
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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
22/11/2025
The deadline for entries for the 2025 Best in Market Awards has been extended to 23:59 PST on November 28, 2025....
22/11/2025
Clear-Com announced the upcoming launch of its 4-Channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used 2-channel model. The new beltpack...
22/11/2025
Marshall Electronics is showcasing the latest additions to its CV600 Series of PTZ cameras, the CV625 and CV612, which both feature AI track and follow capabili...
22/11/2025
At this year's European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress, held at the RAI Amsterdam, LiveConnect delivered an ambitious and technically complex live produ...
22/11/2025
Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a leader in wireless frequency coordination and RF system design, provided a comprehensive wireless gear package and onsite...
22/11/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the release of ARGUS v2.3, which introduces Live Look, a powerful new feature that e...
22/11/2025
Peer Software today announced significant advancements across its enterprise data orchestration and analytics platform with new releases of Peer Global File Ser...
22/11/2025
At InterBEE 2025, Atomos announces a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monit...
22/11/2025
Today, AWS announces the general availability of AWS Elemental MediaConnect Router, a new capability that enables broadcasters and content providers to dynamica...
22/11/2025
Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast media technology sector, is delighted to announce the winners for this year's R...
22/11/2025
Lightware, industry leader in signal management, is strengthening its Taurus UCX product family with the introduction of the new HC60 lineup. The new product li...
22/11/2025
CARSON, Calif. IDX has introduced the IDX CUE-J Series battery/charger kits, including the CUE-J98, CUE-J150 and CUE-J198....
22/11/2025
The NBA has released encouraging viewing and social media data that the beginnings of its $76 billion deal with NBC/Peacock, Prime Video and ESPN are paying off...
22/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has set deadlines for comments on its newest proposals for NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, with comments due on Jan. ...
22/11/2025
Seeking Advice for a New Opera, Laura Kaminsky Consulted the Experts: Her Studen...
21/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: Appear Shares Why Media Exchange Is the Missing Link in So...
21/11/2025
NWSL Championship 2025: CBS Sports To Deploy Two-Point FlyCam for Match Coverage...
21/11/2025
NWSL Caps 2025 Season With Awards Show, Skills Challenge ProductionsA team of 70 is on the ground in California to produce both eventsBy Mark J Burns, SVG Contr...
21/11/2025
USL and NEP Ready for Largest USL Championship Final Production EverThe broadcast from Tulsa, OK, will air CBS and TUDN on Saturday at 12 p.m. ETBy Jason Dachma...
21/11/2025
With Two New Teams, PWHL Boosts Production Workforce and Central Review for Seas...
21/11/2025
Jared Lank and his mother in the '90s...
21/11/2025
Fans have been counting down the days until the final theatrical chapter of Wicked is revealed. To celebrate the highly anticipated release of Wicked: For Good ...
21/11/2025
Last week, Spotify turned up the volume in Seoul with the return of Spotify Hous...
21/11/2025
Wiesbaden, November 21, 2025. The SGL Carbon site in Meitingen has reason to celebrate as one of its trainees received a special award. Elias Stemmer was honore...
21/11/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Nov. 21, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) has announced this year's LHX Excellence Awards, the company's most prestigious recog...
21/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission by a 3-0 vote opened a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to advance Congress's mandate to clear a minimu...
21/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission by a 3-0 vote adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to advance Congress's mandate to clear a minim...
21/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. Charter's Spectrum has expanded the devices that can offer 4K content on the Spectrum TV app to compatible Apple TV 4K and Roku devices....
21/11/2025
NAPERVILLE, Ill. Media industry employers are continuing their multiyear trend of increasing salaries for all worker segments but lag general industry raises, s...
21/11/2025
WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters said it is accepting nominations for the 2026 NAB Technology Awards, honors that recognize excellence in bro...
21/11/2025
American Amplifier Technologies has released a vector network analysis module....
21/11/2025
The Best Movie Musicals on Every Streaming Platform From Wicked to The Sound of Music, heres where to stream all the classic movie musicals and recent hits on...
21/11/2025
The agreement creates a platform for joint collaboration, technology integration...
21/11/2025
Sky Media's £2m award-winning sustainability initiative crowns its first charity as this year's standout changemakerFriday 21 November 2025
GoodGym nam...
21/11/2025
As COP30 draws to a close, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: NBC's New Three-Year Deal Covers Sunday Night Bas...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: New Deal Will Bring 30 National Games to ESPN's Li...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: Netflix Lands Opening Night, Home Run Derby, Field of ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup Overview: ESPN, NBCU, Netflix Ink Three-Year DealsESPN gets new 30-game package, MLB.TV; NBC extends Sunday nights; Netflix adds tentpo...
20/11/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana UniversityThe Southern California product has his goals set on the front benchBy Brandon Costa, Director of Digital ...
20/11/2025
Done+Dusted's Guy Carrington on Creating the Spectacular League of Legends W...
20/11/2025
FIA Extreme H World Cup Host Broadcaster Aurora Goes Inside the Production of th...
20/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: Amagi Utilizes Cloud Production for Sports Events - Multi-...
20/11/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Marc Herklotz, Steady Hand Behind the Sce...
20/11/2025
NFL Deep Dive: How 32 Cameras at Each Stadium Drive Virtual Measurement, Boundar...
20/11/2025
Charlie Shackleton attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Zodiac K...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...