This is a glossary of some Polari terms that appear in You Only Live Twice, itself a prequel to 'Go to the Mirror!' and The Rectum is a Tomb. Throughout the fic, Stan, Kyle, and many men they interact with lace their speech with bits of Polari, a vocabulary used by gay men in Britain primarily in the early 20th century until the 1960s. A good dictionary of Polari is Paul Baker's Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. The best reference work is his Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, which gives Polari excellent social and cultural context.
Despite the title of Baker's book, Polari is not really a language; it is more useful to think of it as a vocabulary set, as it follows English grammar and syntax, usually only replacing sexually charged words with Polari alternatives. It was not spoken by all gay men and not all gay men had the same exact knowledge of Polari; it depended very much on social circles. By the time Kyle and Stan pick some up in the mid-1960s Polari is on its last legs; in the 1970s it almost vanished. There are three main uses for Polari:
As homosexuality became increasingly mainstream, Polari was no longer useful. Moreover, its highly gendered, sexist, and racist character was considered unproductive for the burgeoning gay rights movement. Beyond that, Polari represented a kind of hiding, and as coming out became more possible and more practiced, Polari was seen as too antiquated.
For Kyle and Stan, the use of Polari is mostly about wanting to fit in. They only know bits of it and couldn't carry on a conversation with more than what's used in the story. They are using it because they want to use it. By the time the 1980s roll around they are no longer using it because it's no longer relevant for them.
If you find a word in the fic and want to know what it means, please let me know and I'll add it here.
( Read more... )
Despite the title of Baker's book, Polari is not really a language; it is more useful to think of it as a vocabulary set, as it follows English grammar and syntax, usually only replacing sexually charged words with Polari alternatives. It was not spoken by all gay men and not all gay men had the same exact knowledge of Polari; it depended very much on social circles. By the time Kyle and Stan pick some up in the mid-1960s Polari is on its last legs; in the 1970s it almost vanished. There are three main uses for Polari:
- Identity construction, i.e. marking oneself as a user of Polari
- Identification, i.e. determining if other men are users of Polari
- Camouflage, i.e. making it possible to discuss men, sex, and sex with men in the presence of those who might be hostile to men who have sex with men
As homosexuality became increasingly mainstream, Polari was no longer useful. Moreover, its highly gendered, sexist, and racist character was considered unproductive for the burgeoning gay rights movement. Beyond that, Polari represented a kind of hiding, and as coming out became more possible and more practiced, Polari was seen as too antiquated.
For Kyle and Stan, the use of Polari is mostly about wanting to fit in. They only know bits of it and couldn't carry on a conversation with more than what's used in the story. They are using it because they want to use it. By the time the 1980s roll around they are no longer using it because it's no longer relevant for them.
If you find a word in the fic and want to know what it means, please let me know and I'll add it here.
( Read more... )
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