Here’s the context I think
Comment on Does the word "burger" have any extra meaning in some parts of the gay or lgbtq community?
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 4 days ago
Wellll, like others have said, twink is a long standing term for very feminine presenting gay men, with varying regional connotations as to whether they’re also very thin and/or petite, and it can be used separate from a “flame”, which is a term for the very flamboyant gay men regardless of their presentation or physical appearance.
There’s a lot of overlap between twinks, flames, otters, and queens (which may or may not mean drag queens, depending on where you are). Some people use them interchangeably, others will use them as separate aspects.
Now, burger, I haven’t heard in a long time among gay folks. The only gay specific usage I am aware of was complimentary, as in “mmm, I wanna get a bite of that burger”. It was usually directed at someone with superior buns, though sometimes someone with a lot of meat. But the last time I heard that, I think it was maybe 1999? 98? And afaik, it wasn’t one of those terms that was used everywhere.
Mind you, most of the above is filtered through media, and/or local gay culture in my area. I’ve never lived anywhere but the south, and only in one state. I’ve visited plenty of the east coast, and since I’ve always felt more comfortable around gay strangers than straight strangers, I have had some exposure to other local cultures. But the majority of what I’ve picked up is regional. You’d be amazed how much difference there is in the gay scene between Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville, Savannah, etc, just here in the south. You go north and things can be even less familiar.
Back in the day, a lot of the slang and culture traveled with drag queens. The ones that would travel for shows carried all the news and culture with them, like fabulous bards.
Anyway, memory lane aside, that’s the only context I’ve heard burger used for specific to gay culture.
half_built_pyramids@lemmy.world 3 days ago
loaExMachina@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
If this is the context, I believe it has nothing to do with gays or twinks.
Just a sad anime image meant to convey an emotional response, according to Tineye, first seen around 2016, on pages no longer reachable.
First memetized around 2017, with the following image : même
Translated labels from left to right : “The new waifu of the season”, “you”, “You’re waifu, to whom you’d vowed eternal love”. At this stage, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: The meme is still aimed at the weeb community that saw it’s birth, and still makes use of the context implyed by the image.
But to interpret what comes next, you must take into account the rise of “cringe” culture in the early 2020s. Former memes, deemed “cringe”, saw a new birth under several layers of irony to highlight their absurd nature. Here is another meme that underwent the same fate : knowyourmeme.com/memes/im-fine
This era also saw the appearance of the words “pog”, “poggers” and “pogchamp”, all of which quickly became cringe. The above meme can therefore be interpreted as a pile of cringe meant to be absurd.
What about burgers? The burger also has a place in meme culture. can I has cheeseburger
Declaring one’s taste for a trash food or another belongs to another memetic trop, that of appearing relatable and whimsical. Most old memes using this trope appear cringe by today’s standard. The image may be a meta-meme about itself, describing the memer’s transition from pre-cringe to post-cringe culture, from “burgers” to “poggers”, and burying the image macros under countless layers of irony.
Sanctus@lemmy.world 3 days ago
That, is not what I expected.
SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
TIL. I’ve heard people being called, usually in a derogatory way, “flamers” or “flaming” but never just “flame”, nor did I understand the context.
So just your average bard, then?
southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
Yup, bards be fabulous by default :)
I have seen flame and its variants used derogatorily as well. Moreso back in the late eighties and early nineties back when there were a lot of gay men trying to avoid attention and criticising the more visible people in the overall gay community. But it still gets used that way sometimes nowadays. Back in my younger years, flaming was usually followed by the other f-word connected to gay folks when used as an insult. Sometimes even when used affectionately, though that was rarer.
Myself, I’ve always enjoyed the company of the brighter burning flames. There’s just something so delightful in someone being exuberant and joyful as their primary way of moving through life. Even the drama some flames bring along is worth it lol.
I’m in old man mode again, but I can still remember my first night working as a bouncer at the drag club. All these people coming in, most of the customers dressed to the nines, happy and dancing, and letting go of all the camouflage they had to wear at work or whatever. All those flames burning bright and free.
The guy on the door with me performed as well and was in a dress and had his makeup on (but not the shoes lol), and I asked him if it was always like this, and he just laughed and said “Oh, honey child, this is a slow night.” And it was! Some Saturdays, it was like what I imagine dropping acid to be.
Gods, I miss that part of the job lol.
SolOrion@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
I greatly appreciate your old man mode. Sounds like a fantastic job.