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Cunning linguists

Spanish gendered adjectives?

8 replies

PineappleDanish · 04/03/2020 09:03

I consider myself a fairly fluent non-native Spanish speaker. Did a degree yonks ago and watch a lot of Spanish stuff on Netflix. Currently addicted to the Spanish version of the Sewing Bee on the TVE player which has a whole new vocabulary which I never learned. (Lorca, Borges and Marquez don't really mention bias, seam allowance, overlockers and how a fabric drapes).

Anyway. One of the contestants is a very exuberant gay man called David. David is definitely male and doesn't "present" as female, whatever that means. David however speaks about himself using the female form of the adjectives/nouns - "Estoy muy contenta" or "Soy la jefa" or "me van a mirar y pensar - uy, que guapa!"

As a non-native speaker, it's really weird. The one other equally flamboyant gay contestant didn't do this at all but he was a little older. Anyone shed any light? (My current theory is that it's a self-obssessed millennial thing.).

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Unicornflakegirl · 10/06/2020 17:31

Good on you OP, I would have to figure out in English first what overlocker and seam allowance mean!
Some of my gay friends here do a similar thing, only a few words like superguapa or vaga, just banter / in-jokes.

@lazylinguist 'La Casa de Papel' is a Spanish show from recent years that has also been popular in the UK.

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AmeliaE · 13/05/2020 17:53

I enjoyed MasterChef Junior 😊

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lazylinguist · 09/05/2020 09:20

Yes I'd assume it was similar to lighthearted referring to each other as 'she' or 'girl' in English.

Reading the thread with interest though - I'm teaching myself Spanish and was meant to be doing an A Level this summer. I haven't really explored Spanish stuff on Netflix, so it's good to get some recommendations!

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AmeliaE · 09/05/2020 09:15

Many gay men use female adjectives to describe themselves or their friends as a form of banter or lighthearted jokes (zorra, loca, guapa, etc).
It doesn't necessarily mean that they identify themselves more with the female gender.
I would never use female adjectives describing a gay man unless the person is a very close friend.

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PineappleDanish · 24/04/2020 08:22

Missed this updates to the thread. Watched the end of Season 3 of Maestros and then all of the first Season. Now powering through the second season. It's expanding my sewing vocabulary considerably - I knew words like thread, needle and zip obviously but not things like overlocker, seams, hem, interfacing....

Love the judges on this show, especially Caprile. What a talent and he is fair but tough on the contestants.

Is masterchef spain any good?

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Kangourou · 12/04/2020 09:23

"applying for bank loans" I meant to say

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Kangourou · 12/04/2020 09:22

Mario Vaquerizo used to use female pronouns and adjectives, and he is neither millennial nor gay Grin
I think it's just a way of playing with the language and expressing yourself. Although I once read a comment along the lines that gay men who use female-declined adjectives and pronouns among friends probably revert to masculine ones in job interviews and applying for jobs, which just reinforces the idea that female is worth less than male.

I am also a huge fan of Maestros... Finished it last week and am toying with the idea of watching the first series (I started watching it last year so have seen 2 and 3).

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Marphise · 12/04/2020 09:02

I know a gay guy who occasionally refers to himself and gay friends as "she". Very light hearted. I think it's just a thing some people do ? I wouldn't read more into it.

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