Whatever words they call representatives of non-traditional orientation! Despite the fact that the whole progressive world considers Russia a country of homophobes, it was here that more than thirty years ago they came up with the most harmless nickname for homosexuals. Today you will find out why gays are called blue and where did this popular expression come from. There are about a dozen different theories. Consider the most interesting.
Did not take root
The word “homosexual” is too long and causes unpleasant associations, because it resembles a doctor’s diagnosis. “Gay” is a shorter, but too unusual for a Russian-speaking person. Each time, no one will say “a representative of the sexual minority”. It is much nicer and nicer to say “blue”. Any resident of the former Soviet republics will immediately understand who the interlocutor had in mind. Why are gays called blue in Russia, although in many countries pink is considered a symbol of this movement? But the LGBT flag does not have a blue color at all - it was removed from there almost immediately.
Aristocratic version
It is generally accepted that homosexuality is the prerogative of high society. In fact, it is difficult to imagine that an ordinary peasant may have such inclinations. Of course, there are exceptions to any rule, but still it was the aristocrats who did not hide their preferences and did not particularly hide their essence in society. Nobles, officials, creative intelligentsia, tsarist officers - all those who considered themselves to be people with non-traditional sexual orientation, visited special salons and had stormy parties with invited artists. Despite the fact that homosexuality was banned in the country and could go to jail, high society was not afraid of criminal prosecution. Probably, a steady expression takes its roots here, because "blue blood" flows in the veins of aristocrats.
Paris
Not the most popular, but very interesting version of why gays are called blue. If in Russia homosexuals were looking for each other in salons, then in Paris there were entire neighborhoods where not only walked, but also representatives of non-traditional orientation lived. It is not known why exactly, but such areas have come to be called "blue." Perhaps this became known in Russia.
Whips
Silver pigeons - that's what the members of this sect called themselves at the beginning of the last century. Orientation did not play a big role, but during the “rejoices” (night worship) she practiced homosexual relationships as part of the ritual. In the 1930s, mass persecution of whips began. Thousands of followers found themselves in places not so distant. There they did not abandon their former views and gradually turned from silver pigeons into simply “pigeons”, and then into “blue ones”. By the way, from there the phrase “cock” came from. So insultingly called the whips other prisoners. By analogy with their "bird" self-name.
This also includes another version. The expression "coo like doves" used to be very common and they could describe the manifestation of tenderness between people in love. Nobody is saying that now, because such analogies began to have a negative connotation. Probably, homosexuals were also called doves, and later the word simply transformed into “blue”.
Research
In the century before last, scientists were very interested in the nature of homosexuality. Men were subjected to unthinkable and sometimes inhuman experiments. The hypothesis that gays do not hear with their left ears failed, but there was something in common between all homosexuals - they liked the blue color and its shades. All this was described in detail in the book of Ch. Astamadiev "In the wilds of desires." It contains a description of a considerable number of experiments on gays. Everyone safely forgot about this, but when the time of persecution for non-traditional sexual orientation passed, people wanted to learn more about this curious “deviation”. But where to get the information? Of course, from pre-revolutionary books. A story was revealed about the affection for blue and a pretty sweet name was born for all homosexuals - “blue”.
Folk version
It's no secret that for babies they buy clothes and other useful things of a certain color: for girls - pink, for boys - blue. This custom has been around for decades, and it is still not forgotten. Maybe this is where the answer to the question lies, why are gay men called blue, and not worth looking for pitfalls?
Abroad will help us
American prisons also have their castes. At the beginning of the last century, prisoners called homosexuals blueribbon, which means “blue ribbon”. The history of this term is unknown, but it is likely that the first part of this expression has taken root in Russia. At least the theory of prison origin is the most common, and in which country this definition originated, is not so important.
Another not very familiar expression came to Russia from the United States. Girl-boy is a boy-girl. To say “gelboy” is not very convenient, therefore the word was transformed into “blue”.