Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) anyone who imitates another person to a slavish extent; thus a tedious, unimportant person.

1977		C. McFadden Serial 105: He said Harvey was practically a clone.
1984		D. Jenkins Life Its Ownself (1985) 58: ‘Dede Aldwyn?’ ‘Clone.’.

2. (orig. US gay) a general description of a gay man who poses as one of a variety of super-masculine stereotypes, e.g. a truck-driver, military man, cowboy etc, a style epitomized by the members of the 1970s disco group Village People [note Gaymart.com ‘Queer Slang in the Gay 90s’ (1999): ‘In the 70’s the look included a mustache, muscle shirt/flannel shirt and Levi’s. The late 80’s–90’s included short hair, long sideburns, white t-shirt, shorts/jeans and Doc boots with gray socks’].

1981		J. Hayes in Chesebro Gayspeak 389: The greatest portion of the gay lexicon refers to gay male sexuality and associated activities: [...] clone.
1988		H. Max Gay (S)language 8: Clone—San Francisco/New York Greenwich Village gay type with exaggerated macho behavior and appearance.
2005		E. White My Lives 180: His disapproval of the American butch style didn’t keep him from being attracted to individual clones.
2024		NYRB 9 May 🌐 Tom of Finland’s imagery [...] refused the clichés of homosexuals as sissy inverts and paved the way for the macho Castro clones of the 1970s.