"I think I'm allowed to call myself a faggot?"

[motorhead]

Quoting nighteyes from 18:02, 26th Mar 2006
i call myself a dyke - cause well i am. others can call me it - its not the word itself that is offensive per se it is the malice behind it when a homophobe uses it. theres a big difference to me.

[hr]

i didnt say i was consistant, just right!

Do you were doc martins and sport a skinhead or are you a fit lesbian, if so get in there

[maenad]

motorhead, to quote another poster (if I remember correctly), what are you doing here?

[thePontificator]

Quoting flarewearer from 00:32, 27th Mar 2006

Quoting exnihilo from 02:42, 25th Mar 2006
They all do. You think nigger was coined as an insult? It was purely descriptive but came to be viewed as derogatory through association.

There's an innocent version of cunt?

[hr]

Yep, 'twat'. Means the exact same thing as far as most people know, yet is in much more widespread use. My guess is because cunt has harsher consonant sounds in it - because of this it's one of my favourite terms of abuse because of that, plus it still offends people.

Problem is, it too is becoming more widespread. No pun intended.

[hr]

'I bet you a florin that the chap will turn out guilty.'
'I bet you a dubloon that you win that bet.'

[Biitchboy]

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.

[Dee]

Quoting Biitchboy from 10:31, 28th Mar 2006

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...

Well assuming wikipedia, and several other sources, haven't lied to me, this is probably incorrect. It's an English word (or American English really) and England used to hang homosexuals rather than burn them. And whilst this isn't conclusive proof to the contrary, there's not much in the way of evidence for the proposition either.

Other suggested origins (I have too much time on my hands) are derogatory slang for a woman with the suggestion of her being a burden for the man to carry, and slang for a prostitute, male or female.

But once again, neither is a particularly innoucous use.

[hr]

If you're struggling with loneliness you're not alone.
And yet you are alone. So very alone.

[motorhead]

Quoting munchingfoo from 01:17, 27th Mar 2006
I found out that my mum disliked the word cunt when I quoted the (in)famous train spotting line.

I'll pretty much use any word. I just don't see the fuss made over them. They are only words.

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

Is that the one where begbie says " i kent that cunt would fuck some cunt" refering to spud. that was pure priceless man.

[Anthony]

I find this word to be so rude because it is used out of context in order to hurt peoples feelings. If i were to go around calling straight men 'cunt poker' and 'fishy dick' I would probably have my head kicked in, to start with, and then be cast out of society for being straightaphobic. So why are the rules for them so different from mine? Because knobody could give a damn, quite frankly. Just because I have sex with men, It doesn't mean I should have to suffer more than everyone else.

I was in london with a friend, who is also gay and we were happily walking along when the man stopped and offered us both a slap, I asked him why, stupidly, but he then walked off, as a police man came round the corner.

This world is truely wrong in every way, and the bible is the reason why. I don't care what it says, because it was written by man, NOT GOD. If gays are SO wrong, why were we created?

[Lodestone]

[quoteIf i were to go around calling straight men 'cunt poker' and 'fishy dick' I would probably have my head kicked in,[/quote]

I prefer "filthy breeders".

[kitty]

I heard that faggot was derived from latin. In french a similar word means twig or useless stick. I heard that that was where the reference came from as a gay man's "stick" is not used for breeding purposes. I could be wrong, but that's where I always thought it came from. This is an old thread and I don't know how it was resurrected, but I felt like commenting on it anyways.

[Insight]

I read soemwhere it was to do with gays being chucked onto bonfires - bundles of twigs in ye days of yore were apparently known as "faggots"

My source could be "Attitude" though, which is likely to take much of the credibility away from it...

[hr]

SRC Member for Sexualities & Gender
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37101378

[rob 'f*ck off' wine boy]

Quoting Insight from 13:11, 29th Aug 2006
I read soemwhere it was to do with gays being chucked onto bonfires - bundles of twigs in ye days of yore were apparently known as "faggots"

My source could be "Attitude" though, which is likely to take much of the credibility away from it...

[hr]

SRC Member for Sexualities & Gender
http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37101378

Your rag, which is unfit even to be used for removing faecal matter post defecation, but which I am in no way biased toward, is in fact correct on this occasion.

I award thee 3 points.

(Oh, and yes, he is allowed to call himself a faggot, good luck to him.)

[Adam Fellows]

Years before I found out it had a derogatory meaning towards gay men, I had always heard the word 'faggot' used in exasperation against an idiotic person - a northern thing though.

As for this burning stuff, England very rarely burned people for crimes, as has been said. They did on the continent, but according to a book I'm reading on the Medieval Underworld so very few men (and women if the law in the country recognised lesbianism) were burned for the crime that it makes it hard to work out where the word came from. It's kinda interesting to think that it's meant to come from the Latin "fasces" or the more common "facus", whichever you prefer , with the former denoting a symbol of power. Funny old thing, etymology.

Personally, I like the description kitty gave. Makes me laugh.

[hr]

http://standrews.facebook.com/profile.php?id=37100367

[Nymphomanic]

I really hate the word fuck used in the context 'I'd like to fuck you'

Weirdly I don't object to it if it is an exclamation. I don't know why this is. Just guess I don't likre the violent connotations of the word mixed up with sex

[hr]

I read most of the night and go south in winter - wasteland