E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer, “All the fagots (sissies) will be dressed in drag at the ball tonight.” The word then continues to refer to homosexual males throughout the century, in a article in the New Yorker in 1970, “A fathering of homosexuals.. a Jew, a Negro, a butch faggot, a Nellie faggot,” (http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/67623). As the definition has changed dramatically throughout history, today it has become a word with an extensively negative implication. In the contemporary United States it refers to homosexual men, yet is more broadly used as an insult given for a multitude of reasons, encompassing homoerotic behavior and any deviant action.
When the word originated in the 14th century it had no negative meaning, …show more content…
When I was in middle school I was one of the students that regularly used the word. Whenever anybody did anything annoying, stupid, or just plain weird, they were temporarily labeled as a “fag.” I heard the word countless times through my two years in middle school. When I entered high school, my perception of the word started to change dramatically. In middle school I was a frequent user, using the word on a daily, if not hourly basis. Once I got to high school I made a decision that dramatically changed my view of the word, I joined the water polo team. Many other athletes on campus started referring to my teammates and myself as faggots, as I walked through the locker room one of the first days of practice, in my speedo, in front of the football players, I started to hear the slurs, “Faggots! Wearing your speedos!, “Look at those faggots, have fun touching each other.” I can still hear those words, echoing through the halls of lockers, which at that point seemed endless. The seniors on the team reassured us that the harassment would stop throughout my years at Monta Vista High, they were wrong. The football players, the runners, even the tennis players called me a faggot for the sport I loved. My junior year I also joined the Gay Straight Alliance, and through that group helped me change my perspective
When the word originated in the 14th century it had no negative meaning, …show more content…
When I was in middle school I was one of the students that regularly used the word. Whenever anybody did anything annoying, stupid, or just plain weird, they were temporarily labeled as a “fag.” I heard the word countless times through my two years in middle school. When I entered high school, my perception of the word started to change dramatically. In middle school I was a frequent user, using the word on a daily, if not hourly basis. Once I got to high school I made a decision that dramatically changed my view of the word, I joined the water polo team. Many other athletes on campus started referring to my teammates and myself as faggots, as I walked through the locker room one of the first days of practice, in my speedo, in front of the football players, I started to hear the slurs, “Faggots! Wearing your speedos!, “Look at those faggots, have fun touching each other.” I can still hear those words, echoing through the halls of lockers, which at that point seemed endless. The seniors on the team reassured us that the harassment would stop throughout my years at Monta Vista High, they were wrong. The football players, the runners, even the tennis players called me a faggot for the sport I loved. My junior year I also joined the Gay Straight Alliance, and through that group helped me change my perspective