camp

[Indigo Som]

I've seen "camp" used as both 1 & 2 in the local queer press (SF bay area).
An odd example that comes to mind is a report of something said "in a campy
voice". I remembered this because it sounded strange when I read it, but I
knew exactly what the writer meant & thought most readers would also
understand it. I think I've seen that usage more than once, but maybe it
was from the same writer. More natural-sounding to me -- & more frequently
seen/heard -- is something along the lines of "an evening full of camp" or
"a campy event" or "a bunch of campy fags", &c.

>Merriam-Webster's 10th Collegiate offers the following 4 definitions for
>"camp".  Note that these definitions are in HISTORICAL order:
>
>1.  exaggerated effeminate mannerisms exhibited esp. by homosexuals
>2.  a homosexual displaying camp
>3.  something so outrageously artifical, affected, inappropriate, or
>out-of-date as to be considered amusing
>4.  something self-consciously exaggerated or theatrical
>
>for about a generation now, in my experience, in the US, "camp" has been used
>only in meanings 3 and 4.  Note that I specify "in the US".  I have
>encountered British uses of "camp" to mean "homosexual".  Does anyone know if
>this is current British usage?

Indigo Som
indigo at well.com

Come on home, little darlin
Everything's gonna be just fine
We got ice, we got a front porch
& all the girls have big ol dreams like mine    ---Freakwater