[Ads-l] "a red mike" USN/USNA slang

[Peter Reitan]

The "Happy Hour" entertainment on the USS Arkansas in 1914 included "feminineless tango" lessons.

Either they were more open than we normally suppose, or they were just not as uptight as we generally imagine - or it was the Navy and they simply made do with what they had.

https://esnpc.blogspot.com/2014/04/history-and-etymology-of-happy-hour.html

------ Original Message ------
From: "Jonathan Lighter" <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>
To: ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu
Sent: 8/21/2019 6:01:43 PM
Subject: Re: "a red mike" USN/USNA slang

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Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster: Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: "a red mike" USN/USNA slang
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Homosexuality was so taboo a subject in 1908 that if Annapolis cadets were
using a special term to refer specifically for gay men, it would
undoubtedly have been a lot cruder than "Red Mike," and it wouldn't have
appeared in their yearbook in any case.

Unless I misread history, "woman-hater," rather like "misogynist," didn't
ordinarily carry any specially gay overtones.

JL




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