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''''''Boi''''' ([[plural]]: '''''bois''''') is a term used within [[LGBT]] and [[butch and femme]] communities to refer to a person's sexual and/or gender identities.<ref name="50 Ways to Support">{{cite book |first=Meredith |author2=Angela Watrous |title=50 Ways to Support Lesbian & Gay Equality: The Complete Guide to Supporting Family, Friends, Neighbors&nbsp;— or Yourself ... |publisher=New World Library |date=2005 |ISBN=1-930722-50-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3Pk1-8oIZYC&dq=lesbian+boi+gender+expression&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref><ref name="Female Chauvinist Pigs">{{cite book |last=Levy |first=Ariel |title=Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=2006 |ISBN=0-7432-8428-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IubF3WamjDYC&dq=lesbian+%22boi%22+gender+expression&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref> In [[lesbian]] communities, there is an increasing acceptance of variant gender expression, as well as allowing people to identify as a ''boi''.<ref name="Dykes on Bikes and the Regulation">{{cite journal |last=Ilyasova |first=K. Alex |title=Dykes on Bikes and the Regulation of Vulgarity |journal=[[International Journal of Motorcycle Studies]] |date=November 2006 |url=http://ijms.nova.edu/November2006/IJMS_Artcl.Ilyasova.html |accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref><ref name="Schooling Sexualities">{{cite web |last=Epstein |first=Debbie |author2=Richard Johnson |title=Schooling Sexualities |publisher=Buckingham: Open University Press |year=1998|page=19 |url=http://ijms.nova.edu/November2006/IJMS_Artcl.Ilyasova.html |accessdate=2007-08-21}}</ref><ref name="Radical to Raunch">{{cite web|last=Linden |first=Merritt |title=Radical to Raunch: Articulating and Anticipating Contemporary Lesbian Feminism&nbsp;— An Analysis of Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture |publisher=Utrecht University |date=27 February 2008 |url=http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0429-200701/Linden%20CWSCP%20Thesis.doc |accessdate=2008-06-23 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927142911/http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/student-theses/2008-0429-200701/Linden%20CWSCP%20Thesis.doc |archivedate=September 27, 2011 }}</ref> The term may denote a number of possibilities that are not mutually exclusive:<ref name="Gender Shifts in the">{{cite book |last=Curzan |first=Anne |title=Gender Shifts in the History of English |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 | ISBN= 0-521-82007-3 |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=VzzOWXsmb2QC&dq=%22boi%22+gender+expression+terms&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref> * A "boi" is (generally) the younger person who prefers older partners, and is the "boi" in a "[[Daddy (gay culture)|daddy]] and boi" dating, relationship, or sexual situation, where "boy" and "boi", respectively, are used to differentiate between someone who is underage, and someone who just identifies as the younger who wants or needs someone older. In this context, "boi" can be masculine or effeminate, or anywhere along that spectrum, and some males identify as a "boi" well beyond their 20s, and especially so long as they are involved with older men. Often, though not always, a "boi" prefers a submissive role. * A younger person, possibly embodying stereotyped attributes towards [[casual sex]] and commitment in relationships, in contrast with the stereotype of the ''[[U-Haul lesbian]]''. Bois may not identify as [[Butch and femme|butch]], regarding butches as playing a more powerful or responsible role&nbsp;– the "man of the house"&nbsp;– while a boi is still in a freer, younger phase. * A submissive [[Butch and femme|butch]] in the [[BDSM]] community, or a younger butch in the [[butch-femme]] community.<ref name="Fairest"/> * A young [[trans man]], or a trans man who is in the earlier stages of transitioning.<ref name="Fairest">{{cite web |last=Crain |first=Chris |title=Who’s The Fairest Twink Of Them All? |publisher=[[San Francisco Bay Times]] |date=2007-11-22 |url=http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=7066 |accessdate=2007-11-25}}</ref> * A term of endearment for butches by [[femme]]s.<ref name="Fairest"/> It may also be used in the gay community to refer to a younger person&nbsp;– [[bisexuality|bisexual]] or gay&nbsp;– who may have [[effeminacy|effeminate]] characteristics.<ref name="Fairest"/> The term can also be used by anyone who wishes to distinguish from heterosexual or [[heteronormative]] identities.<ref name="Fairest"/> ''Boi'' may also refer to someone assigned female at birth, who generally does not identify as, or only partially identifies as [[Femininity|feminine]], [[female]], a [[girl]], or a [[woman]]. Some bois are [[transgender|trans]] and/or [[Intersexuality|intersex]] people.<ref name="Gay L.A.">{{cite book |last=Faderman |first=Lillian |author2=Stuart Timmons |title=Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians |publisher=Basic Books |year=2006 |ISBN =0-465-02288-X |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=I5SVsJmVxDUC&dq=%22boi%22+gender+expression+terms&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 |accessdate=2008-06-23}}</ref> Some "bois" identify as one or more of these, but they almost always identify as [[lesbian]]s, [[Dyke (lesbian)|dykes]], or [[queer]]. Many trans bois are also [[Genderqueer|genderqueer/nonbinary]] (in itself a trans/transgender group), or might identify as cis persons or trans men, and yet practice genderfuck in which they do not fit in either masculine or feminine binary gender presentation. Bois may prefer a range of [[pronoun]]s, including "he", "she", or non-binary and [[gender-neutral pronoun]]s such as "they", "co", "hir", "sie", "zie", "xe", and "ey".<ref name="msnbc">{{cite web |title=Boi or grrl? Pop culture redefining gender |publisher=[[MSNBC]]|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9556134/ |date=2005-10-01|accessdate=2007-05-07}} Published October 1, 2005</ref> The term has found increasing usage in the larger [[LGBT]] culture. The term was coined to refer to black LGBTQ people, especially black [[gay]] individuals, later being used to describe gender. "Boi" has found popularity in the Latino and Asian communities as well.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The term was also used as a variant of the spelling of boy when one could not register a username (particularly on AOL in the 1990s when so many names were already registered) with the normal spelling boy as a part of the name. It was generally picked by younger gay males (commonly called twinks today).{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} ==See also== *[[List of transgender-related topics]] *[[Sk8er Boi]] *[[Tomboy]] *[[Twink (gay slang)|Twink]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== {{Wiktionary|boi}} * {{cite news|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/features/n_9709/|title=Where the Bois Are|last=Levy|first=Ariel|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|accessdate=11 May 2015}} * [http://current.com/items/89789659/a_boi_s_life.htm Boi's Life] Short Doc about Boi Culture by Amaris Blackmore & Heidi Petty * [http://www.boimeetsplay.com Boi Meets Play] Online magazine exploring Boi Culture and Style {{Sexual identities}} {{LGBT slang}} {{LGBT |culture=yes}} [[Category:Butch and femme]] [[Category:Transgender and transsexual culture]] [[Category:Trans men]] [[Category:LGBT slang]] [[Category:Androgyny]]'