queen bee, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

queen bee n.

[play on SE]

1. in gay uses [queen n. (2a) + SE bee but ? abbr. bitch)].

(a) a woman who likes to surround herself with young men, who may or may not be homosexual.

1959		W. Burroughs Naked Lunch (1968) 101: Queen Bees are old women who surround themselves with fairies to form a ‘swarm’.
1965		see sense 1b.
1972		B. Rodgers Queens’ Vernacular.

(b) as sense 1a but of a man, usu. homosexual himself.

1965		Guild Dict. Homosexual Terms 38: queen bee (n.): (1) The central figure in a group of homosexuals; usually, but not always, an auntie (q.v.) with money, an entourage, and numbers (sex partners). Frequently he is elderly and, most always, an agreeable person. (2) The term is also used for a normal woman who likes the company of homosexuals.
1965		K. Marlowe Mr Madam (1967) 25: I was loved by the boys who worked for me [...] I was the Queen Bee.
1976		J. Hayes ‘Gayspeak’ Quarterly Journal Speech LXI 256–66: In the social setting people are not only typed by the usual distinctions [...] but by [...] rank within the subculture (queen bee: social arbiter, nelly number: effeminate and insignificant).
2003		K. Cage Gayle 90/2: queen bee n. wealthy older gay man who surrounds himself with pretty young gay men, and holds court.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 191: ‘[N]obody’s ever told me they posed for beaver shots for a queen-bee type’.

2. (US black) the woman with the largest breasts in a group.

2000

Ebonics Primer at www.dolemite.com 🌐 queen bee Definition: the woman with the largest breasts in a group Example: Yo ma nigga, dat ho’s da queen bee in dis crew, ya dig?

3. (N.Z. prison) a powerful and admired female inmate .

2001

D. Looser Boobslang [U. Canterbury D.Phil. thesis] 150/1: queen bee n. a female inmate who is highly respected, a strong woman that inmates look up to as a leader.