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Swish (slang)
Swish is a US English slang term for effeminate behavior and interests (Camp (style), camp), emphasized and sanctioned in gay male communities prior to the Stonewall riots. This behaviour is also described as being nelly in British English, and both terms are often considered to be derogatory. Being swish stereotypically includes a "sashaying" walk, and the use of falsetto voices, feminine pronouns, and superlatives. According to Martin Levine and Michael Kimmel in ''Gay Macho: The Life and Death of the Homosexual Clone'': Status after the Stonewall riots Although being Butch and femme#Butch, butch was viewed as deviant and socially unacceptable by gay male society, being swish has since lost its mainstream gay status post-Stonewall, and in addition to being used occasionally by mainstream culture is now most often derogatory even when used by gay men. Though it may be assumed that most post-Stonewall gay men view acting swish as Homophobia#Internalized, internalized homophobia ...
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US English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and, since 2025, the official language of the United States. It is also an official language in 32 of the 50 U.S. states and the '' de facto'' common language used in government, education, and commerce in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in all territories except Puerto Rico. Since the late 20th century, American English has become the most influential form of English worldwide. Varieties of American English include many patterns of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and particularly spelling that are unified nationwide but distinct from other forms of English around the world. Any American or Canadian accent perceived as lacking noticeably local, ethnic, or cultural markers is known in linguistics as General American; it covers a fairly uniform a ...
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Castro Clone
''Castro clone'' is slang for a homosexual man who appears in dress and style as an idealized working-class man. The term and image grew out of the heavily gay-populated Castro neighborhood in San Francisco during the late 1970s, when the modern LGBT rights movement, sparked by the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City and the Summer of Love, gave rise to an urban community. The first recorded usage of the term is from Arthur Evans's "Red Queen Broadsides", a series of posters he wheatpasted around the Castro at the time. The look was most common from roughly the mid-1970s to around the mid-1980s. The Castro style regained popularity in the first decade of the 21st century, particularly among LGBT hipsters. Fashion The Castro-clone appearance typically consisted of masculine attire such as uniforms, leather or Levi's jeans, and checked (or plaid) shirts. Typical of the look was a form-fitting T-shirt, shrink-to-fit denim trousers worn snugly (bell bottoms and low-ri ...
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Gender Roles In The LGBTQ Community
Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other than their sex assigned at birth. Most cultures use a gender binary, in which gender is divided into two categories, and people are considered part of one or the other;Kevin L. Nadal, ''The Sage Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender'' (2017, ), p. 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization." those who are outside these groups may fall under the umbrella term ''non-binary''. Some societies have ''third genders'' (and ''fourth genders'', etc.) such as the hijras of South Asia and two-spirit persons nati ...
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Gay Effeminacy
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 19th century, that meaning became increasingly common by the mid-20th century. In modern English, ''gay'' has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, ''gay'' became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation. By the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the word ''gay'' was recommended by major LGBTQ groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex, (Reprinted fro American Psychologist, Vol 46(9), Sep 1991, 973-974) although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of ...
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Gay Culture
LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals ( LGBTQ people). It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically. LGBT culture varies widely by geography and the identity of the participants. Elements common to cultures of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people include: * Works by famous gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, including: ** Contemporary LGBTQ artists and political figures like Larry Kramer, Keith Haring and Rosa von Praunheim. ** Historical figures identified as LGBTQ, although identifying historical figures with modern terms for sexual identity is controversial (see History of sexuality). However, many LGBTQ people feel a kinship with these people and their work (particularly that addressing same-sex attraction or ge ...
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Joel Derfner
Joel Derfner (born January 12, 1973) is an American writer and composer. He is the author of three gay-themed books: ''Gay Haiku'' (2005), ''Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead'' (2008), and ''Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family'' (2013). His articles have appeared in publications including the ''Huffington Post'', ''The Advocate'', ''Time Out New York'', and '' Between the Lines''. Derfner and his works have been cited as references on gay culture, and he has been noted as one of "today's best-known gay writers". He is the composer of several musicals, and he teaches musical theater composition at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Derfner was also co-star of the first season of the 2010 reality television show ''Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys'', along with his close friend Sarah Rose. Early life and education Derfner was born in 1973 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Charle ...
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Polari
Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particularly among the Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures, gay subculture. There is some debate about its origins, but it can be traced to at least the 19th century and possibly as early as the 16th century. Polari has a long-standing connection with Punch and Judy street puppeteers, who traditionally used it to converse. Terminology Alternative spellings include ''Parlare'', ''Parlary'', ''Palare'', ''Palarie'' and ''Palari''. Description Polari is a mixture of Romance (Italian language, ItalianBritis ...
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LGBT Rights Movement
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their interests, numerous LGBTQ rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBTQ rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin. A commonly stated goal among these movements is equal rights for LGBTQ people, often focusing on specific goals such as ending the criminalization of homosexuality or enacting same-sex marriage. Others have focused on building LGBTQ communities or worked towards liberation for the broader society from homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia. LGBTQ movements organized today are made up of a wide range of political activism and cultural activity, including lobbying, street marches, social groups, media, art, and research. Overview Sociologist M ...
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Disco
Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ community, Gay and Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino communities. Its sound features four-on-the-floor (music), four-on-the-floor beats, syncopation, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass instrument, brass and horn (musical instrument), horns, electric pianos, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars. Discothèques, mostly a French invention, were imported to the United States with the opening of Le Club, a members-only restaurant and nightclub at 416 East 55th Street in Manhattan, by French expatriate Olivier Coquelin, on New Year's Eve 1960. Disco music originated from music popular with African-American culture, African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans#Cultural matters, Latino Americans, and Italian Americans#Influe ...
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Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic, sardonic characters and was known for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical film, historical and period films and occasional comedies, although her greatest successes were her roles in romantic dramas. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice, was the first person to accrue ten Academy Award nominations (and one write-in) for acting, and was the first woman to receive a AFI Life Achievement Award, Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 1999, Davis was placed second on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. After appearing in Broadway theatre, Broadway plays, Davis move ...
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Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she was known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragedy, tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema. Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film ''The Saga of Gosta Berling, The Saga of Gösta Berling''. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, ''Torrent (1926 film), Torrent'' (1926). Garbo's performance in ''Fle ...
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Tea Dance (gay Event)
Tea dances are events organized on Sunday afternoons in the US gay community, originating in New York in the 1950s and 1960s. The original dances included tea service. They were a place for singles to meet. The name alludes to traditional tea dances of the English countryside. History It was illegal until the mid-1960s for bars in New York to sell alcohol to people known to be gay, and New York City police would conduct raids on establishments catering to them. Hence, gay men in the area began to hold tea dances outside the city as an alternative venue for meeting. In New York, these generally took place on Fire Island, in Cherry Grove and the Pines, on Sunday afternoons. Serving tea rather than alcohol made them more acceptable and less law-defying. Because they were held in the afternoon, attendees could catch a ferry and return home and be ready to work on Monday morning. Tea dances spread beyond New York and lasted into the 1990s and beyond, regularly taking place in Miam ...
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