or ''katoey'' ( th, กะเทย; ) is an identity used by some people in Thailand, whose identities in English may be best described as transgender women in some cases, or effeminate gay men in other cases. Transgende ...

, similar or equivalent to ''transgender woman'', but may refer to feminine

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 A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

(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

(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 neces ...

. *

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 A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordstrans woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and s ...

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. Public ...

– 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 ...

''.

Terms describing cisgender or heterosexual people

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, ...

– 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 – 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 romantic relationship with. The term is used alo ...

* , 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 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, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and so ...

: *

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 No ...

– 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 ...

. 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 Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

men), the brown bear (

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

men), the grizzly bear ("dominant bears of extreme stature or hairiness"), the koala bear (Australian men), the panda bear (men of Asian 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 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 No ...

** otter – a man who is slender and hairy. ** wolf – Pride.com says, "Similar to an otter, a

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

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. *

– 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