This article is about twink as gay slang. For twink in online games (such as World of Warcraft), see
Twinking. For other uses of twink, see
Twink.
Brent Corrigan won the "Best (Amateur) Twink Performer -
Bottom" 2008 Golden Dickie for
Fuck Me Raw while his studio at the time,
Cobra Video won for "Best (Amateur) Twink Studio" largely through his films.
[1][2][3] Twink or twinkie is a gay slang term describing a young or young-looking gay man (usually white and in his late teens or early twenties) with a slender build, little or no body hair, and no facial hair.[4][5] In some societies, the term chick or chicken is preferred.[6] The related term twinkle-toes, which implies that a man is effeminate, tends to be used in a derogatory manner.[7] The terms can be complimentary or pejorative.[8][9]
[edit] Origin
The namesake of
twink is the
Twinkie pastry.
The term's namesake is the "golden-colored phallic-shaped snack cake" Hostess Twinkie, commonly regarded as the quintessential junk food: "little nutritional value, sweet to the taste and creme-filled."[10][11][12] Cream is among the well-known food-related euphemistic terms for ejaculate.[13] In Queering Pornography: Desiring Youth, Race and Fantasy in Gay Porn, essayist Zeb J. Tortorici notes that gay twink porn thrives on the production and performance of "consumable and visually/anally receptive masculinity."[14]
A twink is "memorable for his outer packaging", not his "inner depth".[11] The golden color also alludes to those who are excessively sun tanned.[15] The tanned, "blond California surfer" has been popularized in the mid 1970s before the onset of the AIDS pandemic in the early 1980s which ushered in the physical gay male as muscular, clean-cut and extremely healthy.[16]
The junk food reference has a number of connotations, including a perceived lack of intelligence and being ideal only for a short term, but not having lasting qualities or being very healthy.[15] Most of these concerns no longer apply, as the definition of twink has broadened, and qualifiers (such as muscle or femme) narrow the meaning to a more specific type of twink.[15] Although the term originated from the United States snack food, both the cake and twink have found international use.[10][17][18]
Contrasting a twink and a
bear can be seen in this group of people from the Capital Gay
Pride parade in
Albany, New York in June 2009. The young blond (center), Naked Boy News host
J.Son Dinant, is generally considered twink-ish because of his slender build and overall youthful appearance, while the man on the right would generally be considered more of a "bear" because of his stocky build and body hair.
Twinks are often clean-shaven (if they have facial hair) to emphasize a youthful, fresh-faced appearance, although many are too young to have beard growth. The term has been used by bears in a derogatory and pejorative manner.[8] In some cases, it is a neutral descriptive term, and can be contrasted with bear.[19] Closely related (in the United States) is boi, although this generally represents a more feminine look or a generational way of defining oneself. The term is often modified by various descriptors, e.g., femme twink, Euro twink and muscle twink. The term is often used in the gay porn industry.
There is a backronym that states that twink stands for "teenaged, white, into no kink", although none of these criteria are either necessary or sufficient to be a twink.[20][21]
[edit] Twink code
Similar to other "codes", like the bear code, the twink code is a set of symbols using letters, numbers, and other characters commonly found on modern, Western computer keyboards, and used for the describing and rating of twinks.[22] These codes are used in email, Usenet, and Internet forum postings to identify the physical type and preferences of the poster but have mostly fallen out of usage. The code includes physical traits such as "c" for color of hair (from blond to black), "l" for length of hair (from bald/clean-shaven to very long), "h" for degree of hairlessness, "y" for youthful appearance, and "e" for endowment.[22] It also includes personality traits such as "q" for "queeniness" and sexual preferences such as "k" for "the kinky factor".[22]
[edit] See also
- ^ "2008 Golden Dickie Award Winners". Rad Video. 2006. http://www.radvideo.com/news/article.php?ID=100057. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
- ^ ""His movies were Cobra's best selling. He was in four titles for them. And all four were on their Top 10 list of best sellers of all time."" "Jason: About Brent Corrigan- final". Archived from the original on 2005-10-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20051026182346/http://www.adultfyi.com/read.aspx?ID=11702.
- ^ "Corrigan was born in Lewiston, Idaho and grew up in the suburbs of Seattle" The Traci Lords of the gay industry tells his story; claims the owner of Cobra knew he was underage
- ^ McGinniss, Joe (2007). Never Enough. Simon and Schuster. p. 280. ISBN 0743296362. http://books.google.com/books?id=eN7zJAAACAAJ. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ Herbst, Philip (2001). Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender. Intercultural Press. p. 23. ISBN 1877864803. http://books.google.com/books?id=8rgUeEpWfbsC. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ Green, Jonathon (2006). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.. p. 272. ISBN 0304366366. http://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Herbst, Philip (2001). Wimmin, Wimps & Wallflowers: An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Gender. Intercultural Press. p. 90. ISBN 1877864803. http://books.google.com/books?id=8rgUeEpWfbsC. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ a b Wright, Les (2001). The Bear Book II: Further Readings in the History and Evolution of a Gay Subculture. Haworth Press. pp. page 8. ISBN0789006367.
- ^ Phelan, Susan (2006). The Cure. Cerridwen Press. p. 105. ISBN 1419953311. http://books.google.com/books?id=BSYgrbL6oW0C. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ a b Baker, Paul (2002). Polari - The Lost Language of Gay Men. Routledge. ISBN 0415261805. http://books.google.com/books?q=twink+gay+slang&as_brr=3. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ a b Reuter, Donald F. (2006). Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 215. ISBN 0312354274. http://books.google.com/books?id=7FpPbfVRm3MC&dq=twink+gay. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Sagon, Candy (13 April 2005). "Twinkies, 75 Years And Counting". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46062-2005Apr12.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Petkovich, Anthony (2002). The X Factory: Inside the American Hardcore Film Industry. Headpress. p. 215. ISBN 1900486245, 9781900486248. http://books.google.com/books?id=8ghuHL0JZ1kC. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ Driver, Susan (2008). Queer Youth Cultures: Performative and Political Practices. SUNY Press. pp. 199-215. ISBN 0791473376, 9780791473375. http://books.google.com/books?id=xHEcZEcgFfcC. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ a b c "What is.. twink?". Gay Demon Media. 2008. http://www.gaydemon.com/dicktionary/twink/. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ^ Hub of all that's hot: San Francisco -- surprise! -- has surpassed Los Angeles as the capital of the gay adult entertainment industry Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 2007.
- ^ Cage, Ken; Moyra Evans (2003). Gayle: The Language of Kinks and Queens : a History and Dictionary of Gay Language in South Africa. Jacana Media. p. 100. ISBN 191993149X. http://books.google.com/books?id=WSn7026sq_cC. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "Banana Twinkies Have Appeal". CNN. 13 June 2007. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/13/banana.twinkies/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-11. [dead link]
- ^ Baker, Paul (2004). Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 79. ISBN 0826473431. http://books.google.com/books?id=T72TJfZoywAC. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "Pride Panel Terms and Definitions". OSU Pride Center, Oregon State University. http://oregonstate.edu/pridecenter/panels/terms.php. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Twink". The Free Dictionary [Acronyms]. http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/Twink. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ a b c Baker, Paul (2004). Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 207. ISBN 0826473431. http://books.google.com/books?id=T72TJfZoywAC. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
[edit] References
- Hart, Jack. 1998. Gay Sex: A Manual for Men Who Love Men. Alyson Books. ISBN 1-55583-468-X.
- Rodgers, Bruce. 1972. The Queen's Vernacular: A Gay Lexicon. Straight Arrow Books. ISBN 0-87932-026-5.
- Stewart, William. 1995 Cassell's Queer Companion : A Dictionary of Lesbian and Gay Life and Culture; Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34301-3.
[edit] External links
