The Russian Gay

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

I was wondering (etymologically?) whether or not the Russian slang for gay comes from голубой the color or голубь the pigeon. I happened to find голубь from a 1960 edition of an Akhmanova dictionary my French teacher gave me. Would it be possible? In other languages, gays are also referred to as birds. Just a thought.

Comments

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

They are? I always associated голубой with the whole slang "blue" thing ... maybe I'm associating in the wrong order, though, and "blue" being gay came from Russian.

What's an example of the other languages using birds for gay men? I've heard that there's a French word (unsure of its PCness) that means something like "bent."

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

Well, I believe in Spanish one refers to a gay man as a "pajaro" in mild slang.

And in English, one could refer to a gay man (although it can apply and mostly is to women as well) as the very very vulgar term "chickenhead."

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

I've never heard "chickenhead" before ... I've heard "chicken" as a term for a young gay man, but that's mostly in-community queer slang.

[wolfie-18.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to feel as if I'm outside this "community" slang. Chicken... hm...

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I heard it once. I've got a good memory, though.

(A side note: outside of the community slang? That implying you're some sort of LGBTQQIPAA [I just wanted to use the acronym, really])

[surok75.livejournal.com]

Chickenhawk - for underage male prostitutes.

or maybe this is exclusively British?

[schwarzer-tod.livejournal.com]

I know they're called pato (adj.) but I don't know if it's related to duck.