Queer in early 1950's?
They did not use that term.
More fitting if they had used "fruit" or "poofta".
Why they did not use it, I don't know.
Did they use the term 'fag'? I'd have to watch it again.
sharenot even that
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MovieChat Forums > A Place to Call Home (2014) Discussion > Queer in early 1950's?
I believe pervert and degenerate was used back then. The colorful slurs came later on I'd guess.
money can`t buy you back the love that you had then - Feist "1 2 3 4"
Actually queer has been around longer than that... however it might not have been used in that region at that time... but the word were used for gays since 19th C.
shareI recall the word being used in the late 50s. I suspect it was in the early 50s too. It really because current in the late 60s until gay took over. Any term that insults people who love the same gender is offensive. I am so happy that things are better now, although there is still work to be done.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty.
And then we get into those "stickie areas" of "freedom of speech." And, freedom of thought. And, being entitled to our own opinion.
My opinion of homosexuals is one thing. But, to those who hold other views . . . . . . . they are JUST as entitled to do so. Not to act, and not to insult, but we are NOT required to hold personal versions of the same brain.
I'm not sure what you are trying to say in reply to my post. Any statement that insults others is offensive. That is the gist of that part of my post. What some people call "PC" is really just good manners, and good manners are just consideration for the feelings and dignity of other people. No one says you have to think a certain way, and you can say whatever you want, but if you are wilfully offensive you should be prepared to take the consequences without complaint. My experience is that people who complain about "political correctness" are really just ticked off that they can't show their bigotry openly any more without social disapproval. In the case of homosexuality, perhaps people who have such strong negative feelings that they take the time to write a rather confusing post on a website, they should examine just what it is that bothers them and why they feel it necessary to concern themselves with how other people conduct their personal lives. I guess that is another example of bad manners--not minding your own business.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty.
marudd50, THANK YOU. And, I'd take it a step further: What some people sneeringly call "PC" is more than good manners, it's the basis for a civil society, which requires tolerance. Funny that so many who love to attack the concept of PC are conservative religious types, who cite the Bible when convenient and ignore it otherwise (for ex., "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets," summed up as "Do unto others...").
"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."
Thank you for being so eloquent.
shareWhat is your point?
haha, my mum was around back then, she didnt even know they existed till sometime well after she was married.
Sounds like they werent well known enough to have a derogatory name used in public, unless caught in the act.
In polite circles they were called, "Confirmed Bachelors".
SkiesAreBlue
That is a close term to the original use of gay, makes sense
shareI will probably never get a reply to this, seeing that your post is more than 2 years old! π But is this real? I mean that "confirmed bachelor" meant that the person is gay?
What makes me cringe a bit every time I hear it on APTCH is when the characters that are gay call themselves 'our kind'.. It sounds like they see themselves as being aliens. Sad. π
Hello locham2011 π Still aroundπ. " confirmed Batchelor " was an euphemism for inquiring little minds who couldn't understand why " Uncle Harold" wasn't married. He may have been a person who never found the right woman or just that he "followed a different drum". Homosexuality was a criminal offence and were listed as "deviants". The only society that accepted them was the Demi Mond or the cafe society such as Caroline's art world. It was sad but if they had admitted it themselves it would either be a gaol sentence or the sanitarium for shock treatments such as in James' case, thinking it could be cured.
SkiesAreBlue
Hi!! Nice to still have you here in the forum! π
Thank you for your quick reply. So the term was very much understood in the 'underground' world, but like you say an euphemism for the 'lay' person, so not to shock or expose anyone?
In APTCH Henry himself calls himself an eligible batchelor. By then James has already understood Henry's 'situation', so James translated the term quickly for himself I guess. You can see it in his reaction when Henry says that being an eligible batchelor allows him a certain freedom.
And it was very sad indeed, that revealing oneself in that time could mean jail or shock treatments.
Then again, 60+ years later, some people around the world are still in favour of that... π
Actually, the term "queer" was a euphemism used frequently for homosexuals in the 1950s (at least in the US).
This link, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer, notes that, "Queer is an umbrella term for sexual and gender minorities that are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning strange or peculiar, queer came to be deployed pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late-19th century."
ξ― Some movies are released; others sneak out. ξ―
What is the problem with saying homosexual? The word gay means happy, and in the UK older generations always used expressions such as 'we had a gay time'. I do not understand the association of the word gay with the word homosexual.
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