A plaque remaining from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem.

Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.

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Entry from September 23, 2006
“Steers and Queers”

Texas has been called a “land of steers and queers.” Sometimes, “beers” is added to that.
 
The “steers and queers” chant has long been a popular Southern Methodist University putdown of the University of Texas Longhorns. “Steers and queers” was spoken by characters in the movies An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and Full Metal Jacket (1987).
 
     
Script-o-Rama
Officer And A Gentleman Script - Dialogue Transcript
Where you from, boy?
 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, sir.
     
Only two things come out of Oklahoma.           
Steers and queers.         
Which one are you, boy?       
I don’t see no horns.
You must be a queer.
           
No, sir.
   
7 August 1983, New York (NY) Times, “A 2nd AIDS Epidemic” by William Beauchamp, pg. E21:
When the Senate voted 17-11 to deny recognition, cheers erupted from the gallery, and a familiar SMU chant was heard: “Steers and Queers—Only in Austin.”
 
Internet Movie Database
Memorable Quotes from
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Holy dog shit. Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas, Private Cowboy. And you don’t look much like a steer to me so that kinda narrows it down. Do you suck dicks?
 
26 July 1990, The Daily Texan (Austin, TX), Images magazine supplement, pg. 17, col. 1:
SOUNDBITES
The Revolting Cocks
Beers, Steers & Queers
Wax Trax!
 
Urban Dictionary
1. land of steers and queers
just about any Western state
“only steers and queers come from Texas private cowboy, and you don’t much look like a steer to me so that kinda narrows it down” Full Metal Jacket 1987
by another Masshole Oct 15, 2003
 
2. land of steers and queers
Oklahoma
The only two things from Oklahoma are steers and queers, and I don’t see any horns on you boy. (Officer and a Gentleman, An - 1982)
by Rick Jul 9, 2003
 
3. land of steers and queers
Aka Texas
Only steers and queers come from texas
by Pete May 4, 2003
 
Wikipedia
Beers, Steers + Queers is an LP released by the Revolting Cocks in 1990. It includes the song “Beers, Steers, and Queers” which is one of the best known Revolting Cocks tracks. It was a minor club hit for a few years and still gets occasional club play.
   
Google Books
Freedom Pagoda
by John W. Sammon
greatunpublished.com
2003
Pg. 50:
“Texas is the land of steers and queers,” Vince said.

Posted by Barry Popik
Texas (Lone Star State Dictionary) • Saturday, September 23, 2006 • Permalink


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