 Even the novel 's language bridges this divide . Waters often employs the word " queer " to describe the unusual or remarkable , instead of its post @-@ 1922 connotation to refer to homosexuality . She also uses the term specifically to highlight what is unusual as it applies to gender , or Nan 's own emotions toward Kitty . Nan 's father uses the symbol of the oyster , what he calls a " real queer fish " that exhibits both male and female characteristics , and compares it to Kitty who sits before them in feminine attire though they have seen her on stage dressed as a man . The landlady of the boarding house where Kitty and Nan are staying appraises Nan 's first male costume , and is troubled by the " queerness " of it because she looks too much like a man , instead of a woman pretending to be a man . Donna Allegra suggests that by using the contemporary term for prostitutes , " gay girls " , Waters is winking at her readers . 
