Gay Fanfare

Clack that fan!&8230;

By Bobby Box

I thought the subject was simple: how we, the gay community, became associated with folding fans. You know the ones - those loud, ear-splitting contraptions that create a soundtrack at circuit parties. However, I was wrong. After scouring the internet, I found no details about our history with the item. I was similarly dismayed to find out that it has nothing to do with Mortal Kombat's Princess Kitana. (As credit is deserved.)

Despite a lack of credible sources for its importance in queer culture, there is data available on how the item entered into general society. First, the evident: the folding fan was originally made to cool people and not, as gays have adopted it, as a clamorous method for expressing enthusiasm.

Artisans in seventh-century Japan conceived the fan, crafting their hallmark fan using a series of sticks (crafted of wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl, and so on), attached at each end and secured at the base by a rivet. The 'leaf' of the fan, inspired by banana leaves, is a semi-circular piece of cloth, lace, and etc., that is secured across the sticks. Its simple function, which has remained mostly unchanged, was inspired by the manner a bat folds its wings.

The folding fan arrived in Europe during the 15th century via Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France, and it became considered a key item in the French court. Soon, the fan became a symbol of elegance, frequently found in the grasps of well-off women attired in evening gowns situated in theatre boxes.

When folding fans made their way to North America in the 19th century, through advertising and travel, they had a similar influence on the wealthy, conveying an impression of luxury. In 1908, the New York Times stated, 'Of all the accessories of evening dress, the fan is perhaps of first significance.' Eventually, though, the American passion for 'Japonisme' (the effect of Japanese art and aesthetics on Western aesthetics) extended beyond the domain of fine art to mass consumption of everyday objects, like the kimono and parasol.

At one point, it was understood that there was meaning attached to how one held, gestured, communicated, or danced with the fan, and whether it remained open or closed. Now, at least in North America, folding fans have become far more commercialized.

How did it transition from the mainstream to gay culture?

In the quest for an answer on the fan's effect on queer culture, I found a Reddit thread, where a user had the same question about its past. 'I don't believe there's a ‘history.' They're enjoyable, they're sassy, they're regularly utilized for drag performances,' a commenter penned. 'And when you're dancing continuously on drugs, they have the functional purpose of cooling you off. They just naturally fit into circuit parties. That's like asking the history of furry clothing at raves. They feel good when you're on E so they just kind of appeared naturally.'

That's not a poor attempt at a response. Circuit parties are famous for drugs and dancing, and it gets really hot in there. A folding fan, paired with its aggressive flamboyance, compactness, and thunderous sound, seems the perfect item to tuck inside a jockstrap.

Regardless, I wasn't entirely swayed. So I posted on Twitter, calling for anyone who might possess information. Again, I received nothing. Someone proposed that it might have stemmed from ballroom culture, but any insight into that suggestion was nowhere to be located.

Then the clouds parted. Pablo Solomon, an award-winning designer, got in touch with me. Given his qualifications (including studies in Asian art and design, as well as education in social anthropology), he's convinced that he can furnish some reliable insights on how the fan became associated with gay men.

'In times past, gays were not accepted in general [Western] society, hence it was not uncommon for gay men from Europe and America to live and work in places like Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and so forth, in order to follow their sexual inclinations,' he says. 'The fan as an item of flirtation was taken to an art form in Spain, Japan, and China. Considering some gays were/are somewhat effeminate in their seductive personas, fans were part of their flirtatious repertoire.'

Over time, this predilection that gay men held for fans made its way to North America, where it served the same goal, whether held by an affluent straight woman or a gay man: to convey opulence&8230;and to get some action.

Although the origins of how the folding fan became an instrument for gays are uncertain, the cause for their popularity is understandable. Fans are feminine, campy, and fabulous. Fans are striking and dramatic. Fans are excellent at cooling people down when dancing on drugs. All of these reasons make sense as to why we love them so much, and perhaps that's the closest we will ever reach a credible origin story.

As Elizabeth I of England allegedly said: a fan is the only suitable present for a queen. It turns out, she was absolutely correct.

BOBBY BOX is a prolific freelance journalist in Hamilton, Ont. He currently works as a contributing editor at Playboy.com and has had the privilege of speaking with the world's most recognized drag queens, including Trixie Mattel and Alaska Thunderfuck. While proud of his work, Bobby is not above begging. He asks that you follow him on Twitter at @bobbyboxington.