What is Camp in Gay Slang?

A camp sensibility has its roots in gay culture. It loves flamboyance and theatricality; it feeds off sarcasm and mockery. A certain witticism in the works of Oscar Wilde, mannerisms in Victorian art, and the garish, exaggerated style of Busby Berkeley musicals are a few of the early instances. Pop icons such as Lady Gaga and the flashy visuals of South Korean rapper Psy's music videos are examples of contemporary camp.

Definition

Camp is more than just a hipster fad, as the 2019 Met Gala theme demonstrated. It's a longstanding sensibility and mode of expression that dates back many years. It was Susan Sontag's 1964 essay "Notes on Camp" that first made people aware of the difficult-to-define aesthetic of sarcastic, extravagant theatricality. She lists several examples of camp, including Noel Coward plays, Aubrey Beardsley drawings, Tallulah Bankhead and Greta Garbo's mannish acting techniques, Caravaggio paintings, and the concept of dandyism. Camp promotes artifice, satire, and occasionally nostalgia while satirizing social standards. It gives disenfranchised groups of people a means of fostering community, expressing their interests, and challenging cultural norms. Although Gen Z may find it trite or tacky, it's actually a sophisticated kind of humor and a potent tool for challenging social norms. It has also permeated the fashion industry, where designers are embracing quirky or niche comedy, parodying talk shows, and designing garments that emphasize effeminacy and drag.

Starting point

The word "camp" has an unclear origin. It might be an acronym for Polari, the gay argot of the day, or it might have something to do with gaff, the iron hook used to land big fish (see here). In English, it can refer to either homosexuality itself or a person's theatrical behavior, which is frequently effeminate. Generally speaking, androgyny, sarcasm, extravagance, exaggeration, and theatricality are what characterize camp. Gen Zers strive to be campy with aplomb in everything from their TikTok videos and hormone-driven body language to the vivid colors and tragic melodrama of Busby Berkeley musicals and Douglas Sirk tearjerkers. Fashion designers like Comme des Garçons are renowned for their extravagant creations that scream camp. In her 1964 essay "Notes on Camp," Susan Sontag identified gay culture as the source of this new, extravagant, satirical theatricality. Following her example, numerous other academics have cited Oscar Wilde and Jean Genet's writings as well as a variety of cultural precedents, such as mannerist painting from the 17th century, Victorian literary conventions, or the splendor of Louis XIV's Versailles castle.

In other words

The essence of camp lies in its embrace of irony and niche comedy, whether it takes the form of exaggerated drag performers or the extravagant Broadway musical extravaganza. It also has to do with dispelling myths and redefining gender and femininity. For instance, a lot of people view Mae West as a camp icon because, despite being a man imitating a woman, she was well-liked by homosexual men and other camp enthusiasts for her outrageous persona and sexually suggestive speech. In 1964, Susan Sontag's essay "Notes on Camp" popularized the term "camp" by drawing attention to a new aesthetic of flamboyant yet satirical theatricality. Sontag contended that this style was most obviously associated with homosexual society. These days, Generation Z frequently employs the term to characterize superstars that epitomize camp, like Lady Gaga's flesh dress or Katy Perry's bubblegum-sweet, plastic-laden wardrobe choices. However, unlike the drag performances of Judy Garland and Bette Midler in their heyday, pop camp sometimes falls into the trap of simple parody and doesn't challenge conventional beliefs about gender or sexuality.

As an example

In colloquial language, extravagant or humorously exaggerated performances are frequently referred to as "camp." It may also allude to the admiration of these kinds of aesthetics in web material. Examples of this include outrageous dress choices on social media, talk show parodies, and drag performances that subvert gender norms. In the past, LGBT people used camp as a means of fostering relationships with one another despite repressive political and cultural environments. In addition, Susan Sontag's 1964 essay "Notes on Camp" demonstrated how it was a form of resistance. These days, entertainers such as RuPaul and Geri Halliwell are regarded as symbols of camp due to their utilization of flashy aesthetics and humorous, sardonic performance techniques. Modern music icons that epitomize camp include South Korean artists Psy and Lady Gaga, both of whom use garish imagery in their music videos. Camp can even include physical excess, as demonstrated by the enormous breasts of celebrities like Dolly Parton and Jane Russell or the hilariously hairy figure of porn star Ron Jeremy.