|
The term dyke or dike is a slang noun meaning ''lesbian''; it is also a slang adjective describing things associated with lesbianism. It originated as a derogatory label for a masculine, tomboyish, or butch woman; while this usage still exists, the term ''dyke'' has been reappropriated to an extent as a demeaning word implying assertiveness and toughness, or simply as a neutral synonym for lesbian. The term dyke is derived from the idea of traditional gender roles and heterosexism with the idea that women are feminine attracted to men, and men are masculine and attracted to women implying that an inversion or mixture of the two is abnormal. The use of the term ''dyke'' as a derogatory label is a form of othering which can be defined as "a process that identifies those that are thought to be different from oneself or the mainstream, and it can reinforce and reproduce positions of domination and subordination." Although the term ''dyke'' can be literally translated to mean lesbian and many lesbians have reclaimed the word in order to remove the negative stigma associated with lesbians, it is still seen as derogatory when directed to another. ==Origins== The origin of the term is obscure, and many theories have been proposed. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') dates the first recorded use of ''dike, dyke'' in 1942, in Berrey and Van den Bark's ''American Thesaurus of Slang''.〔"(dike, dyke, n.3 )." ''The Oxford English Dictionary.'' 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford UP. 4 Apr. 2000〕 The term ''bulldyker'', from which ''dyke'' may have been shortened, first appeared in 1920s novels connected with the Harlem Renaissance.〔 For example, in the 1928 novel ''Home to Harlem'', Claude McKay wrote: "(are ) what we calls bulldyker in Harlem. ... I don't understan' ... a bulldyking woman." (The term is unattested in the ''OED''.) From the context in the novel, the word was considered crude and pejorative at the time. One theory for the origin of ''bulldyker'' is that it was an abbreviation of ''morphadike'', a dialect variant of ''hermaphrodite'', commonly used for homosexuals in the early twentieth century. This in turn may be related to the late-19th-century slang use of ''dyke'' (meaning ''ditch'') for the vulva.〔According to (www.etymonline.com ). The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' records no such interpretation.〕 ''Bull'' is also a common expression for "masculine" and "aggressive" (as in ''bullish''), and ''bulldyke'' implied a "masculine woman". Another theory claims that ''bulldyker'' was a term used for bulls who were used to impregnate cows. The word ''stud'' was extended for a sexually promiscuous man and a man successful with women. The terms ''bulldyker'' and ''bulldagger'' were also taken from their original context and used for the same purpose. A man who was a great lover was called a ''bulldyker''. ''Bulldyking woman'' and ''bulldyker'' became terms for women who resembled a ''bulldyker'', a male stud, and who were assumed to perform the role. In ''Another Mother Tongue'', Judy Grahn proposed that the word ''bulldyke'' may have arisen from the name of the Celtic queen Boadicea.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dyke (slang)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|