Polari - The Lost Language of Gay MenPolari is a secret form of language mainly used by homosexual men in London and other cities during the twentieth century. Derived in part from the slang lexicons of numerous stigmatised and itinerant groups, Polari was also a means of socialising, acting out camp performances and reconstructing a shared gay identity and worldview among its speakers. This book examines the ways in which Polari was used in order to construct 'gay identities', linking its evolution to the changing status of gay men and lesbians in the UK over the past fifty years. |
Contents
Section 21 | |
Section 22 | |
Section 23 | |
Section 24 | |
Section 25 | |
Section 26 | |
Section 27 | |
Section 28 | |
Section 9 | |
Section 10 | |
Section 11 | |
Section 12 | |
Section 13 | |
Section 14 | |
Section 15 | |
Section 16 | |
Section 17 | |
Section 18 | |
Section 19 | |
Section 20 | |
Section 29 | |
Section 30 | |
Section 31 | |
Section 32 | |
Section 33 | |
Section 34 | |
Section 35 | |
Section 36 | |
Section 37 | |
Section 38 | |
Section 39 | |
Section 40 | |
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Common terms and phrases
adjective antilanguage appears audience backslang Barry Took BBC Radio bona eke Boyz butch camp Cant Chapter charver closet Cockney rhyming slang construct context cruising derived describes dolly drag ducky East End effeminate English example existing fake female feminine French gay identity gay language Gay Liberation gay male gay slang gay subculture gender heterosexual homosexual Hugh Paddick interviewed Italian Julian and Sandy Kenneth Horne Kenneth Williams lallies language death language variety lattie lesbians Lingua Franca linguistic items London look mainstream society masculine meaning Mollies naff nanti noun ogle omee omeepalone oral sex original Palare palone Parlyaree penis perhaps phrase Polari lexicon Polari speakers Polari words possible pronoun prostitutes queer Quentin Crisp refer Respondent rhyming slang riah Round the Horne sailors Sandy sketches sea queen sexual identity social someone spoken stereotypical talk Teacup troll twentieth century vada verb version of Polari West End workingclass zhoosh