Polari: The Secret Language of Gay Men

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, Sex, Scandal, Education, History

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It's a credit to the resilience of the gay community that when society tried to outlaw and silence them, they just created a language of their own to keep conversation (and gossip) alive.

The language, polari, was born out of prejudice, and while it's now classified as endangered, many of its words are still used by us today.

What were its many origins? When was it at its peak? And why did some of the gay community eventually start to turn its back on it?

Kate's joined by Paul Baker, author of Fabulosa!: The Story of Polari, Britain's Secret Gay Language, to find out more.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy, and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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