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Houseboy

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Houseboy
Houseboy with child in New Guinea, c. 1930s
Occupation
Occupation type
Domestic labour
Activity sectors
Housework
Description
Related jobs
Maid

A houseboy (alternatively spelled as houseboi) is a term which refers to a typically male domestic worker or personal assistant who performs cleaning and other forms of personal chores. The term has a record of being used in the British Empire, military slang, and the male LGBT community.

United Kingdom

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Historically, houseboy was a term used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for a male domestic servant. He was usually, but not always, a native person who worked for a British family living in the non-British regions of the empire. A female housecleaner was termed a housegirl. Both sexes often wore uniform, due to their status as domestic servants.

Military slang

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Houseboy was also used as an American slang term originating in the Second World War for a young teenager who helped American soldiers perform basic responsibilities like cleaning, laundry, ironing, shoe-shining, running errands, etc. The British English term for this occupation was 'Batman'.

Gay slang

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A houseboy, as used by members of the LGBT community, refers to a young man who performs domestic work, where the employment normally has an erotic, though not necessarily sexual, aspect.[1][2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Would You Mind Disrobing, James? - NYU Livewire". journalism.nyu.edu. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Please check the URL for proper spelling and case sensitivity". Houseboy.com. Retrieved 22 September 2018.