Has “Faggot” become the new F-bomb? Remember the good old days when any garden variety profanity uttered by a public figure and caught on tape would make news? I promise you, it used to happen. It was around the same time when “fuck” was among the most shocking things you could say in mixed company.
“Faggot” has a long and storied history as one of the worst things you can say to insult a straight male. By calling into question his sexuality in this way the person who slings this insult is essentially saying “the worst thing I can imagine being is a gay man”.
Recent high-profile cases of athletes, actors and comedians throwing the F-word around have raised awareness of the damage this word can do but it’s nothing new. Jerry Lewis was unapologetic about his use of “fag” for decades. Even going so far as using it on-air during the 2007 Muscular Dystrophy Telethon:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DILmHDNJNcY&feature=youtu.be&t=21s]
He did issue an apology for that incident but he was back at it in 2008 when asked what he thought of the sport of cricket he responded with “Oh cricket is a fag’s game!”
And 28 years ago when Eddie Murphy was one of the funniest men in America he set a land speed record for the number of “fag” references in the opening sequence of his debut comedy concert Delirious:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYNDVaPrTMs]
And he followed that up four years later in RAW:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pmimdt9CTk]
I’d post an Andrew Dice Clay clip, but really? Who needs that?
But what happens when someone thinks it’s just fine and dandy to call a gay man a faggot? Over the weekend a Safeway cashier called two shoppers “faggots” to their face. Not once, but twice. To the cashier’s credit (what little is deserved) she didn’t deny it and allowed herself to be videotaped apologizing for her actions. She’s since been fired.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqg4N5_VQes]
Here’s a little Louis C.K. to help illustrate the disconnect on f-word usage:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IFloXOuLgA]
