★ Queer Linguistics and Pop Culture

Pop culture has been incorporating the queer community in recent years through music, movies, TV programs, Youtube channels, etc. There’s the establishment of a mutual relationship between these communication instruments and its viewers (who may be part of the queer community or not). 

Despite the prejudice against LGBTs which persists in our society, there has been a reduction of this conservative and obsolete way of thinking, and said members (and consequently their linguistic variety) have been showing up more frequently in mainstream media. At the same time, these recurrent appearances in pop culture manifestations influence the society as a whole and contribute to increase their acceptance (by themselves and others).

A recent example is the song “Formation” by Beyoncé, from her sixth album Lemonade. Besides protesting and assuming a proud position regarding black people, the artist also celebrates the black LGBT culture of New Orleans. In the lyrics, the term “slay”, a verbal expression created by the African-American queers, is constantly repeated, and it means "(to) conquer, control, dominate".

Another example is “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, a TV reality contest in which drag queens battle in a series of challenges (lip sync, custom clothing, runway, acting, singing and others) in the attempt to become the next drag star. The competitors not only use terms which belong to the LGBT variety (or, sometimes, more specifically, the drags’ variety), they also create some of them, which start being used by fans of the show. Here are some samples from their extensive glossary:

·       - (To) Beat: (Beating a face) v. To apply the perfect amount of makeup on the face, resulting in a flawless look. The term references the motion of constantly dabbing a makeup sponge or brush against one's face.

·       - Busted: Appearing to be unkempt, messy, unrefined, unpolished, or poorly presented. The opposite of "dusted".

·       - Cherry Pie (some synonyms: box, minge, seafood platter, hooha): A slang term for a woman's vagina.

·       - Condragulations: A compliment directed towards a queen, usually used by RuPaul when a queen wins a challenge. A bastardization of 'congratulations.'

·       - Diva: 1. A famous female singer, either in popular music or Opera.
2. A slang term for a self-important, demanding, temperamental, or difficult to please woman.

·       - Dusted (Dusty): The act of looking polished, flawless, or perfected. The opposite of "Busted."

·       - Eleganza Extravaganza: Having high amounts of elegance.

·       - Fishy: A term used to describe a drag queen who looks extremely feminine, or one who convincingly resembles a biological woman. The term is a reference to the scent of a woman's vagina, which is colloquially likened to the smell of fish. Although the term is considered to be a compliment among Drag Queens, it is often considered to be an insult among biological women.

·       - Hoochie Mama: A woman who typically dresses in a provocative, revealing, or scantily clad manner.

·       - (To) Kai-Kai: The act of drag queens having sex with each other.

·       - Not Today Satan, Not Today: Means you won't let anyone, not even "Satan" stand in your way. Coined by contestant Bianca Del Rio on the 6th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race. 

·       - Pussy On Fire: An expression meaning to work hard and excel. To be awesome or outstanding. To work so hard that your vagina catches on fire.

·       - Read: To wittily and incisively expose a person's flaws (i.e. "reading them like a book"), often exaggerating or elaborating on them; an advanced format of the insult. The term is a reference to the film “Paris is Burning”.

·       - Realness: 1. The act of appearing to be convincing or realistic.
2. The act of being extremely blunt frank, or honest

·       - Shade: The casting of aspersions, a form of insult. Bluntly pointing out a person's flaws or faults.

·       - Sick'ning: To be beyond awesome, incredibly amazing, or excessively hot.

·       - T (Tee / Tea): A back-formation from the letter T for "truth"; refers to gossip, news, information or true facts.

·       - Werk: 1. A term meaning to "work your body."
2. To strut, especially on a runway.
3. To give an outstanding presentation.

 Sources:

http://logosrupaulsdragrace.wikia.com/wiki/RuPaul's_Drag_Race_Dictionary

-        Glossary of LGBT/drag queen terms and expressions used in the TV show “RuPaul’s Drag Race”, providing the expressions described here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RuPaul%27s_Drag_Race

-        Website which provides a description of the reality show “RuPaul’s Drag Race”.

http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/2/10/beyonce-does-justice-new-orleanss-rich-queer-culture

-        Article written by Irene Monroe, relating Beyoncé’s new single “Formation” and the queer New Orleans community.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formation_(song)#Composition
Website which gives information about Beyoncé’s song, “Formation”, including its technical characteristics, public and critical response and resulting polemic.