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"I have a Queery about...Queer Vernacular" ft. Chloe Davis
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"How did Queer slang come about?" "What is the difference between my gender identity, sexuality, and my romantic identity?" "What is the difference between appropriation vs. appreciation?" "How has our vernacular evolved?"
On this week's episode, I interview the author of the new book The Queen's English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases, Chloe Davis (she/her). Chloe had the idea for the book in 2006 when she landed her first job as a professional performing artist at a Philadelphia-based dance company. She remembered hanging with some of the MVP's of the cast where they would laugh, joke, "kiki", but many of the jokes sounded like code to her. One day she decided to ask what some of these words and phrases meant, and they went on to break it down. From that point, she became obsessed and kept a list of all of the words and phrases she was learning. As she traveled the country performing, she learned more terms from other LGBTQIA+ artists and performers, friendly strangers in gayborhoods, at LGBT Centers, and during Pride events. She remembers jokingly telling a friend that this was a fully developed language and there should be a dictionary for these words. “When you write it,” he said, “call it The Queens’ English. It’s a language for all the queens.”
On this episode, we discuss Chloe's journey with creating the book. We also discuss the beauty and expansiveness of Queer vernacular. We get into things such as:
- The appropriation of Queer vernacular and AAVE through mainstream culture and other queer spaces.
- The importance of giving credit to the communities where these terms originated.
- The freedom and power with labels (i.e. gender, sexuality, romantic identity).
- How words have evolved and been reclaimed.
...and so much more.
Follow The Queen's English and Chloe Davis:
Queen's English Website
Queen's English Instagram
Chloe Davis Instagram
Organization of the Week: The Audre Lorde Project
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Resources for Further Learning:
"Lavender Language, The Queer Way to Speak"
"LGBTQ Definitions Every Good Ally Should Know"
Show Produced by Nick Eibler
Co-Produced/Edited by Addison McKissack
Theme Song written by Matt Gregory, Colin Egan, and Mike Hubbard
Produced by Colin Egan and Mike Hubbard
Logo Design by David Pavón
38 episodes
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