Quoting flarewearer from 01:13, 25th Mar 2006
The difference with faggot and other terms of slander is that faggot has a perfectly innocent root
Really?
The root I know of is that it stems from the use of 'faggot' as a term for firewood.
When witches were burned at the stake, homosexuals were thrown into the fire for good measure.
I have no valid source for this. Read it somewhere or other...
Personally, it is the only synonym of gay that I find offensive in any context. Actually, it's the only word that offends me at all, normally I don't understand why regular cuss words like fuck or cunt offend people- they're only words.
That of course depends on intent, I use poof all the time, but if someone calls you it intending offence then that is different. But even people using faggot without meaning offence makes me slightly uncomfortable. I wouldn't be offended, but I would prefer they didn't use it.
So yes it's fine for you to call yourself a faggot. BUT many people will still have a negative reaction to it. So I guess it just comes down to how much you care about other people's feelings.