Daddy (slang)
A Daddy in gay culture is a slang term meaning a man sexually involved in a relationship with a younger male.[1][2][3] An age gap, maturity gap, and varying levels of sexual experience are possible aspects of a "Daddy/boy" relationship.[citation needed]
In an internet meme context, Know Your Meme defines the term as a "slang term of affection used to address a male authority figure or idol in a sexualized manner."[4]
A "Daddy/boy" relationship can share similarities with a dynamic of dominance and submission.[5]
History edit
New York claimed in 2017 that the specific archetype evolved from leather subculture, which began in the 1940s.[6]
The "leather daddy" archetype, which has sadomasochistic associations, was proliferated in such media as the Drummer magazine (launched in 1975); 1976 to 1979 gay pornographic films Working Man Trilogy; and BDSM novels by Larry Townsend.[7][6]
Predecessors edit
According to the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, the earliest use of "daddy" in a non-paternal context was in 1681, in reference to what sex workers called their procurers or older male customers.[8][9]
Throughout the 1920s, the term was used in blues music and African-American Vernacular English to mean one's boyfriend, especially an older man or a sugar daddy. In 1920, the term is used in a romantic context in Aileen Stanley's blues song "I Wonder Where My Sweet, Sweet Daddy's Gone."[10] Its usage is similar in Lavinia Turner's 1922 song "How Can I Be Your 'Sweet Mama' When You're 'Daddy' to Someone Else?"[8][11] The same year, the term appears in Trixie Smith's "My Man Rocks Me" in the lyrics "My man rocks me, with one steady roll [...] I said now, Daddy, ain’t we got fun".[12][9]
In gay culture edit
New York claimed in 2017 that the gay term evolved from leather subculture, which began in the 1940s.[6]
In the 1970s, the "leather daddy" archetype (which has sadomasochistic associations) was proliferated in such media as the Drummer magazine (launched in 1975); 1976 to 1979 gay pornographic films Working Man Trilogy; and BDSM novels by Larry Townsend.[7][6]
Braidon Schaufert has claimed that the term was further normalized through to Game Grumps' 2017 visual novel game, Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator, which centered "queer fathers in a romance game" and gained a significant online fandom.[13]
The term has increasingly been applied to heterosexual relationships.[citation needed]
Gender edit
In 2000, Andrew Schopp claimed that the Daddy archetype "challenge[s] dominant ideologies of masculinity by appropriating the icons of masculinity and male authority (jocks, leather, motorcycles, uniforms) and transporting them into the realm of gay male sexual experience."[14]
In 2018, Braidon Schaufert claimed that, by creating the 'daddy' term, "Queer communities have separated the specific gender performance of fatherhood from the actual act of raising children".[13]
In the context of T4T relationships (specifically, trans men dating trans men), a Daddy/boy dynamic can be part of the gender affirmation process, thereby leading to gender euphoria. In 2022, Transgender Studies Quarterly claimed that a Daddy/boy dynamic between trans people "can be read as gender labor; affective and intersubjective work that produces gender".[15][16]
See also edit
- Sugar dating, a transactional relationship, which may involve use of the term "sugar daddy"
References edit
- ^ Kirkland, Justin (2018-06-15). "Here's an Outrageously Comprehensive Guide to the Term 'Daddy'". Esquire. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
- ^ Mahale, Aniruddha (2018-01-07). . Firstpost. Archived from the original on 2021-05-16.
- ^ Borge, Jonathan (2017-10-23). "Why People Are Calling Hot Guys Daddy". InStyle. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
- ^ "Daddy". Know Your Meme. 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ Weinberg, Thomas S. (1995). S and M : Studies in dominance and submission. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-978-X. OCLC 478487523.
- ^ a b c d Albo, Mike (2013-06-14). "Rise of the 'Daddies': A New (and Sexy) Gay Niche". The Cut. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ a b "Larry Townsend Books List". Ranker. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ a b Farhi, Paul (January 4, 2005). "Conception of a Question: Who's Your Daddy?". Washington Post.
- ^ a b Karen. "The Deal with Daddy". Acelinguist.com. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
- ^ ""I Wonder Where My Sweet Sweet Daddy's Gone" Aileen Stanley (1920) T. A. Hammed & Ray H. Stark". Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ "How Can I Be Your "Sweet Mama" When You Are "Daddy" to Somebody Else? - Lavinia Turner". Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll) - Trixie Smith and the Jazz Masters_(Released October 1922)". Retrieved 2024-01-14 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Schaufert, Braidon (December 2018). "Daddy's Play: Subversion and Normativity in Dream Daddy's Queer World". Game Studies. 18 (3). ISSN 1604-7982.
- ^ Schopp, A. (2000). (De)Constructing Daddy: The absent father, revisionist masculinity and/in queer cultural representations. disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory, 9(3), 15-39.
- ^ Cassius Adair; Aren Aizura (February 1, 2022). ""The Transgender Craze Seducing Our [Sons]"; or, All the Trans Guys Are Just Dating Each Other". Transgender Studies Quarterly.
- ^ Cameron Awkward-Rich; Hil Malatino (February 1, 2022). "Meanwhile, t4t". Transgender Studies Quarterly.