GAAI AsiaPAcific

Gay people in Burma are resisting homophobia and marginalisation through the creative use of new communication codes. In doing so, they are making a significant contribution to linguistic diversity in Burma and raising the visibility of their community in important ways.

'It is important to publicise these codes created by gay people to show that we are creative and have a special ability to make new terms quickly, that are actively used in speech' said Aung Myo Min, the founder of the Committee for Lesbigay Rights in Burma.

In this article, the term 'gay' is used because it is a popular self-identifier in urban, web-accessible areas, as is the term 'homo', both loan words from English. The term denotes some men who have sex with men, who can be varying degrees of feminine or masculine.

There are two broad categories of communication codes used among gay Burmese people. The first translates as 'hidden language', designed to disguise meaning from the straight world. It is only used when gay people talk amongst themselves.