closet queen

[ kloz-it kween ]

noun

, Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man who denies his sexual orientation to himself or keeps it hidden from others.

closet queen

noun

1. informal.
   a man who is homosexual but does not admit the fact

Word History and Origins

Origin of closet queen¹

First recorded in 1965–70; closet (in the sense “secret”) + queen (in the sense of “gay man”)

Example Sentences

“I called it a closet queen bar.”

From New York Times

Though Vidal accused Buckley of being a “closet queen”, this was not the retort of a militant homosexual: Vidal, a “pansexual”, always saw “homosexual” and “heterosexual” as adjectives, not nouns.

From Economist

Allusions to homosexuality were abundant, with Buckley implying that Vidal was distinctly “other”; Vidal insinuated that Buckley was a closet queen.

From The Guardian

For, you see, the old gentleman himself got around a bit in his day�notably into the marital bed of his son, the closet queen.

From Time Magazine Archive

As soon as the king of Persia was in the closet, Queen Gulnare ordered one of her women to bring her a fire-pan with a little fire.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bio queen
• drag artist