The Toronto Man
If someone says New Yorker, an image of a fast-talking, smartly dressed, New Yawker comes to mind. If someone says LA socialite then a vain, modernly styled, wannabe actor is recalled. A Seattleite conjures the portrait of a crunchy, athleisure sporting, tech worker. Denizens of smaller places get lumped together: New Englander, Mid-Westerner, and Texan all inspire their own characters. Obviously, those further from home have their own quirks, but alas the general populace of North America can’t distinguish someone from Brisbane from Melbourne, nor can they from Northern and Southern China. But Parisian, Milanese, and Tokyoite are all identifiable. It’s a bit of an honour to be caricaturized and immortalized as a resident of a large city, the further away the better.
Torontonian is the demonym for an inhabitant of Toronto. As a happy Torontonian, I’d be proud to have my city represented through a unique stereotype, preferably pleasant. Unfortunately, though Toronto is an amazing world-class city, it has too few superficial traits to be on the caricature map. It’s a slightly nicer version of New York, despised by the rest of the country, and filled with fast-talking and smartly dressed folks. What we do have instead, is the Toronto Man. Instead of an imaginary person that covers all ages and genders — recall a stereotypical French person for example — we are given only the young man from Toronto.
Enter the Toronto Man. Or, as a Toronto Man would say, a Toronto Mans. And so he is characterized: The Toronto Man speaks with Toronto slang. The Toronto Man dresses in strict accordance with the latest trend in whichever fashion he follows, but it could be any fashion. The Toronto Man is a lover of women, though his success depends on how much charisma he actually has. The Toronto Man is fast talking and married to the hustle. The Toronto Man could be of any racial background or cultural identity, but is Torontonian. The Toronto Man loves the Raps, but not necessarily Drake.
What sets the Toronto Man apart the most however, is his distinctive manner of speech. There are enough pieces scattered in cyberspace explaining the origin and meaning of Toronto slang, enough that I don’t think I need to numerate them all. However, it is important to note the origins of these terms, largely from the immigrant and lower-income neighbourhoods of the city. Terms like yute, wallahi, and T-dot have their origins in Jamaican Patois, Somali Arabic, and white Millennial slang respectively, all of which have a large populations in the city. The unique ethnic communities in Toronto allow for this patois of languages, and intermixing of native tongues and English, which then get passed along to other ethnic communities, creating Toronto slang.
The origin of Toronto slang, particularly as a large part of it originates from within the Black communities in Toronto, creates a dilemma about using it. Just as it’s now considered inappropriate for people who aren’t black to be using African American Vernacular, Toronto slang has come up for debate as well. In the case of Toronto slang, I posit that it’s much more acceptable because of the diversity of communities that have contributed to its creating, and that it’s less appropriation, and more celebration. Despite owing many of its roots to the Black, particularly Caribbean community, no longer can one group can lay claim to Toronto slang, not one ethnicity, culture, or neighbourhood. It’s by everyone, for everyone. That isn’t to ignore that the slang originated from predominantly lower income areas, but that isn’t a culture to be appropriated: For many children of immigrants who arrived after the influx of Caribbean immigration, this was the only English that they knew.
It’s interesting that gender doesn’t play a role for many of the others cities, but it is essential for the straight Toronto Man. Even insulting monikers usually apply to both genders, though the ones from New Joeisey probably owe it to Jersey Shore. What about the Toronto woman or the Toronto gay person? Are they not unique enough to have a cute moniker? This brings me to the idea that the Toronto Man persona for most of those who grew up outside one of its boroughs of origin serves as a preening and signaling function. Like the plumage of a peacock or the mane of a male lion, the accoutrements of a Toronto man are ultimately a way to show value to females and indicate belonging to the rest of the Toronto Mans. The Toronto Mans is ultimately influenced by Toronto slang, and that just hasn’t percolated down to anyone but the Toronto Mans: the sleezemans, the wastemans, but also the sweetermans.
In a narratively appropriate way, the Toronto Man is finally a personification of Toronto as city. Toronto has its high-rise corporate real estate, its slimy core of entertainment venues, and its beautiful neighbourhoods. Toronto is not only diverse in culture and ethnicity, but also in belief and economic status. The people in the city are as mixed as its slang, and use their mother tongue and English interchangeably. But its slang is not only a mix of one language with English, it’s a marriage of several languages and cultures with one another, owing from the interactions between these various groups. To accept the Toronto Mans as an ambassador of Toronto is to accept that Toronto is a city built by immigrants, both new and old, with a dominant culture that reflects this.
Still, within certain circles lies the offhand dismissal of the Toronto Mans and Toronto slang as coarse, thuggish, and uneducated. Worse still, there is the casual mockery of the Toronto Mans and Toronto slang through cheap imitation and lampoon. Those who aren’t from Toronto get a pass: they can’t see the rich culture behind the swagger, and mock what they can’t have. Although it is cruel and unfair, it is understandable. This is different from those who are from Toronto, and continue to reject their birthright. It is a privilege to live in a wildly multicultural city such as Toronto, where any man can be a Toronto Mans. Even those who dismiss others from a more diverse background, or reject anything except what they deem as proper English, will start to see hints of the Toronto Mans creeping into their diction. Of course, I withhold judgement against all the rest of the Toronto denizens who don’t identify as a straight male, and have therefore not only been barred from identification as a Toronto Mans, but perhaps subject to his romantic affections. Ayo the sweetermans just finna hit, ahlie?
