I would have posted this question here except that I’m a U.S. citizen; anyway, I’m not sure it would be the right place in any event.
Salon.com refers to Pete Doherty as a “drug addict/Kate Moss boy toy,” with the clear implication that he is a boy who is Kate Moss’ toy. And I have seen the phrase used in that context numerous times. But the first time I ever saw the words “boy toy,” they were emblazoned across the perfectly-formed bosom of a female student in the mascom class I was teaching. I figured the t-shirt was meant to be somewhat ironic, except that it was clear that the girl wearing it thought irony meant pressing wrinkles out of clothes.
Since then, I’ve seen the phrase used in both contexts: A girl who offers herself for the amusement of boys, and a boy who offers himself for the amusement of girls. It just seems to me that there can be only one meaning, and the opposite gender phrase would be “girl toy.”
I’ve always known it to mean something along the lines of a hoochy mama sort of thing. A man who’s usually much younger than the person he’s with and very obviously only there for the other’s amusement. Their plaything. I’ve never really heard it used in relation to a woman being used as a toy for boys.
My first exposure to the term “Boy Toy” was on a rhinestone belt buckle worn by the mid-80s Madonna. I will forever associate the term with an unrepentant slut.
And speaking as said unrepentant, “boy toy” was what I called my young man “friend with benefits” behind his back. (I was 14 years older, and he was…legal…barely.)
No, an unrepentant slut makes her own choices. A boy toy lets others make choices for her - choosing is too hard.
I use it both ways, it depends on context. “Girl Toy” doesn’t have the nice rhyming thing going for it and “Toy Boy” (which I have heard applied to males who are playthings) doesn’t sound right.
