FAG

The great debate: to claim, or not to claim the most hated word in our community - faggot.

Black people have chosen to own the N word - in a more acceptable way by changing the er to a so that one can say nigga as if it is a different word, a word of enlightenment or empowerment. Can we take the same approach? Fagga . . . it just doesn't quite work.

Women have been reclaiming bitch, and the more controversial word, cunt. Just simply as they are - no changes needed. Should we do the same?

I guess, for me at least, what it comes down to is the origin of the word. There is nothing violent about the origin of cunt or nigger - have they been used as violent terms? Yes. But the actual origin of them does not derive from a violent act like the origin of faggot.

Nigger is traced back to the word niger, meaning black. The word then became a noun, negro. It is derived solely from the color - nothing violent about that in my opinion. So then I see the re-claiming of it as a form of empowerment, almost as a revolt against all the people that have tried to use it as a piece of hate speech toward that particular community. It just works, and in a way, makes sense. Do I personally agree with this? I'm not sure yet.

Cunt specifically refers to a woman's nether-regions. I've even been told by those that have read the book Cunt, say that studies of the etymology of the word show that it actually used to be the highest praise for a woman, sometimes even meaning Goddess. Somehow, now in our generation it is a derogative term used as the highest insult to women. The reclaiming of cunt makes even more sense to me - if faggot was some ancient word used as a way to describe a gay god - then by all means I would be calling myself a fag all day everyday.

Faggot, though, as we all know is defined as a bundle of sticks. How it was transferred to gay men is somewhat cloudy - but the most commonly understood and accepted history is that it happened during the times of the inquisition when heretics were burned at the stake. Gay men were burned as heretics and also used as fuel for the fire when they were running low on sticks. A truly violent and gruesome act. That's how the word faggot came to be used in association with our community? Is this factual? I don't know. All the research I've done has shown bias and no clear exlpicit references for this history. So until otherwise proven false, this is what I'm going to believe. And there is no way in hell I can see myself owning or appreciating that word. There is no re-claiming that I could do - and I think it will always ring in my ears as something completely repugnant, evil and scary.

What do you think?

references:
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/2420/Nigger_the_word_a_brief_history
http://www.matthewhunt.com/cunt/etymology.html
http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/people/2007/2/fword.html

Are you ready?