Why are gays called "gay"? What are the blue flowers called

Until now, this remains a mystery. There will be a dozen versions. Let's analyze the most interesting ones.

"Aristocratic" version

Indeed, this is one of the more popular versions. It is believed that homosexuality was popular in the aristocratic environment ("blue blood") and because of this the epithet "gay" spread to all gays. True, this version does not explain why homosexuals are called "gay" only in Russia.

"American" version

A number of researchers hypothesize that the "blue marking" of gays got into the Russian language from the American criminal jargon. In American prisons in the early twentieth century, homosexuals were called blueribbon (blue ribbon). Somehow miraculously, the term ended up in Soviet prisons in the 1930s: however, as a truncated translation - "blue". And already in the late USSR, in the 1970s, the word became mainstream and the main designation for homosexuals.

"Khlystovskaya" version

Some linguists believe that gays were initially called pigeons, and over time, the "bird" simply transformed into a "color." But why were they called pigeons? There is a hypothesis that homosexuals received this name from the Khlysty sect, which called themselves "gray" or "silver doves". Many of the sectarians practiced homosexual relationships as ritual sex during the so-called "delights". The poet Nikolai Klyuev, Sergei Yesenin's mentor and most famous whip, was perhaps the most famous openly homosexual in Soviet Russia.

The Khlysty did not change their "habits" in Soviet prisons (in the 1930s, thousands of sectarians ended up in camps during the persecutions). In the camps, the Khlysty continued to call themselves "doves", and, probably, the criminals reduced the self-designation of the sectarians to blue and began to call all homosexuals that way. Interestingly, there is a version that jargonism "cock" (as they call people in the camps, occupying the lowest level in the prison hierarchy), the "thieves" called Khlysty as a mockery of their "pigeon" self-name.

Sometimes from adolescents you can hear the phrase "He's gay!" It seems how can color be associated with a person? In fact, the word is used here in a figurative sense.

So who is blue: figurative meaning of the word

"Blue" is another name for homosexuals, people of non-traditional sexual orientation. That is, if an ordinary pair consists of a guy and a girl, then a blue pair is two guys.

Does blue mean bad?

Modern society has a negative attitude towards everyone who is not like the general mass. Teenagers call a boy who doesn't communicate with girls gay. If you are unjustly called that, just do not pay attention, there are enough fools in the world. If you really give preference to boys in love, and not girls, do not take name-calling and mockery to heart. It is important to understand that there is nothing wrong with being different from the majority. All people are different, everyone has a certain taste for some things. The so-called "gay" boys love boys, not girls, and what's the big deal? Always remember that blue does not mean bad!

We live in the 21st century. Much of what used to be frowned upon by people is now completely normal. Previously, boys and girls began to walk at the age of 15, and sometimes kissed for the first time at 20. Now children kiss at 12.

People of blue blood

Once the aristocrats called themselves "people of blue blood." They believed that they had a different red blood flowing in their veins. There is a theory that homosexuals also once began to call themselves people of blue blood, but then all this was reduced and only one word remained - blue.

There are also various theories of scientists of different times and countries regarding this term, but they cannot come to a consensus yet. There is a theory according to which the word blue in relation to homosexuals began to be used from the word "dove". At first, a couple of gays were referred to as "doves." And only then - "blue".

I think there is no need to delve into different theories and history, who are gay, in principle, it should be clear. If you know such a person, you should not laugh at him and mock him. Remember, he is the same person as you, just a little different. Nobody laughs at you, because you like some films, and your friend others?

By whatever words they call representatives of gay people! Despite the fact that the whole progressive world considers Russia a country of homophobes, it is here that the most innocuous nickname for homosexuals was invented more than thirty years ago. Today you will find out why gays are called gay and where this popular expression came from. There are about a dozen different theories. Let's consider the most interesting ones.

Did not take root

The word "homosexual" is too long and gives rise to unpleasant associations, because it resembles a doctor's diagnosis. “Gay” is shorter, but too unusual for a Russian-speaking person. Nobody will say "sexual minority" every time. It is much more familiar and pleasant to say "blue". Any resident of the former Soviet republics will immediately understand who the interlocutor had in mind. Why are gays called blue in Russia, although in many countries pink is considered the symbol of this movement? And on the LGBT flag there is no blue color at all - it was removed from there almost immediately.

Aristocratic version

It is generally accepted that homosexuality is the prerogative of high society. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that an ordinary peasant could have such inclinations. Of course, there are exceptions to any rule, but nevertheless, it was the aristocrats who did not hide their preferences and did not particularly hide their essence in society. Nobles, officials, creative intelligentsia, tsarist officers - everyone who considered themselves to be people with a non-traditional sexual orientation, visited special salons and threw stormy parties with invited artists. Despite the fact that homosexuality was banned in the country and one could end up in jail, high society was not afraid of criminal prosecution. Probably, this is where a stable expression originates, because “blue blood” flows in the veins of aristocrats.

Paris

Not the most popular, but very interesting version of why gays are called gay. If in Russia homosexuals were looking for each other in salons, then in Paris there were whole neighborhoods where not only people of non-traditional orientation lived, but also lived. It is not known why exactly, but such areas were called "blue". Perhaps this became known in Russia as well.

Whips

Silver pigeons - this is what the members of this sect called themselves at the beginning of the last century. Orientation did not play a big role, but during the "zeal" (night worship) she practiced homosexual relationships as part of the ritual. In the 1930s, mass persecutions of the Khlysty began. Thousands of followers ended up in places not so distant. There they did not abandon their previous views and gradually turned from silver pigeons into simply “doves”, and then into “blue” ones. By the way, the expression "rooster" also originated from there. That was how other prisoners insulted the Khlysty. By analogy with their "bird" self-name.

This also includes another version. The expression "coo like doves" used to be very common and it could describe the manifestation of tenderness between people in love. Nowadays, no one says so, because such analogies have become negative. Probably, homosexuals were also called doves, and later the word was simply transformed into “blue”.

Research

In the century before last, scientists became very interested in the nature of homosexuality. The men were subjected to unthinkable and sometimes inhuman experiments. The hypothesis that gays do not hear with their left ear failed, but there was something in common between all homosexuals - they liked the color blue and its shades. All this was described in detail in the book by Ch. Astamadiev "In the Wilds of Desires". It contains a description of a considerable number of experiments on gays. Everyone forgot about this, but when the times of persecution for non-traditional sexual orientation passed, people wanted to know more about this curious "deviation". But where to get information? Of course, from pre-revolutionary books. A story about affection for blue and a rather cute name for all homosexuals was born - "blue".

Folk version

It's no secret that for newborns, they buy clothes and other useful things of a certain color: pink for girls, blue for boys. This custom is already more than a dozen years old and it is still not forgotten. Maybe this is the answer to the question of why gays are called gay, and you shouldn't look for pitfalls?

Abroad will help us

American prisons also have their own caste divisions. At the beginning of the last century, prisoners called homosexuals blueribbon, which means "blue ribbon". The history of the emergence of this term is unknown, but there is a possibility that the first part of this expression took root in Russia. At the very least, the theory of prison origin is the most widespread, and in which country this definition originated is not so important.

Another not very familiar expression came to Russia from the United States. Girl-boy is a boy-girl. Saying "gelboy" is not very convenient, so the word was transformed into "blue".

By whatever words they call representatives of gay people! Despite the fact that the whole progressive world considers Russia a country of homophobes, it is here that the most innocuous nickname for homosexuals was invented more than thirty years ago. Today you will find out why gays are called gay and where this popular expression came from. There are about a dozen different theories. Let's consider the most interesting ones.

Did not take root

The word "homosexual" is too long and evokes unpleasant associations, reminiscent of a doctor's diagnosis. “Gay” is shorter, but too unusual for a Russian-speaking person. Nobody will say "sexual minority" every time. It is much more familiar and pleasant to say "blue". Any resident of the former Soviet republics will immediately understand who the interlocutor had in mind. Why are gays called blue in Russia, although in many countries pink is considered the symbol of this movement? And on the LGBT flag there is no blue color at all - it was removed from there almost immediately.

Aristocratic version

It is generally accepted that homosexuality is the prerogative of high society. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that an ordinary peasant could have such inclinations. Of course, there are exceptions to any rule, but nevertheless, it was the aristocrats who did not hide their preferences and did not particularly hide their essence in society. Nobles, officials, creative intelligentsia, tsarist officers - everyone who considered themselves to be people with a non-traditional sexual orientation, visited special salons and threw stormy parties with invited artists. Despite the fact that homosexuality was banned in the country and one could end up in jail, high society was not afraid of criminal prosecution. Probably, this is where a stable expression originates, because “blue blood” flows in the veins of aristocrats.

Paris

Not the most popular, but very interesting version of why gays are called gay. If in Russia homosexuals were looking for each other in salons, then in Paris there were whole neighborhoods where not only people of non-traditional orientation lived, but also lived. It is not known why exactly, but such areas were called "blue". Perhaps this became known in Russia as well.

Whips

Silver pigeons - this is what the members of this sect called themselves at the beginning of the last century. Orientation did not play a big role, but during the "zeal" (night worship) she practiced homosexual relationships as part of the ritual. In the 1930s, mass persecutions of the Khlysty began. Thousands of followers ended up in places not so distant. There they did not abandon their previous views and gradually turned from silver pigeons into simply “doves”, and then into “blue” ones. By the way, the expression "rooster" also originated from there. That was how other prisoners insulted the Khlysty. By analogy with their "bird" self-name.

This also includes another version. The expression "coo like doves" used to be very common and it could describe the manifestation of tenderness between people in love. Nowadays, no one says so, because such analogies have become negative. Probably, homosexuals were also called doves, and later the word was simply transformed into “blue”.

Research

In the century before last, scientists became very interested in the nature of homosexuality. The men were subjected to unthinkable and sometimes inhuman experiments. The hypothesis that gays do not hear with their left ear failed, but there was something in common between all homosexuals - they liked the color blue and its shades. All this was described in detail in the book by Ch. Astamadiev "In the Wilds of Desires". It contains a description of a considerable number of experiments on gays. Everyone forgot about this, but when the times of persecution for non-traditional sexual orientation passed, people wanted to know more about this curious "deviation". But where to get information? Of course, from pre-revolutionary books. A story about a liking for the blue color came to light and a rather cute name for all homosexuals was born - "blue".

Folk version

It's no secret that for newborns, they buy clothes and other useful things of a certain color: pink for girls, blue for boys. This custom is already more than a dozen years old and it is still not forgotten. Maybe this is the answer to the question of why gays are called gay, and you shouldn't look for pitfalls?

Abroad will help us

American prisons also have their own caste divisions. At the beginning of the last century, prisoners called homosexuals blueribbon, which means "blue ribbon". The history of the emergence of this term is unknown, but there is a possibility that the first part of this expression took root in Russia. At the very least, the theory of prison origin is the most widespread, and in which country this definition originated is not so important.

Another not very familiar expression came to Russia from the United States. Girl-boy is a boy-girl. Saying "gelboy" is not very convenient, so the word was transformed into "blue".

Some linguists believe that gays were first called pigeons, and over time, the "bird" simply transformed into "color." But why were they called pigeons? There is a hypothesis that homosexuals got this name from who called themselves "gray" or "silver pigeons". Many of the sectarians practiced homosexual relationships as ritual sex during the so-called “delights”. The poet Nikolai Klyuev, Sergei Yesenin's mentor and most famous whip, was perhaps the most famous openly homosexual in Soviet Russia.

The Khlysty did not change their "habits" even in Soviet prisons (in the 1930s, thousands of sectarians ended up in camps during the persecutions). In the camps, the Khlysty continued to call themselves "doves", and, probably, the criminals reduced the self-designation of the sectarians to blue and began to call all homosexuals that way. Interestingly, there is a version that jargonism "cock" (as they call people in the camps who occupy the lowest level in the prison hierarchy), the "thieves" called Khlysty as a mockery of their "pigeon" self-name.