Chickenhawk (gay slang)

For other uses, see Chickenhawk (disambiguation).

A chickenhawk or chicken hawk is slang used in American and British gay culture to denote older males who prefer younger males for partners, who may less often be called "chickens",^[1] i.e., the prey of the chickenhawk.^[2] Other variations include chicken queen^[3] and chicken plucker.^[2]

It is sometimes used as a disparaging vulgarity within the LGBT community, or seen as a slur against people in that community. The label can be applied to a man who seeks partners with the look of someone young, regardless of their target's age.^[4][5]

"Chickenhawk" also indicates a man who uses underage boys for his sexual pleasure. The usage was publicized by members of the controversial group NAMBLA in the 1994 documentary film Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys,^[6][7] although Time magazine reported it in this sense in 1975.^[3]

The use and significance of this term have been the subject of academic discussions ^[8][9] as well as popular reports.

See also

LGBT portal

• Age disparity in sexual relationships
• Cougar (slang)
• Ephebophilia
• Troll

References

1. ^ This term is more common in the UK; the more common term in the US is twink..
2. ^ ^{a b} Donald F. Reuter (2006). Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime. St. Martin's Griffin. http://books.google.com/books?id=7FpPbfVRm3MC&pg=PA36&ots=7bxTAjwjF_&dq=chicken.hawk+older+gay&sig=uSmqrksm0NvHghUh1K2oRhz9TcE#PPA36,M1. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Crossing Signals". Time magazine. September 8, 1975. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917786,00.html. Retrieved 2007-07-16. 
4. ^ "Shades of Rainbow; From both the Gay & Lesbian Perspective". Outcomebuffalo. http://www.outcomebuffalo.com/lyndsey2005-6-0060019.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "Chicken: A younger, new-to-the-scene, typically attractive gay male. Chicken Hawk: An older gay male that seeks out Chickens." 
5. ^ "Culture and Family Issues". Gay Talk: A (Sometimes Outrageous) Dictionary of Gay Slang. http://www.cwfa.org/articles/491/CFI/cfreport/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-21. "chicken (fr naut [from nautical] chicken = a young recruit // sl [slang] usu [usually] in negative context as “You’re no spring chicken”) 1. any boy under the age of consent, heterosexual, fair of face, and unfamiliar with homosexuality “So many chickens were flapping around that I thought we were touring Colonel Sander’s (sic) plantation” 2. juvenile, youthful, young-looking. Syn: chicken-looking (“You’re chicken-looking enough to pose for Maypo cereal boxes”); tender 3. (rare, kwn LV [known in Las Vegas], mid ’60s) to [sodomize] a pretty boy." 
6. ^ Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys at the Internet Movie Database
7. ^ Holden, Stephen (1994-07-08). "FILM REVIEW; Men Who Love Boys Explain Themselves". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/08/movies/film-review-men-who-love-boys-explain-themselves.html. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 
8. ^ Adam, Barry D. (2000) "Age Preferences among Gay and Bisexual Men", GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 6(3):413–33
9. ^ Queerness, sexuality, technology, and writing: How do queers write ourselves when we write in cyberspace?PDF (885 KiB) by Jonathan Alexander, Barclay Barrios, Samantha Blackmon, Angela Crow, Keith Dorwick, Jacqueline Rhodes, and Randal Woodland

External links