The SSO A-Z guide to queer Sydney

J is for:

Jazz hands Some say the term jazz hands dates back to the movies Flashdance and Footloose, while others claim it was popularised in the stage and movie versions of Chicago. Other insist the term was coined in an episode of The Simpsons.

Wherever the term came from, the actual jazz hands movement has been around since the earliest days of vaudeville, and shows no sign of going away.

Jazz hands is that dance movement when the hands are opened with palms facing outward, and then shaken slightly, usually with a tilt of the head and a shimmy of the shoulders thrown in for good measure.

It is being put to major use among the chorus kids of The Boy From Oz, while the showgirls of the Imperial Hotel also give their jazz hands a weekly workout. So do the retro-lovers on the dancefloor of Palms, where old Pat Benatar and early Kylie dance moves wouldn’t be complete without at least one jazz hands flash.

The greatest infestation of jazz hands can be found in amateur musical societies and jazz ballet classes, where new generations are constantly being exposed to this art form.

But jazz hands is seeping beyond performance and into our vocabulary, with the term used to denote a state of strong emotion or excitement.

Check yourself for the next time you say, I love that shirt -“ it’s very jazz hands, or possibly, I’m all for guys expressing their emotions, but he’s way too jazz hands for me!

Jessica Rowe While there is no suggestion, rumour, sniggering aside or any other hint of evidence that Jessica Rowe is a lesbian, we like her anyway.

She has camp cred -“ she used to be a weather presenter -“ and her rise from Wide World Of Sports receptionist to newsreader could be a film starring Julia Roberts.

More importantly, ever since Channel Nine boss Eddie Maguire allegedly threatened (or offered, depending on what he allegedly meant by it) to bone her, Rowe has become firmly placed in survivor territory, and everyone knows how much the gay community loves to back a survivor.

Aside from that, she’s got chiselled cheekbones, a fierce haircut and a set of coat-hanger shoulders, and we mean that in a wears-fashion-well way.

Her move to Channel Nine might have unleashed an irritating laugh, but we still think she reads the news better than Sandra Sully. And she’s much more glamorous than Kochie.