Polari

A drawing of Sevval Kilic by Mine Bethet

The secret language of Turkey’s LGBT community

Justice

People on the fringes of society — criminals, discriminated-against minorities, rebellious teenagers — often need to speak in code. So they create secret languages, or argots. In Turkey, the LGBT community and others keep their words to themselves with the help of an argot called Lubunca.

Polari: A Gay Slang that Flourished out of Prejudice

Arts, Culture & Media