Wed 10 February 2021 18:00-19:30
As part of LGBT+ History Month join the University of Bristol LGBT+ Staff Network as they welcome guest speaker Paul Baker, celebrating Polari – the language of gay men.
With a saucy vocabulary including omi (man), palone (woman), lallies (legs), riah (hair), naff (awful), dish (bum), vada (look) and bona (good), Polari was used to conduct conversations in secret up until the 1960s, operating as a form of bonding and humour that helped gay people live through more oppressive times. It was popularised by Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick in the radio comedy series Round the Horne and since then has largely disappeared from the gay scene, viewed as unfashionable and politically incorrect. However, in recent years it has been rediscovered and reappraised as an important aspect of gay social history with younger people using it in new ways for very different reasons to the original speakers.
To join the event, please email to Simon Gamble at simon.gamble@bristol.ac.uk.