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LadyNTrainer -> RE: What is a "Boi"? (2/25/2010 10:07:24 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: BoiJen
Straight guys using this term irritates the hell out of me. The reason is because "boi" is a gender identified that's been used for decades by lesbians. In gay male circles the terms has been used about as long as the word "twink" to mean the same thing. The earliest I've been able to track down the gender identifier "boi" in lesbian circles is the early 60's.
Straight guys using "boi" as a self identifier is an advent of the internet and uneducated rappers (Thank you "Big Boi" and outKast). Primarily, a lack of consideration for a word's history and generally accepted meaning and creativity is the driving force behind the het community using the word "boi" to identify men.
I think this can boil down to a political thing...if females, in particular, gay females, were more respected than they are now, the word "boi" would not be used in such a manner as it is currently used by straight men.
I respect what you're saying, and you very definitely have a point. I do want to state that there is a strong generational movement of transgender, genderqueer and gender transgressive young people who may be gay, lesbian, straight, bi or pansexual. I also respect that culture, and I don't think it's a bad thing at all for the LGBT community.
If a genderqueer person who is physically heterosexual chooses to self-identify as a boi, with knowledge and respect for the history of the term, I don't see anything negative about that. I generally approve of being gender transgressive and shattering social stereotypes of what gender roles "should" be if you are born with a dick or a pussy. I think that overall it could be a very positive thing if the word and the concept found its way into mainstream culture. I agree that it should be done with respect for LGBT community history.
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