The word gay in Russian: when colors are not colors

Hi guys! Today I am going to tell you about a Russian word that we use when talking about gay couples. Actually, there are many words of this sort and ways to say gay in Russian, but only one of them can be confusing to learners. That is the word «голубой» which, when out of sexual context, is translated as ‘blue’. And yes, when we hear the English expression ‘blue Monday’, we giggle.

The Russian word for gay — «голубой» — is completely neutral. It has neither negative nor positive context. I think that’s probably the oldest name for gays in Russian. All the others are not so commonly used. That may be why other words with the same root have a feeling of ‘gay’ connotations. Like «голубцы», ‘golubtsi’, a kind of Russian traditional food, stuffed cabbage rolls, or «голубь» which means ‘a pigeon’.

Sometimes, when we don’t want to claim that someone is gay, but only give a hint, we might say that something is of ‘light sky color’.

Pretty gays in Pattaya on Songkran. In Russian we don’t call them ‘sweet boys’ but ‘blue boys’. And nobody is offended.

This substitution for the word gay in Russian can only be used about male couples. For female couples there is another colorful word – «розовый» which means ‘pink’. But frankly speaking, this word is very rarely used alone. Usually we refer to lesbian couples as «розовые» (plural form of ‘pink’ because apparently this word is a noun in such context) together with «голубые» (plural form of ‘blue’) when talking about homosexuals in general: «голубые и розовые». «Розовые» is also a neutral word.

I guess it all comes from the tradition of buying blue rompers for boys and pink for girls.

Ok, that’s probably all! Feel free to ask me any questions and don’t forget to subscribe!

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