I’m a little bit obsessed with the Slate podcast family, and I’ve been enjoying their newest, Lexicon Valley, a “show about the mysteries of English,” hosted by former On the Media producer Mike Vuolo.
Today’s episode—the show’s second—is about the etymology of the world “faggot” and how and when it should be used. Vuolo is joined by Bob Garfield, with one host staunchly defending his right to use it as a hyperbolic insult, and the other maintaining that it’s not really a word straight men get to say. (It reminded me of this BINGO card of justifications people use for saying cunt that I ran across yesterday.) Most interestingly, the show examines the word’s historical roots—concluding that the word was originally a pejorative directed at women (and not, as people love to repeat in tones of utmost concern, because “faggot” originally referred to the bundles of sticks used to burn gay people at the stake).
Listen here.
I’ve never bought into the idea that groups can “reclaim” offensive words. By reclaiming the word, you literally retard its meaning and highlight its offensiveness. That’s taking a step backwards.
When the NBA fines alleged-rapist Kobe Bryant for calling someone a faggot, that’s progress. Louis CK notwithstanding–today, only stupid people w/ limited vocabularies use faggot to described people/things they hate.
Words are how they are used. If its use changes, its meaning changes. If you cordon off the word and say that it’s unusable, then it will mean what it means forever. You’re basically ensuring that it will have the same place that it has now — and much the same power as an insult — forever. Better to let it change and as the usefulness of it disappears (eg, as society becomes less inclined to use an epithet to refer to homosexuals), that meaning will be lost to history.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s13e12-the-f-word
@TheFword: SO SPEAKETH THE PRIVELEGE.