Secret Language - Blog Posts

A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men

While few people use the language today, many cherish its history.

Well this was something I didn’t know about! So the gist is that Polari was a secret language  for gay men (much like thieves cant) in the UK used before the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1967. 

What Polari shows and is an example of, is that everyday people USE language for particular purposes that shape our identity. Interestingly, much like other words or varieties of languages that are considered negative, sexist or racist by society, using Polari was seen by some homosexuals as a form of oppression and acknowledgment of being somehow fundamentally different from non-homosexuals.