Boi (plural:bois) is slang withinbutch and femme andgay male communities for severalsexual orgender identities.[1][2]
The term has also been used, independently of any meaning related to sexuality, as an alternate spelling forboy.[3]
The term is also used in Wales (United Kingdom), particularly in the north, as a familiar term of address or greeting to anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The plural is bois, and may be addressed to a mixed, or any single sex, group.[4]
The termboi may be used to denote a number of sexual orientations and possibilities that are not mutually exclusive:[5]
Boi may also refer to someoneassigned female at birth, who generally does not identify as, or only partially identifies asfeminine,female, agirl, or awoman. Some bois aretrans orintersex people.[8]They may begay orqueer.[9] Many trans bois are alsogenderqueer/nonbinary (in itself a trans/transgender group), or might identify as cis persons or trans men, and yet practicegenderfuck in which they do not fit in either masculine or feminine binary gender presentation. Bois may prefer a range ofpronouns, including "he", "she", or nonbinary andgender-neutral pronouns such as "they".[10]
One of the earliest usages of the termboi was with the rapperBig Boi.[11] In the early 2000s the term came into usage within skateboarding culture.[3] The term came into popular culture again with the song "Sk8er Boi" byAvril Lavigne.[12] The term came into meme culture with theDat Boi meme: an animation of a frog on a unicycle usually accompanied by the caption "Here come dat boi. (O shit waddup!)"[13]
in British ... a lesbian who adopts a boyish appearance or manner
