From Drag Queens to Leathermen

This chapter provides theoretical background for the analyses contained in From Drag Queens to Leathermen: Language, Gender, and Gay Male Subcultures. The chapter reviews prior research on gay male subcultures and gay male language. The chapter then presents theoretical background related to language ideology, performativity, and indexicality. A general discussion of gendered ideologies in gay male subcultures is presented, discussing the role of stereotypes, appropriation, and the use of camp forms of interactional style. A basic history of the emergence of gay male subcultures is presented, focusing on communication within subcultures, such as the hanky code in clone subculture. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the contents of the remaining chapters in the book.