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Homophobic slurs used by homosexuals

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by PeaceLoveJoy, Jul 5, 2011.

  1. PeaceLoveJoy

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    How do you feel about it? Do you think that it's okay for gay people to refer to themselves and others as 'fags' or 'faggots'?
     
  2. Danny19

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    hmm well to be honest ive used the word. however i dont really consider it a gay term. i just use it. but i stopped using it because i feel like its just a nasty word. and i definitely have never refer myself as a fag because it is an insulting word.
     
  3. ArcaneVerse

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    If its bad for one person to say it, its bad for everyone.

    Cant stand it when people use the N word but get all offended when others use it. It shouldn't be used by anyone, I feel the same about fag & faggot.
     
  4. RaeofLite

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    Sometimes I use the word dyke for myself as a joke even though I shouldn't. But hey, Vancouver has lesbians on bikes that call themselves dykes on bikes, right?
     
  5. NickT

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    I may use the terms Fag hag/stag, but only rarely and jokingly and with close friends who know better than to use that word.
     
  6. Owen

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    In terms of using it as a non-insulting term to refer to members of our community, the way the five letter n-word has been "reclaimed" by the African American community but non-members of the community aren't "allowed" to use it, my opinion is similar to that of ArcaneVerse; if people outside of our community can't use it (I mean, I know I'd be offended if someone used it to describe me), then no one should.

    However, I'd be lying if I said I have never used the term in a situation that wasn't the result of a slip of the tongue; I did once. In one conversation (from what I can recall), I used the term "faggot" as a disparaging term for a gay person, specifically, a gay person who I thought was an embarrassment to the gay community and hurt our image (Perez Hilton comes to mind as one specific person I used the term for). Is it something I'm proud of? No. But using the word that way worked for the specific circumstances of the conversation. And honestly? If straight people started using the words "fag" and "faggot" to mean a gay person who is an embarrassment to the gay community (and not as a general insult used against someone just because they are gay), I don't think I'd raise a fuss.
     
  7. Just Passing

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    I have never really used homophobic slurs, unless I'm in a joking mood, but on the whole, I never do. They're pretty stupid sounding anyway when you say them. :grin:
     
  8. Shevanel

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    I just use any word I feel would be the most accurate description of someone I may be angry at, so at times, yes, I use some slurs that are described as "homophobic", but I don't use them for homophobic reasons obviously.

    For example, I may call a straight dude a faggot over Xbox Live if he's being a whiny cunt noobtuber.
     
  9. Daryn

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    Hmmmm. Some people say that gay people using gay slurs among themselves is a way to take the power away from people who use the terms to hurt. Others say that gay people shouldn't ever use those terms because it justifies homophobes when they say them. As for me, I'm not sure. I don't use them simply because I don't feel comfortable saying them.
     
  10. Kidd

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    It used to bother me but now it doesn't. I use them sometimes to refer to myself and friends and stuff, it really isn't a big deal in my opinion.
     
  11. Katelynn

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    I never liked using homophobic words anymore than when my friends would joke around & use them. For me, they're just as uncomfortable & unacceptable as using racial slurs, & I HATE when people use racial slurs. I know the argument can be made that we can reclaim these words & take them back within our own community, but I think that we ourselves use these words, it just encourages narrow-minded people outside of LGBT communities to regard it as acceptable behaviour & use it themselves. As far as I'm concerned, hate speech is hate speech, no matter who's using it or how or why...
     
  12. Lexington

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    To me, it's never the word so much as the intent. If a stranger would innocently point to my partner and ask in a friendly manner "Is this your boyfriend?", I can't imagine anybody would have any issue with it. But if a stranger would scowl at me, look threatening, and then indicate my partner and sneer "Is this your BOYfriend?", then I'd have some issues. Not because he said "boyfriend", but because he was trying to be condescending.

    Similarly, if somebody said "I went to JR's, and I didn't know it was a gay bar", nobody would have any issue with it. (Except some might wonder how he didn't know. :slight_smile: ) But if somebody said "That team is totally gay", I'd take exception. Again - not the word, it's the context.

    When my (gay) co-worker greets me with "Hey, faggot", I don't have any issue with it. Because I know he's poking fun mainly at himself (it's a "pot calling the kettle black" sort of thing). But I'd have an issue with somebody sneering it at me whom I didn't know. It's not the combination of letters or sounds - it's the intent behind saying them. If they're trying to belittle me or put down gays in general by saying it, it's THAT that I'm offended by, not the word itself.

    Lex
     
  13. addyction

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    i agree with lex. i use slurs all the time with my gay friends.
    my ftm transgender best friend calls me his fag, too. it's like an endearing term between us. even my straight best friends call me fag, but never offensively ("my little fag", or "my little homo"). i dun' see any point in anyone getting upset unless the intention was to hurt you. i call my straight friends "hetero" all the time in response to them calling me fag. i'm secure with my being gay. why exactly would being called a fag be offensive if i'm gay? even if it IS meant to hurt me, i mean. . . i'm gay. it's no big deal to me[:
     
  14. Enaithor

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    I only use slurs to other gay people when straight people aren't around. Because I know I'd be offended if a straight person called me a faggot, and I think therefore no-one should use it...but if there's no straight people around then it doesn't matter because they don't know
    Also only certain things like dykes in the context of dykes on bikes.
     
  15. haelmarie

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    I don't know. Not really? Sometimes I call myself a faggot.

    I think that "faggot" is one of the few words that can just be really, really hateful.
     
  16. mattypants

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    Generally, I've read that "dyke" has been mostly 'reclaimed' by lesbians, and that gays are on the move to reclaim 'fag/faggot' like blacks have done with 'nigger'. [honestly can you not even type the word guys? :confused:]

    I'm with lex on the intent part.

    I think people get too worked up with language things like this. Especially when an word used to be offensive offends them. shocker there :rolle:

    re OP: i guess im down with gays 'reclaiming' fag/faggot. hands off my language and such xD
     
  17. Fiddledeedee

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    I think that, like any possibly insulting word, it depends on how someone uses it, not that they use it at all. When my friends jokingly refer to each other as gay, homo, fag, etc. (they are straight) I have no problem with it. However, I will call people out on saying "that's so gay"; they do not think about how they are using it and therefore can't be using it jokingly. I have no problem with homosexuals using it.
     
  18. Nomad187

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    Well one of my best friends absolutly hates being called gay. he much prefers to be called a queer or fag and I completely agree with him
     
  19. canguy

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    To me the words Fag or Faggot or any other homophobic slurs that might come my way are just that...words. I think they should be used sparingly, for comedy if necessary but I will not allow a mess of letters to ruin my day. I still believe that novelist and writers should use the words for dramatic impact, after all some of these words have alternative meanings. I think we should not live in fear of words, but the context in which they are used can sometimes be intimidating.
     
  20. Markio

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    This video comes to mind:
    [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sv3mZhTlHM[/YOUTUBE]
    I want to see the rest of that episode!

    I don't like when people use the word "faggot." Yes, I'm very sensitive. I don't care so much if I know that the person saying it is just joking, or if the word is used between friends who have some harmless inside joke between them, but I think using it publicly sets a low standard for the perception and treatment of gay people. And sometimes I find it hard to trust the people who say it "jokingly."
     
    #20 Markio, Jul 7, 2011
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2011