Monday, September 27, 2010

Fancy And Gay

(Okay so I definitely wrote this blog a year ago and forgot to post it. ...I've no idea what triggered me writing it, but I feel like it needs to be shared. Original writing date: Oct. 20, 2009)

Fag.

I hate that word. I actually cringe when I see it, hear it, type it... I don't like it. It derogatory, it's mean... it's not okay. And I won't have anyone telling me what I am and am not allowed to be offended at.

Let's start with the origin of the word. Yes, it means "a bundle of sticks." A bundle of sticks used as kindling to burn homosexuals at the stake. So yeah... not exactly a nice term.

"But in Europe it means 'cigarette butt'!"
Not when it's being said at a gay person, it's not.

Now that we have it's origins out of the way...

Essentially, "Fag" is the gay version of "Nigger," which is another word that I hate seeing/hearing/typing. The "N" Word was what slave owners used to call their "negroes".

"But black people call each other that all the time! Why can't we call each other fags?"

Personally, I don't like when black people say the N word, but I'm not a black person, and considering gays are still a rising minority, we really have to be careful. Calling each other Faggots makes it okay for other people to call us Faggots, just like in Mean Girls - "Calling each other bitches and whores makes it okay for other people to call you bitches and whores."
We're making it okay for others to say it. One day, your straight best friend calls you fag, and it's funny because he's your friend. Then he says it in front of one of his friends, but it's okay because he has gay friends who think it's cool. Then that friend thinks it's okay, and it spreads.
It is not okay.

Now, part of it may have to do with where you grew up. I grew up in an area where calling someone a "faggot" is a pretty hefty insult. However, the lesbians all call themselves "dykes." I didn't know for a long time that "dyke" was bad, I just thought it was a shorter way to say lesbian, like homosexual -> gay. When I got to college, a friend of mine told me that where she was from, the gays called themselves fags and so did everyone else so it was cool, but if a girl got called a dyke, it was time to throw down.

Sure, sometimes I maintain the mantra that if most people don't care about something, then no one should - but this is not one of those times. We're turning into our own worst enemies by saying things like "oh, my friend Tim is such a fag." or "oh my god, Jake in my class has the faggiest hair i've ever seen." These things are not okay! I mean, white people don't go around calling each other crackers, asian people don't call each other chinks, and hispanics don't call themselves spicks or degos. (I don't really know what those words mean, to be honest. I grew up in a nice house where we don't say words like that.)

Long story short, watch your fucking mouth.

1 comment:

  1. Nrg boys a social networking site for gays is all set to make it's marks in United Kingdom. You can visit nrg boys for love, fun, romance and for new friends. Uk gay dating, uk gay chat rooms, gay personal, Gay community, gay forums, gay blogs are also available here.

    ReplyDelete