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THE

AMERICAN

STEVE &

DAVE

invite you down

то Where ThE

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June 1976

HIGH GEAR

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HOTEL RESTAURANT

by Mitchell Menegu

Somewhere in some university Linguistics department, there must be a graduate student examining the English language as it is used by gays. The subject has already received some attention in The Queens' Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon by Bruce Rodgers and in an article, "When We Say 'Out of the Closets!"" by Julia P. Stanley which appeared in the special issue (November 1974) on "The Homesexual Imagination" of College English. A systematic approach to the subject has not yet appeared. One point that will require investigation is the use of pronouns by gays.

Although I have not studied the point with any system, it has seemed to me to be an obtrusive element of gay communication and one about which I have speculated without drawing any firm conclusions.

Among many gays the third person pronouns "he" and "she," in all three case forms, are used almost interchangeably without regard to their gender distinctons. An even larger group use the feminine pronoun exclusively when they refer to other gay males. In speculating on the causes of these phenomena, one primary question, which I have attempted to answer for myself, has come to my mind: What, in fact, do gays intend the pronoun to connote when they adopt this usage?

One explanation may rest in the history of gays. The use of the feminine pronoun may have served, generally, as it does now occasionally, as a simple substitution code to protect gays who wished to discuss their affairs openly in what might be an otherwise threatening situation. From such situations as those, usage may have spread. The spread of the usage, if there is any validity to my speculation, can be viewed as a form of gay identity leading finally to gay pride and gay liberation. In these terms, the gender substitution can be seen as a rejection of the male stereotype and as a declaration of gay independence.

An obvious answer to my question is that frequently "she" is used to refer to a selfstyled "queen" the stereotype swich homosexual or to the

perhaps latent transsexual. In such a situtation the usage has logic to support it.

More problematical is the usage to refer to males who are not effeminate or who do not consider themselves effeminate. I say "problematical" because it raises questions about the users' conception of gayness. Is to be gay of necessity, to be effeminate? One may wonder if the fulfilled gay is the male who most fully takes on the qualities of women and discards those of men. That, in turn, focuses attention on the whole question of sex role-stereotyping.

Freedom for gays, as for all human beings, requires eliminating stereotyping. And if the ideal is the feminine, where do we find a place within the brotherhood of male gays for those who, opposite to the queens, put on the accoutrements of stereotypical masculinity, denim and leather and chains, sometimes even to the point of self-parody?

The pronoun usage gives rise further to speculation about the very nature of gay love. What are homosexuality and homoeroticism? Experience suggests that they are as varied as "love" without modifying labels. Still, one strong variety is one man's attraction to and love for qualities of manliness in another. I do not mean by "manliness" the strident dominance that the term "machismo" implies; rather, I mean attraction to the ordinary qualities of the male body and admiration for qualities of personality that emphasize humanity rather than sexual difference. The use of the feminine pronoun seems to deny that kind of male love.

It must be clear that I am not comfortable with the usage. I can recognize its value as an implement of identity within the gay community. However, I am troubled by the sterotyping it implies at a time when liberation of gays must focus on the elimination of the stereotypes of

that the straight world fosters. Since it is a matter of usage, all I can do is express my interest and concern, for the study of language shows that changes in patterns of usage are generally gradual. Ultimately each gay man must define himself.