| homophobicslur | |
| Part of speech | Noun |
|---|---|
| Etymology | FromFrenchfagot,faget[1] |
| Pronunciation | /ˈfæɡət/[2] |
| Meaning | Queer orhomosexual people (pejorative) |
Faggot, often shortened tofag, is aslur in theEnglish language that was used to refer togay men but its meaning has expanded to other members of the queer community.[3][4][5] In Americanyouth culture around the turn of the 21st century, its meaning extended as a broader reaching insult more related tomasculinity and group power structure.[6]
The usage offag andfaggot has spread from theUnited States to varying extents elsewhere in theEnglish-speaking world (especially theUnited Kingdom) throughmass culture, including film, music, and theInternet.
The first recorded use offaggot as a pejorative term for gay men was in the 1914A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, while the shortened formfag first appeared in 1923 inThe Hobo byNels Anderson.[7]: 301
The term faggot originated in late 16th-century English as an insult directed at women, particularly older women.[1] Its association with homosexuality likely stems from linguistic patterns that use feminizing terms, such asnancy,sissy, andqueen,[8][9] to demean homosexual or effeminate men. The application of the term to old women is possibly a shortening of the term "faggot-gatherer", applied in the 19th century to people, especially older widows, who made a meager living by gathering and selling firewood.[9] It may also derive from the sense of "something awkward to be carried" (compare the use of the wordbaggage as a pejorative term for old people in general).[8]
An alternative possibility is that the word is connected with the practice offagging in Britishpublic schools, in which younger boys performed (potentially sexual) duties for older boys, although the wordfaggot was never used in this context, onlyfag. There is a reference to the wordfaggot being used in 17th-century Britain to refer to a "man hired into military service simply to fill out the ranks atmuster", but there is no known connection with the word's modern usage.[8]
TheYiddish wordfaygele (lit. 'little bird'), itself a pejorative term for a gay man, has been claimed by some to be related to the American usage.Faygele (pronounced[ˈfɛɪɡələ]) is the nickname for a young girl named Faigie ('bird') afterMoses's wife Zipporah (Hebrew for 'bird'). The similarity between the two words makes it possible that it might at least have had a reinforcing effect.[8][9]
There is anurban legend, called an "oft-reprinted assertion" by Douglas R. Harper, creator of theOnline Etymology Dictionary, that the modern slang meaning developed from the standard meaning offaggot as "bundle of sticks for burning" with regard toburning at the stake.[10] Homosexuals were burned at the stake during the late Middle Ages as sexual intercourse between same-sex people was considered to besodomy and therefore punished.[11] The emergence of the slang term in 20th-century American English is unrelated to any historical death penalties for homosexuality; moreover, homosexuality in England and its colonies was never punished by immolation but instead by the accused being hanged and their property taken.[8][12]
The wordfaggot with regard to homosexuality was used as early as 1914, in Jackson and Hellyer'sA Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, with Some Examples of Common Usages which listed the following example under the word "drag": "All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight."[13]
The wordfag is used in 1923 inThe Hobo: The Sociology of the Homeless Man by Nels Anderson: "Fairies or Fags are men or boys who exploit sex for profit."[14]
The word was also used together with another homophobic slur,bulldyke, by a character inClaude McKay's 1928 novelHome to Harlem, indicating that it was used during theHarlem Renaissance. Specifically, one character says that he cannot understand: "a bulldyking woman and a faggoty man".[15]
Originally confined to the United States,[8] the use of the wordsfag andfaggot as slurs for gay men has spread elsewhere in the English-speaking world, but the extent to which they are used in this sense has varied outside the context of imported US popular culture. In the UK and some other countries, the wordsqueer,homo, andpoof are much more common as pejorative terms for gay men. The wordfaggot in the UK also refers toa kind of meatball. In British English, "fag" is common slang for acigarette, sometimes also used to describe a tedious task.[16]
Use offag andfaggot as the term for an effeminate man has become understood as anAmericanism inBritish English, primarily due to entertainment media use in films and television series imported from the United States. WhenLabour MPBob Marshall-Andrews was overheard supposedly using the word in a bad-tempered informal exchange with a straight colleague in theHouse of Commons lobby in November 2005, it was considered to be homophobic abuse.[17][18]
Faggot, used as a discriminatory term, has expanded beyond gay men. It is often used by the youth in online communities to describe any queer person or someone who differs from the norm. In some cases, the term is completely unrelated to homosexuality and simply used as an insult due to its negative connotation, similar to gay.
Through ethnographic research in a high school setting,C. J. Pascoe examined how American high school boys used the termfag during the early 2000s. Pascoe's work, culminating in a 2007 book titledDude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School, suggested that these boys used thefag slur as a way to assert their ownmasculinity, by claiming that another boy is less masculine; this, in their eyes, makes him a fag, and its usage suggests that it is less about sexual orientation and more about gender. One-third of the boys in Pascoe's study claimed that they would not call a homosexual peer afag, leading Pascoe to argue thatfag is used in this setting as a form ofgender policing, in which boys ridicule others who fail at masculinity, heterosexual prowess, or strength. Because boys do not want to be labeled a fag, they hurl the insult at another person. Pascoe felt thefag identity does not constitute a static identity attached to the boy receiving the insult. Rather,fag is a fluid identity that boys strive to avoid, often by naming another as the fag. As Pascoe asserts, "[the fag identity] is fluid enough that boys police their behaviors out of fear of having the fag identity permanently adhere and definitive enough so that boys recognize fag behavior and strive to avoid it."[6]
In the 1990s and early 2000s, the wordfaggot became somewhat removed from its original meaning when used by youth, who commonly used it as a synonym for the wordstupid.[19][20] In a 2018 study completed by the Anti-Defamation League surveyingGeneration Z from Grade 6 and up, youth perspectives on the phrase "that's so gay" and homophobic slurs highlight concerns over its use as a synonym for "stupid," which respondents viewed as offensive and insensitive. Some believe it reflects a lack of awareness rather than intent to harm, yet it still evokes frustration and discomfort, pointing to a need for more thoughtful language.[21]
There is a long history of using bothfag andfaggot in popular culture, usually in reference to gay and bisexual men.Rob Epstein andJeffrey Friedman's 1995 documentaryThe Celluloid Closet, based onVito Russo'sbook of the same name, notes the use offag andfaggot throughout Hollywood film history.[23] TheThink Before You Speak campaign has sought to stopfag andgay being used as generic insults.[24]
In 1973, aBroadway musical calledThe Faggot was praised by critics but condemned bygay liberation proponents.[25]
Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta's 1977 cult bookThe Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions inspired a musical by composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman reinterprets world history from a queer perspective.[26] The term is used in a sense of reclamation.
Larry Kramer's 1978 novelFaggots discusses thegay community including the use of the word within and towards the community.[27] A description ofPamela Moore's 1956 novelChocolates for Breakfast in theWarner Books 1982 culture guideThe Catalog of Cool reads: "Her fifteen-year-old heroine first balls a fag actor in H'wood, then makes it with some hermetic, filthy rich, hotel-bound Italian count."[28][29]
In its November 2002 issue, theNew Oxford Review, aCatholic magazine, caused controversy by its use and defense of the word in an editorial. During the correspondence between the editors and a gay reader, the editors clarified that they would only use the word to describe a "practicing homosexual". They defended the use of the word, saying that it was important to preserve thesocial stigma of gays and lesbians.[30]
Arlo Guthrie uses the slur in his 1967 signature song "Alice's Restaurant", noting it as a potential way to avoid military induction at the time (Guthrie had removed the word from live performances of the song in the 21st century).[31]
Phil Ochs uses the slur in his 1969 song "I Kill Therefore I Am". In the song, which is written from the point of view of a hateful police officer, he uses the slur to describe the student activists who protested theVietnam War.
TheDire Straits 1985 song "Money for Nothing" makes notable use of the slurfaggot,[32] although the lines containing it are often excised for radio play, and in live performances by singer/songwriterMark Knopfler. The song was banned from airplay by theCanadian Broadcast Standards Council in 2011 but the ban was reversed later the same year.[33] Ironically, the song in context makes it clear he is actually mocking the jealous andhomophobic nature of the antagonist in the song by adopting a third-person point of view to show the irony, bigotry, and ignorance of the character.[34][35]
In 1989,Sebastian Bach, lead singer of the bandSkid Row, created a controversy when he wore a T-shirt with theparody slogan "AIDS: Kills Fags Dead".[36]
The 2001 song "American Triangle" byElton John andBernie Taupin uses the phrase, "God hates fags where we come from." The song is aboutMatthew Shepard, a gay man fromWyoming whose 1998 murder brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at both the state and federal level.
In December 2007,BBC Radio 1 caused controversy by editing the wordfaggot from their broadcasts of theKirsty MacColl andThe Pogues song "Fairytale of New York", deeming it potentially homophobic; however, the edit did not extend to other BBC stations, such asBBC Radio 2. Following widespread criticism and pressure from listeners, the decision was reversed and the original unedited version of the song was reinstated, with clarification from Andy Parfitt, the station controller, that in the context of the song the lyrics had no "negative intent".[37][38]
Eminem used the word in numerous works, such as "Rap God" (2013), along with an inflammatory lyric containing the term being removed from "Fall".[39][40][41]
A number of rappers have also used the slur in songs supporting the LGBT community. In 2012,Macklemore used the wordfaggot in the song "Same Love" in reference to the use of the homophobic slur incyberbullying.[42]Kendrick Lamar's 2022 song "Auntie Diaries" is also supportive of the LGBT community; however, it sparked controversy for its repeated use of the slur, as well as fordeadnaming his transgender uncle.[43][44]
In November 2009, theSouth Park episode "The F Word" dealt with the overuse of the wordfag. The boys use the word to insult a group of bikers, saying that their loud motorcycles ruined everyone else's nice time. Officials from the dictionary, includingEmmanuel Lewis, visit the town and agree that the meaning of the word should no longer insult homosexuals but instead be used to describe loud motorcycle riders who ruin others' nice times.[45] The episode is a satire on the taboo of using the term, as it goes againstpolitical correctness.[46][47]
SomeLGBTQ+ individuals havereclaimed the term as a neutral or positive term of self-description.[50][51][52] The reclamation of slurs focuses on reinforcing in-group solidarity, restricting the use of the reclaimed slur to members of the targeted group.[53]
In 2009, Erin Davies' car, displaying a Pride flag, was defaced with homophobic slurs resulting in a 58-day tour across the U.S. and Canada, keeping the graffiti as a conversation starter about LGBTQ+ experiences with intolerance. This journey led to her documentaryFagbug, an 80-minute film highlighting homophobia and the LGBTQ+ community's resilience in reclaiming and addressing derogatory terms. Davies' work exemplifies LGBTQ+ culture's longstanding efforts to transform slurs into tools for education and empowerment.[26]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)The theme of The Faggot is set at the beginning which shows ... one man picking up another in a movie house.
