As many of you by know have seen we recently launched our very first Product Pink, this has been something that we have wanted to do since our launch back in March. A Product Pink is a product that benefits a charity or cause within the LGBTQ+ community. As a queer owned and founded brand this is something that we have always wanted to do. We understand the frustration that people have with brands releasing products during pride month to capitalise on what is known as the 'Pink Pound'. Brands that aren't seen to support the LGBTQ+ community all of sudden come out of the woodwork during Pride Month and stick a rainbow on a product and then call it a day. Most of the time these products don't benefit the community and instead seek to create a false support of the community.
When we launched our first Product Pink we chose to do so in Pride Month, the reason for this being that we wanted to mark the start of this important month and remind people of the occasion. However unlike most brands that bring out a product in Pride Month our product will be a permanent addition to our collection and will continue to benefit the assigned charities or cause. Moving forward all of our Product Pinks will follow suit.
Our first Product Pink materialised as a self care scented candle called Polari and our chose charity for this product is the LGBT Foundation in Manchester (more on this amazing charity in a future post). This candle is our most sensual to date and is made with a luxurious blend of soft leather and spicy cedar. We have had a few questions about the name and it's relevance to the community.
Polari became a word in my vocabulary when looking into the legalisation of homosexuality and how prior to this there was a language known as Polari that people in the community used to communicate with to avoid persecution. Polari became known as gay slang and the community created different phrases and words in this slang. After learning about this I felt it important to honour and remember the time when being homosexual was illegal in this country and how far we have come but how far we still have to go. Naming our candle Polari allows us to continue the conversation and allow us to educate our customers and start a dialogue.
So lets talk Polari. We thought it would be interesting to share some common phrases and words used in Polari and see how some of the words are still used in our vocabulary today
Alamo ! - they're attractive !
Aunt nell - listen
Bevvy - drink
Cats - trousers
Chicken - young man
Dolly - pretty
Fortuni - gorgeous / beautiful
Handbag - money
Latty - room, house or flat
Oven - mouth
Slap - makeup
Todd - alone
Vera (Lynn) - gin
Vogue - cigarette
It's interesting to see that some of these words are still used today not just within the LGBTQ+ community such as bevvy and todd. People would then put together these words to create phrases such as
'Can I troll round your lally?' - can I look round your house?
'Bona to vada your dolly old eek'- nice to see your pretty face
Polari has influenced a lot of modern slang both in the LGBTQ+ community and out of it. At Hedonist we think it's important to keep the origins and history of Polari alive which is why we called our first Product Pink Polari. 20% of every sale of Polari goes directly to the LGBT Foundation. As a queer owned small business this is just one way in which we can give back to our community. In the future we will create more products and initiatives that will allow us to give back to other charities and causes close to our hearts. Thank you to everyone who has purchased a Polari candle already and made it possible for us to give back to our community.