How queer language escaped the closet and conquered pop culture 

You have probably said “slay” this week. 

Maybe you told a friend they “ate”. Maybe someone “served”. Perhaps you clocked a terrible outfit on TikTok or typed “it’s giving…” into the group chat without a second thought.

These phrases feel like internet slang, but most have much deeper roots. Long before they appeared in brand campaigns and Instagram captions, they emerged from queer communities creating new ways to communicate, connect and stay safe.

This isn’t just the history of slang. It’s the history of survival, identity and culture. 

Clock it. Language was never just language. It was infrastructure  

Across the world, queer communities have developed what linguists call anti-languages: specialised forms of communication that help insiders recognise one another while remaining less accessible to outsiders.

For decades, these languages provided something more than vocabulary. They created spaces where people could belong.

In South Africa, one of the most famous examples is Gayle. 

Before TikTok, there was gayle  

Born in Cape Town’s queer and drag communities during the 1950s and 1960s, Gayle blended English, Afrikaans, camp humour and theatrical creativity into a coded language.

Women’s names became code words. ‘Priscilla’ meant the police. ‘Carol’ meant to cry. ‘Connie’ was a condom.

It sounded playful, but it served a serious purpose: helping queer South Africans communicate in a society where being open about their identity could be dangerous.

Every slang word carries the memory of someone who first needed it  

Gayle wasn’t the only queer language to emerge in South Africa.

Researchers have also documented isiNgqumo, a linguistic tradition that developed primarily among black queer communities in KwaZulu-Natal. Deeply rooted in isiZulu and township culture, it became another way for people to build community, express identity and find belonging.

Its existence is a reminder that there is no single queer South African experience. There never has been. 

From District Six to Harlem  

While Gayle was evolving in South Africa, another cultural revolution was unfolding in New York’s ballroom scene.

Made famous by the documentary Paris Is Burning, ballroom culture introduced the world to terms like “shade”, “reading”, “realness” and “voguing”. These weren’t simply slang words. They were part of a rich culture built by Black and Latino LGBTQ+ communities creating spaces of their own.

Language, style and performance became tools for self-expression, resistance and survival. 

How Queer Language Traveled  

1950s – District Six develops Gayle. 

1960s – Police raids make coded language essential. 

1970s – The Harlem drag ballroom scene explodes in New York. 

1990 – Paris Is Burning introduces ‘shade”, ‘reading”, ‘realness’. 

2009 – RuPaul’s Drag Race launches on mainstream global TV. 

2010s – Black Twitter accelerates queer vocabulary. 

2020s – TikTok globalises ‘slay, it’s giving”, ‘mother”, ‘ate”. 

Today – Parents, politicians and brands all speak words born in queer communities.

Queer language is spoken with the hands as much as the mouth  

The finger snap. The eye roll. The dramatic pause before delivering shade.

Queer language has always been about more than words. Gesture, performance and attitude are part of the message too.

To “serve” isn’t just something you say. It’s something you embody. 

Who really invented internet slang?  

Many expressions now labelled “internet slang” originated in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), Black queer communities and ballroom culture before making their way through television, social media and eventually TikTok.

As these terms became mainstream, many people started using them without knowing where they came from.

That’s why recognising their origins matters. Language has creators, even when history forgets their names. 

South Africa’s ballroom is writing its own dictionary  

Today, queer language continues to evolve.

Across Cape Town, Joburg and beyond, local ballroom collectives, creators and communities are adapting global influences into uniquely South African forms. Young people move seamlessly between English, isiZulu, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, iScamtho and internet slang, creating entirely new ways of speaking.

And that’s the real story here: queer language isn’t a relic. It’s alive, expanding and still shaping culture. 

Clock it. Language remembers, even when people forget.  

The next time someone says an outfit is “serving” or tells their friend to “slay”, they’re using language with a history far older than the algorithm.

Every phrase carries traces of the communities that created it. Every word tells a story.

And that’s only part of the story. 

South Africa’s secret queer languages  

Gayle

Developed in Cape Town among predominantly Coloured and white gay communities during apartheid. 

Examples 

• Carol – cry 
• Connie – condom 
• Priscilla – police 
• Mavis – effeminate queen 
• Monica – money 

Isinqumo

A queer linguistic tradition that developed primarily among black queer communities in KwaZulu-Natal.

Unlike Gayle, much of isiNgqumo remains undocumented, making it one of South Africa’s most fascinating and least understood linguistic traditions. 

Want the full deep dive into Gayle, isiNgqumo, ballroom culture and the origins of the internet’s favourite phrases? Subscribe to ClubX to read the complete feature.  

Words: Maqhawe Junior Madonsela
Illustrations: Shutterstock