Gayle: South Africa's secret gay languageGayle, a secret gay language, flourished during South Africa's apartheid-era, the language lingers on today in SA slang, used by gay
by Mambaonline.com
23-03-2023 11:13
in LGBTQIA
Gayle: South Africa's secret gay language. Photo: Pexels
Gayle, a secret gay language, flourished during South Africa's apartheid-era. The language lingers on today in SA slang, used by gay and straight people alike.
--
It started out as moffietaal back in the coloured gay community in the fifties and sixties.
The secret lexicon was not widely known, but it did spread, moving up from the gay coloured communities in Cape Town into the white gay communities across the country.
ALSO READ: Uganda passes horror bill to outlaw LGBTIQ people's existence
--
The language eventually morphed into what we now know as Gayle.
Just like Britain's Polari (a gay pseudo-language that sprung up somewhere between the 16th and 19th centuries), Gayle was designed to be understood by a few, and contains many phrases and words that could be used to warn of danger.
This was an asset to the gay community in the late 20th Century as apartheid police regularly targeted homosexuals and transgender individuals.
--
The language during the apartheid era was used mainly to allow the LGBTQI community to communicate openly.
ALSO READ: Namibia: Supreme Court keeps gay couple's son in limbo
It was also used to secretly convey activities within the community.
A great number of the words used are women's names - a trait it shares with Britain's Polari. In fact, there are a few words that these two languages share, such as varda , which means to see , and the ever popular zhoosh , meaning stylish or to make stylish .
The word Beaulah is recognised in mainstream SA slang to mean beautiful and is directly borrowed from Gayle.
Gayle is an ever-evolving language that adds vibrancy of the queer community Just like its British counterpart, Gayle didn't just exist to announce events or safeguard the community.
It was also a source of entertainment and fun, as those who spoke Gayle would often speak the language in mixed company, knowing that they would not be understood.
Gayle, however, is not the only secret South African gay language. Isingqumo, which is based on the Nguni lexicon, was used by black men in same-sex relationships.
ALSO READ: Prof Tim Noakes slammed for homophobic cartoon retweet
It is a little younger than Gayle, coming to prominence in the 1980s.
Linguist Ken Cage published a Gayle dictionary in 2003, however he met with controversy for not including pioneers of the language. This is still one of the very few Gayle references available.
Gayle is an ever-evolving language still used to some degree to this day. It adds to the vibrancy of the queer community, and thanks to those who continue to use it, it has remained alive.
ALSO READ: Masc gay men discriminate against fem gay men in the workplace
It is an integral part of South African gay culture; long may every handbag and lettie continue to open their Baxter Theatre and use Gayle.
Brush up on some of your Gayle:
Ada - buttocks
Amanda - amazing
Baxter Theatre - mouth
Barbara - heterosexual man
Cha cha palace - disco/club
Fina - astounded/surprised
Gilda - guilty
Great Dane - large penis
Handbag - guy
Harriet/Wella - hairdo
Hilda - ugly
Isadora - dance
KFC - sex
Lettie - lesbian
Leonora - liar
Mildred - crazy person
Priscilla - police
Reeva - revolting
Selma - oral sex
Article by Tanya Olckers
This article was initially published on MAMBAonlie.com
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY Mambaonline.com
SOAPIE QUIZ: How well do you know Gqeberha: The Empire'? ENTER HERE & WIN R1 000 in cash!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
Gayle: South Africa's secret gay languageGayle, a secret gay language, flourished during South Africa's apartheid-era, the language lingers on today in SA slang, used by gay
