Walker is a term coined by Women's Wear Daily publisher John Fairchild to describe a man, often gay, who escorts fashionable women to societal events when their husbands are disinclined to attend.
The term originated to describe Jerry Zipkin, a New York real estate heir who became a sought-after confidant and advisor to New York society, and eventually became a close confidant of Nancy Reagan.
[1][2][3] The practice of using a walker stemmed from the social undesirability in the mid-20th century of women appearing unaccompanied, and the social impossibility of gay men appearing as a couple.
The arrangement allowed both parties to socialize with greater freedom.
Publicists or agents increasingly assumed the duty of walker.