In late January, during the Polar Vortex that held America by the throat with an icy grasp, a picture of a man wearing a massive coat with his hood up while battling his way through a snowstorm went viral. It sounds unremarkable, except that, in 2°F weather, he was death-gripping an iced coffee.
The picture, fairly innocuous aside from the man’s choice of caffeinated beverage, was shared by the City of New York’s Twitter feed and paired with an incredulous caption. How could an individual in this freezing weather, the tweet suggested, be drinking an iced coffee? It’s obvious, people responded: He’s gay.
Obviously there’s no way commenters could’ve known this man’s sexuality. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone even knows who he is. But none of that matters, after all; what was clear to the corner of the Internet known as Gay Twitter, and to the site Gay Star News,was that this man was just exercising his rights—nay, his duty—as a gay man to drink iced coffee. Iced coffee, you see, is gay culture [ed. note: can confirm].
In a piece published last October on the LGBTQ website New Now Next, it was noted that for the past two years on social media there’s been a steady flow of jokes and memes about the gay community’s affinity for iced coffee. According to NNN, iced coffee is gay because: portability (cute cups), easy consumption (it’s cold) and customization (you can pump it full of sugar, or sugar-free syrup that is definitely not giving you diabetes). The site compared it to the stereotype of suburban moms and their consumption of pinot grigio; iced coffee is a gay crutch. (...)
“I think the joke sort of originated as gays drinking iced coffee in the winter,” Stryker explains. “Like, gays will do ridiculous things and there’s something so counterculture about drinking an iced coffee during the winter.” It’s also, he says, a sign of resisting homogenization. “Hot coffee is so normcore. Like, it’s for dads and old people commuting on the train.”
For Sam, iced versus hot coffee is the perfect symbolism between queer and straight culture. Essentially, iced coffee has become a queer avatar, and a way for gay people to signpost themselves against the uniformity of heterosexuality. (...)
While there are some codes that were very specific, such as the hanky code which signaled specific sexual proclivities, Dr. Bengry says that mostly the signposting was subtle, such wearing a red tie or a pinky ring. Usually, though, they had something to do with subverting gender norms. For example, wearing color was a subversion of the dark suits men were accustomed to wearing, while anything ostentatious or extravagant, such as using a scent or perfume, was associated with women. “The codes associated with a gendered difference,” he adds, “could then signal a sexual difference.”
The picture, fairly innocuous aside from the man’s choice of caffeinated beverage, was shared by the City of New York’s Twitter feed and paired with an incredulous caption. How could an individual in this freezing weather, the tweet suggested, be drinking an iced coffee? It’s obvious, people responded: He’s gay.
Obviously there’s no way commenters could’ve known this man’s sexuality. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone even knows who he is. But none of that matters, after all; what was clear to the corner of the Internet known as Gay Twitter, and to the site Gay Star News,was that this man was just exercising his rights—nay, his duty—as a gay man to drink iced coffee. Iced coffee, you see, is gay culture [ed. note: can confirm].In a piece published last October on the LGBTQ website New Now Next, it was noted that for the past two years on social media there’s been a steady flow of jokes and memes about the gay community’s affinity for iced coffee. According to NNN, iced coffee is gay because: portability (cute cups), easy consumption (it’s cold) and customization (you can pump it full of sugar, or sugar-free syrup that is definitely not giving you diabetes). The site compared it to the stereotype of suburban moms and their consumption of pinot grigio; iced coffee is a gay crutch. (...)
“I think the joke sort of originated as gays drinking iced coffee in the winter,” Stryker explains. “Like, gays will do ridiculous things and there’s something so counterculture about drinking an iced coffee during the winter.” It’s also, he says, a sign of resisting homogenization. “Hot coffee is so normcore. Like, it’s for dads and old people commuting on the train.”
For Sam, iced versus hot coffee is the perfect symbolism between queer and straight culture. Essentially, iced coffee has become a queer avatar, and a way for gay people to signpost themselves against the uniformity of heterosexuality. (...)
While there are some codes that were very specific, such as the hanky code which signaled specific sexual proclivities, Dr. Bengry says that mostly the signposting was subtle, such wearing a red tie or a pinky ring. Usually, though, they had something to do with subverting gender norms. For example, wearing color was a subversion of the dark suits men were accustomed to wearing, while anything ostentatious or extravagant, such as using a scent or perfume, was associated with women. “The codes associated with a gendered difference,” he adds, “could then signal a sexual difference.”
by Alim Kheraj, GQ | Read more:
Image: City of NY
[ed. News you can use.]
