Fag
FAG is a word I've come to like because it's so ridiculous and juvenile.
I know the word had a lot of weight when I was younger but even though I have a pretty good recollection of my childhood I can't recall "fag" ever making me feel bad if it was directed my way. But then I also wasn't ever called "fag" beyond the context of the usual name calling where anyone might get called "fag" because it was considered a great insult.
I also had a slightly whiney voiced cousin who used the word a lot. He was an OK guy but a bit of a dumbass in how he interacted with the world so when he called me "fag" it meant nothing. He'd call a dog "fag." And when he said "fag" in his whiney and nasally voice with a standard west coast drawl and a heaping dash of insolence it had even less impact.
The first time I ever encountered "fag" in a positive light was at the Greyhound bus depot in Seattle 1990. I had been visiting friends and was on a bus headed back to Eastern Washington and as the bus pulled out of the depot I saw a tall, red headed, kind of hick looking young guy in jeans, jean jacket, and a tractor cap (this was long before they became a hipster trend). By his looks and dress I figured he was waiting for a bus to some rural place. Then I noticed what his hat had printed on it in large capital letters: FAG. I thought that was pretty clever and I liked the in-your-face aspect.
Not long after the FAG hat sighting Dan Savage started writing his sex advice column for the Stranger (Seattle's only newspaper that matters) and he had people sending in questions address him as "Hey faggot."
For me that pretty much gutted the word of its negativity, but I was in my 20s and not someone people would think to call "fag."
These days I hear or see "fag" and I just think it's funny. It's a ridiculous word and anyone who uses it to try and make someone feel bad is even more ridiculous.
I know the word had a lot of weight when I was younger but even though I have a pretty good recollection of my childhood I can't recall "fag" ever making me feel bad if it was directed my way. But then I also wasn't ever called "fag" beyond the context of the usual name calling where anyone might get called "fag" because it was considered a great insult.
I also had a slightly whiney voiced cousin who used the word a lot. He was an OK guy but a bit of a dumbass in how he interacted with the world so when he called me "fag" it meant nothing. He'd call a dog "fag." And when he said "fag" in his whiney and nasally voice with a standard west coast drawl and a heaping dash of insolence it had even less impact.
The first time I ever encountered "fag" in a positive light was at the Greyhound bus depot in Seattle 1990. I had been visiting friends and was on a bus headed back to Eastern Washington and as the bus pulled out of the depot I saw a tall, red headed, kind of hick looking young guy in jeans, jean jacket, and a tractor cap (this was long before they became a hipster trend). By his looks and dress I figured he was waiting for a bus to some rural place. Then I noticed what his hat had printed on it in large capital letters: FAG. I thought that was pretty clever and I liked the in-your-face aspect.
Not long after the FAG hat sighting Dan Savage started writing his sex advice column for the Stranger (Seattle's only newspaper that matters) and he had people sending in questions address him as "Hey faggot."
For me that pretty much gutted the word of its negativity, but I was in my 20s and not someone people would think to call "fag."
These days I hear or see "fag" and I just think it's funny. It's a ridiculous word and anyone who uses it to try and make someone feel bad is even more ridiculous.
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