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Why are homosexual men sometimes called fags?
Topic of the day for me to be honest. How come the word fags mean homosexual. I was in India last year and not many people know what fags mean, but looking back at home in Canada almost everyone knows and people around the U.S. too, so I was wondering how come the word fags means Homosexual. It took me few hours to research but I found a good answer from a book lying around.
“Faggot,” the cruel label for homosexuals, actually began as a contemptuous slang word for a woman, especially one who was old and unpleasant. The reference was to a burden that had to be carried in the same manner as baggage and harks back to the word’s original meaning.
In the thirteenth century, a faggot was a bundle of wood or twigs bound together, such as the ones carried by heretics to feed the fires that would burn them at the stake. Heretics who recanted were required to wear an embroidered figure of a faggot on their sleeves. It wasn’t until 1914 that the slang word faggot first appeared in the United States as a reference to a male homosexual, probably derived from the earlier reference to an annoying woman. The abbreviation fag surfaced in 1921.
There is a misconception that male homosexuals were called faggots because they were burned at the stake, but this notion is an urban legend. Homosexuals were sometimes burned alive in Europe, but by the time England made homosexuality a capital offence in 1533, hanging was the prescribed punishement.
The Yiddish word for male homosexual is faygele, which literally means “little bird.”
The English word faggot is derived from the Latin fasces via the French fagot, meaning “a bundle of wood.”
And now to answer another one of the puzzling questions...
How did the word gay come to mean homosexual?
Today, the word gay has evolved to mean homosexual. Many people can’t help but wonder how this came to be, when originally the word “gay” was used to mean “happy” and “cheerful.” Unfortunately, no matter how much we want to believe that the word “gay” has become corrupted because of the people today, it has in fact long been used to refer to something sexual.
Years ago in 1937, the Oxford English Dictionary defined “gay” as being addicted to the pursuit of physical and social pleasures. It has come to refer to individuals who lead an immoral and loose life. During the 1800s the term “gay” was also used to describe female prostitutes and to “gay it” stood for “to couple up” or “to copulate.”
In the year 1935, “geycat” was used to refer to a homosexual boy, and by 1966, “gay” had been used in the context of how it is used today. It is believed that P. Wildeblood was the first to use the word “gay” to mean homosexuals in his notes in Against Law. However, there’s no certainty to this, as male homosexuals could have been using the word already even long before it was publicized and popularized.
That is the story behind the word “gay” and how it came to mean homosexual. It really didn’t just mean “happy” and “lighthearted” even from way before. Several hundreds of years ago, it already had a connotation that implied a sexual tone.
Nowadays, the word “gay” has come to refer to other things. Also, it has evolved and changed in a way that it not only describes male homosexuals, but female homosexuals as well. Lesbians today can be referred to as gay.
Also, “gay” has other non-sexual meanings that are being used popularly by the public. Teenagers especially, are using the word “gay” to mean activities that are boring and un-cool. For example, when teenagers are asked to play doll with their younger siblings, they often comment “that’s so gay.” This could also refer to something cheesy, such as a “gay song” or a “gay movie.”
Now you know how the word “gay” came to mean homosexual. The next time you and your friends share pieces of trivia, you now have something interesting to share. And when someone protests that “gay” is meant to be used as “cheery” or “light-hearted,” you now have an argument stating that even from years ago, it was already used in a sexual manner.
Here's a related and extremely funny strip from Ruben Bolling used by permission I hope you enjoy. Oh, here's more info on TTDB:
Tom the Dancing Bug is a weekly comic strip by Ruben Bolling which presents critical commentary on modern life, current events, and conventional wisdom and clichés. (There are no bugs or dancing involved and there are no characters named Tom.) The strip is carried in both mainstream and "alternative" papers, as well as on Salon.com. The strip frequently includes sociopolitical satire, often critical of conservative politicians.
[Updated on: Fri, 15 January 2010 13:26] |
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The Oxford English Dictionary first edition was completed, I think, in 1928 so whatever you refer to of 1637 must be something else.
What?
Love,
Anthony
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Acam wrote:> "The Oxford English Dictionary first edition was completed, I think, in 1928 so whatever you refer to of 1637 must be something else."
A Typo! Fixed too by the way.
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