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Queer yes,

by Trent Ernst

Forgive my etymological bent, but
words and their histories fascinate me.
How do words develop their meaning?
Why do things mean what they mean?
Especially the so called ‘queer’ words.
Why are ‘queer’ words ‘queer?’

Queer itself has origins that are
easily traced. Originally taken to mean
‘odd,’ the word began to refer to
homosexual practices and individuals in
the early twentieth century. While it was
originally used as a derogatory term, it
has come to be a symbol of pride for the
homosexual community (consider this,
the queer issue of the Other Press).

Gay has similar origins, but took
a few more steps to get there. Originally
meaning ‘happy,’ it became a term for
the idle rich in the early 17th century.

. By. the 19th
century it had

 

Pik Press

but what does it mean

from the 16th century Quean—an
unpleasant or promiscuous woman.

One of the most interesting and
mystifying of queer words is faggot, or
fag. Etymologists are unsure of the
origins of the word. Some people believe
that the word dates back to the middle
ages. During the witch hunts of the
middle ages, gay men were used as fuel
for the fires that burned witches in
addition to real faggots, or bundles of
sticks. However, most experts feel that
this is simply an urban legend.

An alternate derivation of the
word is that it comes from British slang
for a cigarette. Proponents of this theory
believe that macho cigar smokers started
calling men who smoke cigarettes
‘faggots’ in a pejorative sense,

the 18th century ‘dike’ was slang for
men’s clothing. Calling a women a dike
or dyke insinuated masculine
appearance or behaviour. It still is often
used to insinuate butchness in lesbians,
but the term has developed beyond such
a narrow definition.

And speaking of lesbian; the term
originally meant an inhabitant of the
Island of Lesbos. The Ancient Greek
poet Saphos, who lived on Lesbos, wrote
about the love shared between the
women on Lesbos, and the term quickly
gained pejorative connotations. Calling
someone a Lesbian (back then) carried
the same stigma as calling someone a
Surrey girl does (today).

And there is the beauty of queer
words. Most have gone from symbols

of weakness to

 

i

   

become a
“wink, wink,
nudge, nudge”
term for
promiscuous
women. And

Originally meaning ‘happy’, gay became a
standard issue term for homosexual

 

by the early

twentieth

century, the

homosexual community had adopted it

as their own. In the 1970s, gay became

a standard issue term for homosexual.
Queen, a term favoured by many

gay men, including our very own Queen

Saffron (see article this issue) is not, as

one might expect, an etymological

aspiration to royalty. The word has its

roots closer to the street than the palace.

Queen, when used in this sense, decends

insinuating that cigarette smoking was
much more effeminate than cigar
smoking.

A third theory (also from Britain)
is that it comes from the practice of
‘fagging,’ in British schools, where
younger boys were humiliated, and
made to do menial task by older students.

Dyke, like most of these terms,
was first used in a derogatory sense. In

symbols of
strength. What
began as a stigma
has become a
mark of pride.
Those who are
oppressed have
taken the rhetoric
of their oppressors
and used it to the
good of the oppressed. History bears this
out again and again (remember, “Primus
Sucks!”).

There are hundreds of other queer
words. If you are interested in learning
more about queer language, a good place
to start is The Alyson Almanac. Or, if
you’ re just interested in fringe language
in general, try The Dictionary of Slang
or Wicked Words.

 

February 6, 1996

 

poe stays * int the closet,

cco ‘What matters to me is their
ae eae It makes mote sense

 

 

 

 

 

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