The Queens’ English: The LGBTQIA+ Dictionary of Lingo and Colloquial Phrases
Author: Chloe O. Davis
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.
Cover Description
A landmark reference guide to the LGBTQIA+ community's contributions to the English language--an intersectional, inclusive, playfully illustrated glossary featuring more than 800 terms and fabulous phrases created by and for queer culture.
Do you know where yaaaas queen! comes from? Do you know the difference between a bear and a wolf? Do you know what all the letters in LGBTQIA+ stand for?
The Queens' English is a comprehensive guide to modern gay slang, queer theory terms, and playful colloquialisms that define and celebrate LGBTQIA+ culture. This modern dictionary provides an in-depth look at queer language, from terms influenced by celebrated lesbian poet Sappho and from New York's underground queer ball culture in the 1980s to today's celebration of RuPaul's Drag Race.
The glossary of terms is supported by full-color illustrations and photography throughout, as well as real-life usage examples for those who don't quite know how to use kiki, polysexual, or transmasculine in a sentence. A series of educational lessons highlight key people and events that shaped queer language; readers will learn the linguistic importance of pronouns, gender identity, Stonewall, the Harlem Renaissance, and more.
For every queen in your life--the men, women, gender non-conforming femmes, butches, daddies, and zaddies — The Queens' English is at once an education and a celebration of queer history, identity, and the limitless imagination of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Review
“Come indulge in The Queens’ English, the dictionary for all of us, whether you’re cis or trans, masc or femme, vanilla or kink, on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum or just a super-ally to the rainbow family. This language is a celebration of our queer culture and helps us explore the fluidity and complexity of human experience.”
My first exposure to The Queens’ English was a digital advanced reader’s copy provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley. Within moments of opening the file, I knew I needed to own this one in print. So I immediately preordered it. And I’m so glad I did. Look at it! It’s colorful and fun and very obviously crafted with so much love.
People have raised the (good) question of who this book is truly for. After all, the people who use the language it defines probably don’t need a dictionary, and those outside the LGBTQIA+ community probably shouldn’t use most of it, because cultural appropriation. (That’s all super true.) But personally, I’ve always been a big fan of the idea of dictionaries as time capsules. Language is absolutely incredible, and it’s constantly shifting and changing however we need it to. Language is also powerful, cultural, meaningful. I love that this book exists to capture all of that for the LGBTQIA+ community at this moment in time.
It’s also packed with so much context, advocacy, history, and more. There is truly a delight on every page. Buy a copy!