Poofter

Poofter is a British and Australian slang term for a gay man, and an extended form of poof. It is used as a homophobic slur and generally carries a stronger sting than poof itself. The word is especially associated with Australian and British English, and appears in accounts of Sydney's gay social history around districts like Kings Cross. As with many gendered insults, poofter has sometimes been reclaimed within queer communities as a defiant or affectionate self-description, but that coexists with its ongoing use as an attack from outside them. The term reflects a wider pattern in which effeminacy is treated as an insult, tying homophobia to the policing of masculinity.