No Homo

Abstract

The phrase no homo arose in hip-hop lyrics of the 1990s as a discourse interjection to negate supposed sexual and gender transgressions. Today the phrase has gained currency beyond hip-hop culture and pervades racial and gender continua. As a result, its increasing prevalence in mainstream speech has caused critics to deplore no homo as outright homophobia. This article describes the origins and scope of no homo. Instead of easily identifying the phrase as homophobic, the article invites readers to examine the phrase as a way of understanding the complexities in gender identification processes along with the linguistic dexterity necessary for survival in certain sociocultural groups. By exploring the macrosociological issues which created and perpetuate the need for no homo, we arrive at a deeper understanding of sexuality, marginalized sexuality, and the (often unspoken) uneasiness with sexual and gendered nonconformity.

Keywords:

• ethnicity
• hip-hop
• homophobia
• identity
• language
• slang

Notes

I am indebted to the valuable and insightful comments and suggestions provided by three anonymous reviewers, as well as Atia Sattar and Rebecca Zajdowicz on earlier drafts. All errors that remain are my own.

1. “That's so gay” and other homophobic terms in middle and high schools are reviewed in Wessler and DeAndrade (2006).

2. Both Bucholtz (1999) and Fordham and Ogbu (1986) relate sounding White (i.e., the use of standard speech) with homosexuality.

3. Some authors encourage the use of hip-hop songs particularly in the classroom to show what feminism is; cf. Springer (2002) and Stovall (2006).