Fruit

Fruit is older slang for a gay man, especially one read as effeminate or flamboyant. It took hold in early 20th-century American English, tied to stereotypes that cast softness as a departure from expected masculinity, and by mid-century it was a common slur, sometimes stretched into terms like "fruitcake." For many older LGBTQ+ people, it can still sting with the memory of past mockery. In recent years younger queer people have reclaimed the related word "fruity" as a lighthearted, affectionate self-description, much as "queer" and "queen" were reclaimed. That reclamation is real but contested, so the tone depends heavily on who is speaking and to whom.