Top in gay community
In June , TNI’s Lou Cornum brought together three writers to discuss what’s really going on in queer lamentations of a top shortage. The conversation has been edited for length.
• • •
LOU CORNUM. Is there actually a top shortage? If there isn’t a top shortage, why do queers talk about it?
KAY GABRIEL. I ponder on the one hand "top shortage" doesn't actually specify a numerical situation so much as a general disidentification from "top" as an avowed sexual position; and that this tendency derives from a highly overdetermined disavowal of desire. Being (or avowing oneself to be) a bottom allows one to assume an apparent passivity with respect to one's desires, at least according to the ideologeme whereby bottoming means "taking" and topping means "giving." I should clarify here that I'm using top and bottom in their robust sense of sexual roles, rather than the (I consider equally illustrative and somewhat clearer, if also clearly curtailed) sense of who's the insertive and who's the receptive partner, who's fucking whom.
BILLY-RAY BELCOURT. However tenuous its relation to sta
Troye Sivan said he's a 'verse' during sex, not a 'top' or 'bottom.' Here's what the terms mean.
Troye Sivan, a singer known for his track "Bloom," recently verb straight rumors that he only enjoys receiving penetration during sex.
"I think in the sort of consciousness of gay people I'm some crazy power bottom or something, which is just not the case, and I just wanted to put that out there," Sivan, a gay guy, said on Emily Ratajkowski's podcast "High Low."
Sivan said that he's a "verse," meaning he enjoys both penetrating a partner and being penetrated during sex.
"Verse," as well as the terms "top" and "bottom" are popular ways to describe sexual preferences in the queer community.
While the terms were originally used to describe the sexual preferences of queer men in the s, more LGBTQ+ people verb adopted the terms to talk about what they enjoy in sex.
Lately, top/bottom/verse discourse has grown more visible on TikTok, where queer people have been making videos describing the unique struggles of each preference.
It's impo
Top, Bottom, Verse: A Definitive Guide to Gay Terminologies
Gay culture is incredibly well-off and diverse and has a language all its control. Though the Internet has helped to diminish the sense of isolation that many gay people may have felt in the past, there&#;s still a certain code to online gay culture.
Understanding a few basic gay terminologies, especially ones that will facilitate you learn how to better convey with gay men, can help you get more out of your online dating experience.
So whether you&#;re an ancient pro or just beginning to grasp about gay sex, here is a look at some of the most common gay terminologies as we verb you the low-down on the difference between top, bottom, and versatile
What Are the Gay Male Identities?
The most ordinary gay male identities are Top, Bottom, and Verse. The definitions of each are relatively self-explanatory:
- The top is the person in charge and/or performing the sexual act.
- The bottom is the person taking control and/or receiving the sexual act.
- The verse is someone who can go either way. They are the sexual chameleons of the gay
Top/Bottom
The terms top and bottom emerged as descriptors of a sexual binary in the gay leather culture of the s and the bondage and sadomasochism (BDSM) culture of the s. Originally, the top-bottom binary signified both sexual positions and power relationships in which a top was a sexual aggressor and penetrator who often acted as the more forceful and dominant partner; the bottom represented the more submissive, typically penetrated, and often "punished" partner.
DEFINITION AND Employ OF THE TERMS
In the BDSM community the term top indicates the dominant partner who inflicts pain on, enacts control over, or otherwise subjects his or her partner to acts associated with bondage, discipline, and sadomasochism. The term bottom indicates the receiver of such treatment. In these cases the terms are not gender-specific: A male or a female may act as a top or a bottom. Although the top is the dominant partner, the bottom often still has command. For example, a top who takes direction from the bottom's explicitly expressed wishes often is called a service top.
These terms evol