(Trigger warning for slurs.) 

The LGBT community is no stranger to reclaiming words that have been historically used to hurt us. Words like “queer” and “dyke” may be considered offensive by some people, but they’re empowering to others. In this piece, the writer suggests we do the same with the word f*g.

This article was written by a friend of mine at school and a fellow gay media enthusiast. He argues that by using the f-word ourselves, LGBT people can strip it of its hateful histories and start to use it as a culturally unifying term of community. Gabe writes:

Honestly, there is a culture that bonds gay men together. Our love for dancefloor music is only backed by the fact that many divas of pop have long been supporters of gay rights. We can be head over heels for a boy, just as any person can be over someone they’re attracted to. There’s even gayslang propagated by this culture. These attributes aren’t universal for every single member of the community, but there is truth behind these generalizations. This is when we can be f*gs. When we’re dancing to a Kylie Minogue remix. When the boy you’ve been pining over finally texts you back and your heart’s thumping. When we can call each other f*gs or f*ggy because we’re comfortable with who we are and because we’re over the epithet being used by those that aren’t using it right.    

At the end of the day, the word f*g isn’t going to disappear, and making a blanket statement that it’s always wrong to say the word isn’t the approach we need to take. As a gay community, we need to take the word back. To make it our own and use it as a reminder of our past struggles as a community. To commit to the work that still needs to be done and to just use it freely with a light heart. And for those outside of the gay community, they need to be educated on the context of the word. Instead of it being an empty insult, they need to understand who is permitted to use it and what the purpose is in doing so.

If you read the piece, you’ll see I commented expressing some concern about his proposal (and fighting with an anonymous commenter who said some problematic stuff, in my opinion). What do you think of this debate? Do you agree with Gabe?