In your opinion, is it a gay slur or just a general insult? Maybe a term to call your friends or just something to be funny while gaming? (Insert bundle of sticks joke here)
For me, it was never a gay slur. Hell, I didn't know it's meaning until I was 14 when shouting it in class and the teacher threw me out. I just thought it was something like "dumbass" or "shithead"(I grew up in a foul-mouthed neighborhood). I always heard it from my uncles who would say something like, "Those faggots at the band council are fucking up so and so". So around age 12, me, my brother, cousins and friends started to call each other fags for insults(I forgot who started the whole thing, probably me). Now, I'm not saying that shouting ****** out in public is an acceptable term. It's just as wrong as saying "FUCK" out loud in front of kids. I just think that it should have another meaning. Hell, if you look it up in Thesaurus, it's nowhere to be found!
My brother is gay. He didn't know what it meant until a much later time like I did. But he also said it casually around people our age. I knew he was gay the whole time(yes, I think you are born that way) and I started to avoid saying it around him after found out its meaning. I still said it around friends and cousins. After my brother came out of the closet, he was still calling people ****** while playing Halo or Smash Bros. That's what made me think, "Hey, maybe it isn't a gay slur all the time."
Now, onto the internet. It's pretty damn obvious how its used: a casual insult to whomever is "acting like a ******". It is applied to females as well. 4chan has a different take on it. Lots of casual terms are thrown out, even people calling themselves fags (ex: Samefag, Oldfag, newfag, Canadafag, etc.). Most 4channers don't feel insulted at all when being called said-word(I'm getting tired of typing it), unlike Reddit. I feel that the majority of Reddit has this thought process of always having to be politically correct. Maybe it's pride from having a user name; or maybe it's the fear of being downvoted and getting spammed with replies. Someone made a comment on this, and I forgot where it was, but he/she said that "whenever someone makes a racist/gay joke, it's usually shot-down by the white man". On the Escapist, it seems like everyone is trying too hard to be politically correct. Now I'm not saying that you should call someone "on-topic" everytime they disagree with you, just loosen up a little.
Anyways, time to wrap this up. What are your thoughts on this? Do you get offended when someone says "fag" even if it's not directed at you? I apologize if you got offended by the amount of times I typed the topic word.
For me, it was never a gay slur. Hell, I didn't know it's meaning until I was 14 when shouting it in class and the teacher threw me out. I just thought it was something like "dumbass" or "shithead"(I grew up in a foul-mouthed neighborhood). I always heard it from my uncles who would say something like, "Those faggots at the band council are fucking up so and so". So around age 12, me, my brother, cousins and friends started to call each other fags for insults(I forgot who started the whole thing, probably me). Now, I'm not saying that shouting ****** out in public is an acceptable term. It's just as wrong as saying "FUCK" out loud in front of kids. I just think that it should have another meaning. Hell, if you look it up in Thesaurus, it's nowhere to be found!
My brother is gay. He didn't know what it meant until a much later time like I did. But he also said it casually around people our age. I knew he was gay the whole time(yes, I think you are born that way) and I started to avoid saying it around him after found out its meaning. I still said it around friends and cousins. After my brother came out of the closet, he was still calling people ****** while playing Halo or Smash Bros. That's what made me think, "Hey, maybe it isn't a gay slur all the time."
Now, onto the internet. It's pretty damn obvious how its used: a casual insult to whomever is "acting like a ******". It is applied to females as well. 4chan has a different take on it. Lots of casual terms are thrown out, even people calling themselves fags (ex: Samefag, Oldfag, newfag, Canadafag, etc.). Most 4channers don't feel insulted at all when being called said-word(I'm getting tired of typing it), unlike Reddit. I feel that the majority of Reddit has this thought process of always having to be politically correct. Maybe it's pride from having a user name; or maybe it's the fear of being downvoted and getting spammed with replies. Someone made a comment on this, and I forgot where it was, but he/she said that "whenever someone makes a racist/gay joke, it's usually shot-down by the white man". On the Escapist, it seems like everyone is trying too hard to be politically correct. Now I'm not saying that you should call someone "on-topic" everytime they disagree with you, just loosen up a little.
Anyways, time to wrap this up. What are your thoughts on this? Do you get offended when someone says "fag" even if it's not directed at you? I apologize if you got offended by the amount of times I typed the topic word.
