Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: Lifestyle

Cake boy - Another term for a gay man
The Castro - Castro Street in San Francisco and the area surrounding it. The Castro District is the gay ghetto, where queer couples walking hand-in-hand are a more common sight than straight ones.
In the Closet - Not revealing one's sexual orientation to the general population.
Commitment Ceremony - A public affirmation of your commitment and union. Often has roots within pagan ceremonies.
Drag - Dressed in a way usually identified with the opposite sex.
Drag King - A woman dressed like a man.
Drag Queen - a gay man who dresses as a woman for pleasure and/or performance. Or, to quote To Wong Foo, With Love, Julie Newmar, "When a gay man has way too much fashion sense for one gender, he is a drag queen." It is usually polite to refer to a drag queen as "she" when she is in drag, and "he" when he is not.
Drag Show - A performance by female impersonators.
Dutch Boy - Men, gay or straight, who like to hang around dykes.
Dyke - A lesbian. The term derives from the nineteenth-century slang word dike, which referred to male clothing, and when it was first used to refer to women, it carried a derogatory connotation of masculine appearance or behavior. Usually a lesbian with attitude.
Faggot or fag - a gay man, frequently one who is swishy, queeny, or effeminate
Fag Hag - A heterosexual woman who socializes extensively with gay men. Other terminology: Gay Godess, Fruit Flies and Ribbon Clerk.
Fairy - A male homosexual, especially one who acts or dresses in an effeminate manner. This was a common derogatory term for homosexuals during much of the twentieth century. Like dyke and faggot, it has been reclaimed by gay people.
Family - Meaning being part of the lesbian and gay community. As in, "He's a member of the family. He's gay."
Femme - A lesbian or gay man who acts and dresses effeminately.
Flaming - extravagantly effeminate and flamboyant, an adjective usually applied to gay men.
Friend of Dorothy's or Auntie Em - Referred to as being gay. This term has roots from Judy Garland, whose musical ability and tragic life story were so popular with gay audiences and of course from, "The Wizard of Oz", the classic musical.

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