'Coming out' borrows terminology used by elite and powerful families to describe their ritual of debutant balls however, for gay men especially this phrase meant accepting and joining a network of peers within the world of urban, queer society. Thus a 'wolf' came to denote a man who preferred men, and possessed what many would consider the more traditional markers of masculinity, but the 'wolf' moniker also suggested a man on the prowl who was perhaps a bit dangerous. What is clear, however, is that queer culture developed myriad uses for words with multiple meanings. Whether this was done as an affirmation within closed social circles or as a defense mechanism against outsiders overhearing queer conversation remains a subject of scholarly debate. Often forced to speak in code or to use phrases with more than one meaning, gays and lesbians living before the era of gay rights movements and calls for civic equality resorted to a language filled with puns and humorous double meanings.
The use of humor, double entendre, and secret language is a well-documented aspect of queer culture and LGBT history.
