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 ...
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...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
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
