CHICKENHAWK (SEXUALITY)

A 'chickenhawk' or 'chicken hawk' is slang used in American and British gay culture to denote older males who prefer younger males for partners, who may less often be called "chickens"^[1], i.e. the prey of the chickenhawk.^[2] Other variations include 'chicken queen' and 'chicken plucker'.
It is sometimes used as a disparaging vulgarity within the LGBT community, or seen as a slur against people in that community. The label can also be applied to a man who seeks partners with the look of someone young, regardless of their target's age.^[3][4]
Much less frequently, "chickenhawk" indicates a man who uses underage boys for his sexual pleasure. The usage was publicized by members of the controversial group NAMBLA in the 1994 documentary film ''Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys'',^[5] although ''Time'' magazine reported it in this sense in 1975.^[6]
The use and significance of this term have been the subject of academic discussions ^[7][8] as well as popular reports.

Contents

See also

Usage

References

See also

★ Age disparity in sexual relationships

★ Troll

Usage

★ "Stephen Holden of the ''New York Times'' got pretty darn perturbed about Larry Clark’s ''Wassup Rockers'', branding it a “chicken hawk” movie. It can’t be denied that Clark’s latest opus serves up the requisite lot of bare-chested teen boys, a twink motif going back to Clark’s 1971 photo classic, ''Tulsa''. Yet I found it hard to get mad at ''Wassup Rockers'', which opens this Friday at the Kendall Square. Its grimy-old-man ogling seems harmless — Clark’s feelings for his underage cast appear more affectionate and avuncular than exploitative."^[9]

★ "They were joined onstage by Vance Nichols, who plays Nicholas, a male twink who’s more than a bit dim witted; Jon Lasister (Bobby), the stage manager of the drag show; Steven Greiner (Madeline McCray) who plays the role of Tony, drag diva Miss Tiki Torchsong; and Danny Proctor (Ray) who’s a chicken hawk club owner."^[10]

★ "Where have we heard this before? Blame it on drugs and booze. I have trouble text messaging while sober. But now we are hearing that Congressman Mark Foley was a master of the Blackberry as an alcoholic. It appears that for the powerful and important Foley, the effects of alcoholism were quite selective: freeing only his inner Chicken Hawk."^[11]

References

1. This term is more common in the UK; the more common term in the US is twink.
2. Gay-2-Zee: A Dictionary of Sex, Subtext, and the Sublime, Donald F. Reuter, , , St. Martin's Griffin, 2006,
3. Shades of Rainbow; From both the Gay & Lesbian Perspective
4. Culture and Family Issues
5.
6. Crossing Signals
7. Adam, Barry D. (2000) "Age Preferences among Gay and Bisexual Men", '' '6'(3):413–33
8. by Jonathan Alexander, Barclay Barrios, Samantha Blackmon, Angela Crow, Keith Dorwick, Jacqueline Rhodes, and Randal Woodland
9. Chicken hawk? — Larry Clark’s ''Wassup Rockers'', Gerald Peary, ''The Phoenix'', July 5, 2006
10. Sitcom opens to full house at Play, ''Out & About'', 2006
11. The geezer and the page boy, ''Boulder Weekly'', 2005