straight trade

English

Etymology

straight (“heterosexual”) +‎ trade (“man available for casual sex with men”)

Noun

straight trade (uncountable)

1. A man who perceives himself as straight while still engaging in same-sex sexual behavior.
   • 1996, Chon A. Noriega, Ana M. López, The Ethnic Eye: Latino Media Arts‎^[1]:

     dominant gay culture in the United States has often coded Latino gay men as straight trade — heterosexual men who can be picked up for a same-sex encounter.

   • 2009, George Birimisa, BIRIMISA‎^[2]:

     I wondered if he had walked into the bar by mistake—he wasn't my idea of what a gay guy looked like—I was sure he was straight trade. I don't think he was a day over thirty, but was gray at the temples and he glowed with confidence.

2. The practice of same-sex sexual behavior involving at least one man who perceives himself as heterosexual.
   • 2012, Wayne S. Wooden, Men Behind Bars: Sexual Exploitation in Prison‎^[3]:

     In general with respect to sexual experiences in prison the homosexuals indicated a clear preference for more masculine men—the blacks and chicanos clearly preferred “straight trade”—and all three ethnic groups preferred more masculine than feminine homosexuals as sexual partners.

   • 1997, Carol Queen, Lawrence Schimel, PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality‎^[4]:

     A lovely thought when cruising straight trade, but just remember—it works both ways.

   • 1998, John Donald Gustav-Wrathall, Take the Young Stranger by the Hand: Same-Sex Relations and the YMCA‎^[5]:

     The Embarcadero YMCA, George Mendenhall recalled, was where people went if they were looking for "straight trade."

Further reading

• 2015, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English edited by Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor