[Steve B.]

I was in Louisville recently and noticed the following in an area frequented by gays: Several adult males walking, driving, etc., with pacifiers in their mouths. Can anyone tell me what this means?

User Detail :  

Name : Steve B., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 42, City : Warrensburg, State : MO, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Crystal]

The “pacifiers for grownups” fad was big here in the San Francisco Bay Area back in the early ’90s. Here, it was mostly young gay men and straight women who wore them as pendants on a cord. It started with rave culture and became a fad. This fad for pacifier jewelry has petered out here by now. There is also a candy I have seen called “Bottle Pops,” which is like Pixie Stix in a baby bottle-shaped dispenser. Personally, I think that grown people wearing pacifiers is silly and juvenile, but who am I to judge because it is harmless.

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Name : Crystal, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 30's, City : Oakland, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Office Manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Max-H21857]

A few years ago, the pacifier thing was popular – out here, at least – among teenage girls, especially among black girls. But I have never seen it among gay men, and since I’m a gay man in the San Francisco Bay Area, I tend to think I’ve seen it all. It must be very localized. Is there a gay fraternity at a college in Louisville?

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Name : Max-H21857, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, City : Oakland, State : CA, Country : United States, 

[Max21863]

Update — I saw a teenage boy yesterday wearing a pacifier on a beaded cord around his neck, and I asked him what it was about. Exactly as stated above, it is a ‘Rave’ thing, popular again [he says] as a retro look. I guess in a fast-evolving style-based culture, the early 90’s are already fodder for fashion recycling. Please remember ,though, that Raves are not an exclusively Gay phenomenon, and that the pacifier thing is not particularly representative of gay people.

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Name : Max21863, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : white/melungeon, Religion : Atheist, Age : 45, City : Oakland, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Brian23051]

I’ve lived in Florida (South Beach) most of my life, and am now in Jacksonville, and have never seen any gay men or women suck on pacifiers. I have seen this in the black population in the early ’90s. I have gone to many gay nightclubs and have not noticed anyone sucking on pacifiers. It just might be a Louisville thing.

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Name : Brian23051, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 35, City : Jacksonville, State : FL, Country : United States, Occupation : Nurse, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Luca]

What I can account to this goes along with a previous post that mentioned the rave scene. A common drug found at raves is Ecstasy, a small pill found in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, and variations. A usual side effect is teeth grinding…and many invest in a pacifer to prevent this. Now maybe this has no corralation to the discussion of gays and pacifers, but in my experience of attending clubs and prodomenintly gay areas with XTC present, this was usually the case. Just my .02

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Name : Luca, City : Ft. Lauderdale, State : FL, Country : United States, 

[Alli]

the pacifier trend, in my experience, is based completely in the rave culture, where it is just part of the many random, weird things that people do. i cant explain why we ravers do just about anything we do…but that is not the point. the point is that what you have seen only relates to the gay community in that some ravers are gay, just as some are straight, white, black, tall, and short. 🙂

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Name : Alli, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 21, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : College Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Megan-L21932]

Maybe it’s candy, but maybe the person took Extasy — a drug popular in dance clubs. One side affect of ‘X’ is that you can get lockjaw if you don’t exercise your jaw muscles. Sucking on a pacifier keeps the muscles active and prevents them from seizing up.

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Name : Megan-L21932, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 31, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Meredith]

As was mentioned above, I think this is actually related to rave culture rather than gay culture. In my area, sucking on a pacifier is a sign that the person is ‘rolling’ – tripping on Ecstasy or MDMA.

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Name : Meredith, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Unitarian Universalist, Age : 19, City : Washington, State : DC, Country : United States, Occupation : IT Technician, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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