The word "queer"
Tim Retzloff
> "...it is *emphatically* true that the term "queer" has a history
> that until very recent times is without exception extremely hate-
> laden and homophobic..."
According to George Chauncey's doctoral dissertation "Gay New York:
Urban Culture and the Making of a Gay Male World, 1890-1940" (Yale U,
1989), what we would now term as gay men were using the word "queer"
to identify themselves, and each other, in New York City by the early
part of the 20th century. Oddly, "queer" was used mainly to
refer to men who could pass as straight, and "fairy" was used for men
who did not pass, who were quite effeminate. The word has *not*
always been an epithet. When admonishing people to know their
history, please be advised that much of our history is still being
uncovered.
------------------------------
Tim Retzloff
University of Michigan-Flint Library
Flint, Michigan 48502-2186
INTERNET: retzl...@crob.flint.umich.edu
adolphson
> On Nov. 22 Jess Anderson <ande...@macc.wisc.edu> wrote:
> > "...it is *emphatically* true that the term "queer" has a history
> > that until very recent times is without exception extremely hate-
> > laden and homophobic..."
> According to George Chauncey's doctoral dissertation "Gay New York:
> Urban Culture and the Making of a Gay Male World, 1890-1940" (Yale U,
> 1989), what we would now term as gay men were using the word "queer"
> to identify themselves, and each other, in New York City by the early
> part of the 20th century.
From my new Bible, _What Did I Do?_, by Larry Rivers:
What was the code word for 'homosexual' in those
days [late 1940s]? In my immediate group of friends
[most of whom were arty-farty homosexuals] it was
"queer." What was it out there beyond my circle?
"Fag"? No, that was much later. "Pansy"? "Fairy"?
"Sissy"? Those terms were insulting. What else was
out there that was not insulting? You could tell
where people stood on the subject of homosexuality
by the word they used. There was "queen" (more
neutral), and there was the aggressive objectivity
of "cocksucker." I didn't mind being called a cunt
lapper. I thought it gave me stature. I thought
the word "cocksucker" gave homosexuals the same
pleasure. Both terms marked us as standing outside
the pale of society. That was then. Forty years ago.
Arne
Jess Anderson
Tim Retzloff <RETZL...@crob.flint.umich.edu> wrote:
>On Nov. 22 Jess Anderson <ande...@macc.wisc.edu> wrote:
>> "...it is *emphatically* true that the term "queer" has a history
>> that until very recent times is without exception extremely hate-
>> laden and homophobic..."
>According to George Chauncey's doctoral dissertation "Gay New York:
>Urban Culture and the Making of a Gay Male World, 1890-1940" (Yale U,
>1989), what we would now term as gay men were using the word "queer"
>to identify themselves, and each other, in New York City by the early
>part of the 20th century. Oddly, "queer" was used mainly to
>refer to men who could pass as straight, and "fairy" was used for men
>who did not pass, who were quite effeminate. The word has *not*
>always been an epithet. When admonishing people to know their
>history, please be advised that much of our history is still being
>uncovered.
Point accepted, of course. I was, like the people I've been
addressing, basing my remark on only my first-hand personal
history, which wrt the topic goes back only to 1943, the
year I was 8. Tsk, tsk to myself.
While it's true that much of our history is still being
uncovered, it's also useful to remember that history is
what's written down, not what happened, necessarily. In
any case, "queer" was so malodorous in 1950 as not to be
in common use; "gay" was the word (at least for men), and
it was something of a secret signal too, for most of the
straight world did not (as they do today) recognize the
word as referring to homosexuality.
--
[Jess Anderson <> Division of Information Technology, University of Wisconsin]
[Internet: ande...@macc.wisc.edu {o"o} UUCP:{}!uwvax!macc.wisc.edu!anderson]
[Room 3130 <> 1210 West Dayton Street / Madison WI 53706 <> Phone 608/262-5888]
[> To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs. <]
Ann Burlingham
In a previous article, adol...@mizar.usc.edu (adolphson) says:
>From my new Bible, _What Did I Do?_, by Larry Rivers:
>
> What was the code word for 'homosexual' in those
> days [late 1940s]? In my immediate group of friends
> [most of whom were arty-farty homosexuals] it was
> "queer." What was it out there beyond my circle?
> "Fag"? No, that was much later. "Pansy"? "Fairy"?
> "Sissy"? Those terms were insulting.
My mother, before she figured out that her brother was, you know, *that
way*, went to a party with him in Greenwich Village (in the late forties or
very early fifties, I think). A *nice* young man asked what were her
favorite flowers. "Pansies." "Oh, *mine too*!"