Dialect Fusion, Cultural Appropriation, Queer Linguistics, and AAVE

We've all wanted to spill the tea on our new bae or comment on how you can't stop cheesin' because of what your new homie said, even though it was so not woke and probably cap - but do we know where these words come from, and should we be using them at all?

Much of the vocabulary we use and hear today has its roots in various oppressed subcultures, namely in African American spaces (especially by women,) and in spaces and media dominated by the LGBTQIA+ community. But with the rise of the digitization of these spaces through popular and social media, this language is spread through all social circles - circles that are ignorant of these terms' origins - and the line between subculture and mainstream is blurred by our new collective cultural consciousness on who can say what and why. The most prominent example of this is through the absorption of queer slang into our cultural knowledge thanks to popular media like RuPaul's Drag Race. However, recognizing the popularization of this slang as 'queer' or 'drag' slang is also incorrect, as the vast majority of this language originated from AAVE in specifically African American queer spaces - like the 1980s New York ball scene. 

Let's start with drag. The queer drag scene as we know it can be traced as far back as the 19th Century. Despite laws against homosexuality and gender non-conformity, and the huge prejudice against drag queens and queer people in general, cities like London, New York, Berlin, and Paris saw queer pioneers establish queer (safe)spaces like bars and clubs, as well as the first queer media like newspapers and newsletters. In the UK, queer men used Polari to communicate, a mix of languages from across the newly multicultural London, including Yiddish, Cockney, Thieves Cant, and Italian, as well as many other local languages and dialects. So many of the words that I still use today came from Polari, like trade, naff, and juz - yeah, juz!

                            A depiction of ball culture from Netflix's Pose.'

In New York, the Harlem Resistance was in full force, and drag Masquerade balls became wildly popular amongst, especially black, queer folk. In the 1920s, this became the 'Pansy Craze' which created a broad vocabulary of uniquely queer terminology - which in a world so unfriendly queer spaces, became an especially comforting facet of the queer community. The popularity of this terminology is rather recent, because of its status as a language of a niche subculture, and queer reluctance to give up their uniquely queer vocabulary. However, despite pop culture's glad acceptance of these new terms, it's hardly a transition that all queer and black folk are happy with. 

Popular culture's acceptance of these new terms has led to many misunderstandings, with straight, white, and cisgender spaces misappropriating words like shade, werk, slay, and shade completely wrong, or proclaiming they're coming out as a Gaga stan. Whilst admitting to being a Gaga stan is pretty much what coming out really means, it's still technically wrong. Some terms, though, don't even find their origins in queer spaces. According to an article by WIRED, terms like spilling the tea and reading date back to African American spaces in the 1950s. Even quintessentially queer terms like voguing and throwing shade come from the drag balls of the 1980s in Harlem - a community known for its interconnection to black culture, populations, and history.  

When Madonna made voguing popular in 1990 with her music video for 'Vouge,' some accused her of profiting off the queer culture. However, I actually think that 'Vouge' did a lot for queer culture, especially drag balls like the ones in New York, Chicago, Baltimore, and Boston. I find that it improved awareness and acceptance of drag culture globally. Thanks, Madonna! 

The process of linguistic evolution, or dialect fusion, is a perfectly natural process. Language always reflects new groups and cultures within a society, and the influence of queer and black linguistics into our vocabulary should mean the continued incorporation and acceptance of queer and black people. Yiddish is such a perfect example. Terms like schmooze, chutzpah, klutz, and bagel have become such an integral part of the English American dictionary - especially as Jewish culture has become more accepted. I'll admit, even especially Jewish words like challah has entered my vocabulary as a blanket term for an especially airy bread.  

I'm not going to argue on the ethics of using this slang as a white queer person, a straight black person, or - God helps me - a straight white person. The use of this terminology is completely subjective to the environment in which we use them, the accent we adopt when using them, and the intentions behind why and when we use them. It's entirely dependent on so many different factors, and it's useless to try to police the evolution of the English language with what's 'right,' 'fair,' or 'good' anyways. As I've said, dialect fusion is a completely natural and inevitable process anyways, so embrace it. The only advice I can give is to listen to queer people, listen to black people, don't imitate, don't get defensive, be open to learning and evolving yourself, and embrace the advice, love, and corrections of our new slang's native speakers. 

07/06/2022

by Frankie E.J. Robinson