No homo

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No homo is an English phrase that is used today, among other things, in youth language . The parenthesis signals to the interlocutor that no homosexual intentions are emanating from the speaker and is mostly used when a previous utterance gave or could give this impression.

origin

The phrase originally came from East Harlem slang in the early 1990s and was later used by the rapper Cam'ron and diplomats in the hip-hop scene , among others . With Lil Wayne and his music album Tha Carter III as well as some mix tapes , the expression also found its way into the mainstream . US rapper Jay-Z, on the other hand, used the term pause with a similar meaning. "No homo" arose at the same time as the phenomenon of the down-low brothers (married men who have sexual intercourse with men outside of their marriage and thus hide their actual sexual orientation ) and may have been used in particular in the rap and hip-hop scene to distance oneself from this phenomenon.

criticism

Some critics rate the phrase “no homo” as an indication that despite the development towards a more tolerant view of homosexuals and bisexuals, a certain homophobia prevails, especially among young people. The phrase is used to avoid or prevent a possible association with homosexuals, as this is perceived as negative. It is therefore less about a statement suggesting hatred or rejection of homosexuals and bisexuals, but rather an expression of fear, since the user, after an apparently “unmanly” and “gay” suggestion, is in front of such a mockery within a social group fears. As a result, it is implied that nowadays - especially in the hip-hop, rap and parts of the youth scene - any apparent deviation from the ideal of masculinity and hints of this kind are associated with homosexuality and thus with bad.

Slate columnist Jonah Weiner, on the other hand, views no homo in a more complex way and emphasizes that homosexuality was previously considered an absolute taboo , especially in the hip-hop and rap scene , and that an enemy image has been built up accordingly. Some hip hop musicians and rappers, Weiner said, cultivated flamboyant and " campy " personas while adopting homophobic attitudes. On the one hand, the use of "no homo" leads to previously unambiguous statements being automatically transferred to another level and thus artificially interpreted as "gay", but on the other hand it is also possible through the use of such phrases to stay and present oneself outside the “ideal of masculinity” without fear of an association with homosexuals.

Nick Catucci, writer for New York magazine , disagrees with this view. In his opinion, "no homo" is just another expression of gay hatred , comparable to the English term fagot , since the phrase refers to exaggerated and derisive statements on homosexuals and their behavior. Furthermore, the term is largely only used because it "sounds good" and is easy to use in conjunction with rhymes. A rapper like Cam'ron, according to Catucci, would dress in pink and use the phrase merely to show that he's manly enough to get away with it without being labeled gay.

Major Public Uses

The American comedy group The Lonely Island parodied the phrase in their song No homo on the album Turtleneck & Chain in 2011 by using the term in the usual way at the beginning of the song, but towards the end of it more and more clearly homosexual Notes hang.

On September 23, 2011, member of the jury and rapper Sido told a candidate on the Austrian television show Die Große Chance : The girls could be into you. I definitely find you interesting. We always have to say “No homo”. We don't mean that homo. But I find you very interesting. The two presenters also used the term in the Austrian late-night format Willkommen Österreich at times, but in a satirical way.

The Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services of the University of Alberta in 2012 published the page NoHomophobes.com , can be seen in the statistics that (also called "no homo" below) using four homophobic expressions in Twitter counts. Just two months after it began, the project had more than two and a half million uses of the term fagot and almost a million of the phrase no homo . On the one hand, the campaign depicts the anti- gay language that is still widespread, especially on the Internet, but on the other hand also tries to motivate young people to counteract this behavior on Twitter with the help of the hashtag #nohomophobes .

The Jamaican basketball player Roy Hibbert caused a 2013 controversy after the phrase after a game against the Miami Heat within one interviews was used. Hibbert was fined 75,000 dollars by the National Basketball Association occupied. He later apologized for the use of the phrase and for another remark made during the press conference in a statement released by the Indiana Pacers .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b What does "no homo" mean? Explanation and correct use. Accessed February 16, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Scene language wiki: Definition of No homo ( Memento of the original from July 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / szenesprachenwiki.de
  3. ↑ kasamaproject.org: No Homo: Hip Hop and Homophobia (English)
  4. ↑ Urban Dictionary: Definition Down-Low-Brother (English)
  5. ↑ Queersunited.blogspot.co.at: The problem of no homo (English)
  6. ↑ Seattletimes: The continuing saga of KUBE morning host Eddie Francis and American English's current homophobic lexicography (English)
  7. ↑ Jonah Weiner: Does This Purple Mink Make Me Look Gay? (English)
  8. ↑ Nick Catucci: 'No Homo': Cause for Hope in Hip-hop? (English)
  9. ↑ David Jeffreys: Review Turtleneck & Chain (English)
  10. ↑ For example, Welcome Austria with Stermann & Grissemann , ORF1, December 11, 2012 with the rapper Money Boy :
    Money Boy gives the moderators his new T-shirts with the slogan "Swagger for Dummies": That's just part of my business of mine ? Haters ?, yo! Stermann: Yo! Thank you. Yo homo! [general laughter] Grissemann [improving]: No, no. No Homo! Stermann: No Homo! Sorry, sorry. Oh yo, yo, yo Grissemann: No Homo. But that brings me right away, and I discussed that shortly beforehand [with the other guest], on the very disgusting gangster-rapper line of despising all homosexuals and women. How can you justify speaking of women as "bitches"? […] Stermann: Are you the only master of gangster rap? Money Boy: I think so, but I'm not gong about that. No homo. [Grissemann and audience laugh softly].
  11. ↑ thinkprogress.org: Homophobia Tracker (English)
  12. ↑ sbnation.com: Roy Hibbert fined $ 75,000 for post-game remarks (English)