Faggots

[pukkanuts]

Why do people call gay men faggots? where does it come from? whats the logic? I mean, I dont see the logic in any prejudice behavior but whats the relevance? how are gay men like meatballs? I was just wondering this after Louis Theroux's programme on the freaky Americans.

[Lonnie]

I think its a term used in America, it may be creeping in over here, but as far as I am concened, its food, Faggots, Mash and Gravy, scrumptious.

[heathfield]

There are some attempts at an explanation here

[redhead23]

grav u make me laugh xxx

[reachesme]

Coined in the victorian era, this term comes from the practice in British Public Schools of making the students do menial tasks such as gathering the sticks to make Faggots, which were used instead of logs. These menial tasks became known as "Faggot-work", and it was the lowest of the low socially that typically were made to do these tasks. These boys were often physically weak as well, and were left open to sexual advances from other boys or teachers with little or recourse to refuse.

[ne2]

Why do Homosexual's and Lesbian's use the name Gay? It's an old word that speaks for itself but it cant be used as it should be these days. No, Im not against anyone,just wondering.

[reinganum]

Reachesme may have hit on something but I never heard the term 'faggot' (to mean a gay man) until about 30 years ago, and then it seemed to come mainly from U.S. films and TV.
When I was a child, 'faggot' (as applied to a person) had quite a different meaning, and was nearly always prefixed by "miserable old...", and it meant a disagreeable middle-aged or elderly woman. Also, where I lived (Sussex) faggot usually meant a bundle of sticks used for kindling, rather than the meatball usage. At the same time (late 1950s) the normal colloquial terms for gay men were queers or (sometimes) fairies, but the latter term would probably only refer to the 'queenish' type.