stray_r t1_j9sp3hq wrote
Reply to comment by elephantsgraveyard in TIL that the reason Yankee Doodle stuck a feather in his cap and called it 'macaroni' was because at one time macaroni was slang for something very fashionable or trendy by elephantsgraveyard
Ok, was on mobile, didn't see link destination, didn't click through. Guilty of crimes against the internet.
If we taught history properly in schools, we'd be saying that the british were hurling queerphobic slurs at the colonies and they owned it so hard by running with it and kicking the british empire out.
It's important to note that in 1770, buggery was a capital offence in the british empire. (No it's not a term of affection. If you see british people using it as a term of affection on tv, it's a very british and particularly squaddie behaviour of greeting close friends with vile insults. A millennial equivalent observed in the wild is ||whatup douchenuggets||) We don't get the level of self identity we do where it's legally protected. But there's plenty of homophobic and enbyphobic hate recorded in the 1770s.
I think macaroni was more widely "fashion inspired by" rather than exclusively queer culture, but it's the highly visible Ru Paul's Drag Race to the much more underground queer clubs in every city.
I wish things like this were taught in history classes, people might see the queer community as something that's always been here, rather than something that's "new" due to internet exposure and a period of relative safety in existing publicly in some places.
RandomPersonOfTheDay t1_j9sve4q wrote
This is one of the most intelligent, thought provoking, and insightful comments I’ve ever read on Reddit. Cheers! 🍻
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