Twink is gay slang for a man who is usually (but not always) in his late teens to twenties whose traits may include a slim to average physique, a youthful appearance, and little or no body hair. [5] [6] [7] Twink is used both as a neutral descriptor, which can be compared with bear , [8] and as a pejorative. [5] [9]
The exact origins of the term twink are disputed. Some trace its first appearance to 1963, although it may be derived from an older British gay slang term twank, which means: "The quarry of a homosexual prostitute (male); a man willing and ready to become any dominant man's 'partner'". [10] Oxford Dictionaries claims twink has origins in the 1970s. [11] [12] Another possible origin of the term may be a derivation from the American snack cake Twinkie, commonly regarded as the quintessential junk food. The food is described as "little nutritional value, sweet to the taste, and creme-filled"; [13] [14] [15] by comparison, the young men are described as "short, and blond, and full of creme", [14] with creme being a euphemism for semen. [14] [16]
A backronym has been constructed for twink, according to which it stands for "'teenaged, white, into no kink", although these specified traits are not universally accepted as either necessary or sufficient to classify an individual as a "twink". [17] [18]
In his book Never Enough (2007), about a murder committed in 2003 in Hong Kong, described by The New York Times Book Review as hard-boiled clichés with a cartoonish first impression, [19] Joe McGinniss describes a court case in which twink was defined as "a gay slang term used to denote an attractive, boyish-looking gay man between the ages of 18 and 23, slender ectomorph and with little or no body hair, often blond, often but not necessarily Caucasian." [20]
It has also been sparingly used to describe straight male celebrities who are skinny and have a youthful appearance, like Timothée Chalamet, [21] [4] [22] [23] although some object it to being used to refer to non-gay men. [24]
The term also serves to identify a subculture within gay culture for which members of the community may self-identify, but their stable assurance mostly comes from acceptance by other members. The subculture, as examined now, serves as a purely physical marker for attributes any one person may hold and/or acquire, highly dependent on normative society's take on beauty standards as a whole and what the community puts forth and prescribes to. [25]
Grindr, a popular dating app for gay men, lists the term as one of many "tribes" for users to "identify themselves with a niche group and filter their search to help find their type of guy." [26]
The term is often modified by various descriptors (e.g. femme twink, Euro twink, muscle twink) and is commonly used in the gay pornography industry. [7] [27] [28]
Essayist Zeb J. Tortorici notes that gay twink porn thrives on the production and performance of "consumable and visually/anally receptive masculinity." [29] A twink is "memorable for his outer packaging", not his "inner depth". [14] Twink can be seen as a popular subgenre in gay porn widely consumed across the globe. [30] In gay pornographic content, a twink usually, but not in all cases, plays the role of the submissive and receiving character commonly known as a bottom.
Susan Driver characterized the word twink as relying on "ageist and racist tropes of youth and white desirability". [30] [10] In regards to the concept, Driver describes it as "a young, white, and performed masculinity that can be fetishized, consumed, ... clearly coded in terms of race and age", [30] thus establishing the intersection for which race and age come together to create a hyper-sexualized denomination, often associated with sexual acts and the pornographic industry. [30]
Polari is a form of slang or cant historically used in Britain by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and sex workers, and particularly among the gay subculture. There is some debate about its origins, but it can be traced to at least the 19th century and possibly as early as the 16th century. Polari has a long-standing connection with Punch and Judy street puppeteers, who traditionally used it to converse.
Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Originally meaning 'strange' or 'peculiar', queer came to be used pejoratively against LGBT people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to reclaim the word as a neutral or positive self-description.
A fag hag is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate with gay men object to being called fag hags while others embrace the term. The male counterpart, for heterosexual men who have similar interpersonal relationships with gay and bisexual men, is fag stag.
Butch and femme are masculine (butch) or feminine (femme) identities in the lesbian subculture that have associated traits, behaviors, styles, self-perception, and so on. This concept has been called a "way to organize sexual relationships and gender and sexual identity". Butch–femme culture is not the sole form of a lesbian dyadic system, as there are many women in butch–butch and femme–femme relationships.
LGBTQ slang, LGBTQ speak, queer slang, or gay slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBTQ+ people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBTQ+ community identify themselves and speak in code with brevity and speed to others.
Twink may refer to:
Bareback sex is physical sexual activity, especially sexual penetration, without the use of a condom. The topic primarily concerns anal sex between men without the use of a condom, and may be distinguished from unprotected sex because bareback sex denotes the deliberate act of forgoing condom use.
A chickenhawk or chicken hawk is slang used in American and British gay culture to denote older males who prefer younger males for partners, who may less often be called "chickens", i.e., the prey of the chickenhawk. Other variations include chicken queen and chicken plucker.
Boi is slang within butch and femme and gay male communities for several sexual or gender identities.
A Daddy in gay culture is a slang term meaning a man sexually involved in a relationship with a younger male.
A glory hole is a hole in a wall or partition, often between public lavatory cubicles or sex video arcade booths and lounges, for people to engage in sexual activity or to observe the person on the opposite side.
Chicken can be used, usually by gay men referring to other gay men, to mean a young gay man or young-appearing gay man.
Troll and trolling are slang terms used almost exclusively among gay men to characterize gay, bisexual and questioning or bi-curious men who cruise or "wander about looking" for sex or potential sex partners or experiences "in a notably wanton manner and with lessened standards of what one will accept in a partner." The term can be used positively or negatively depending on the speaker, usage and intent and can describe the person or the activity. Although often referring to "an unattractive older gay man" and although troll as a slur "is primarily a visual, not a behavioral" judgment, the phrases can be used for anyone who is trolling, regardless of the putative troll's age or perceived attractiveness.
Troye Sivan Mellet is an Australian singer-songwriter and actor. After gaining popularity as a singer on YouTube and in Australian talent competitions, Sivan signed with EMI Australia in 2013 and released his third EP, TRXYE (2014), which peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Happy Little Pill", reached the top 10 on Australian music charts. In 2015, he released his fourth extended play, Wild, followed by his debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood. The album's lead single, "Youth", became Sivan's first single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 23.
A creampie is a sexual act featured in hardcore pornography in which a man ejaculates inside his partner's vagina without the use of a condom, resulting in visible seeping or dripping of semen from the orifice.
Dyke is a slang term, used as a noun meaning lesbian. It originated as a homophobic slur for masculine, butch, or androgynous girls or women. Pejorative use of the word still exists, but the term dyke has been reappropriated by many lesbians to imply assertiveness and toughness.
Bloom is the second studio album by Australian singer-songwriter Troye Sivan, released on 31 August 2018 through EMI Music Australia and Capitol Records. The album follows up his 2015 debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood, and features guest appearances from Gordi and Ariana Grande. It was preceded by the release of the singles "My My My!", "The Good Side", "Bloom", "Dance to This" and "Animal".
Big black cock, usually shortened to BBC, is a sexual slang term and a genre of ethnic pornography that focuses on black men with large penises. The theme is found in both straight and gay pornography. The genre is based on the debunked idea that black men have larger penises on average than white men.
"Rush" is a song by Australian singer Troye Sivan. It was released through EMI and Capitol on 13 July 2023, as the lead single from his third studio album Something to Give Each Other. The accompanying music video, shot in Berlin, was released the same day. The video shows athletic men and women dancing and drinking in the summer heat.
McGinniss never enough twink.
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