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# Cartoon “The Great Social Evil” and the meaning of the word gay in 19th-century England
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/ah-fanny/
- Published: 2018-01-18T13:37:15.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T18:56:36.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: NB!, Archive, London, Mores, Humour

Ah, Fanny! How long have you been gay? In nineteenth-century England the word "gay" was used of those working in the sex trade. In the background is a poster for La Traviata, an opera about a courtesan, for the especially slow on the uptake