How do you feel about reclaiming anti-gay slurs?
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For some, the answer is a simple 'yes' or 'no,' but for many, whether or not its okay to reclaim slurs that were used to put us down as a community is a much more complicated issue.
During this year's LA Pride in the Park music festival, we asked several people what they think about reclaiming the 'F-word.' Some of the answers were funny, some were earnest, and some were inspirational.
"I feel like no matter what, it gets abused, and someone outside of it weaponizes it still, and won't accept that it can be reclaimed," one person said. "I don't know, I don't love that."
"I'm pro-f*ggot! We're big f*ggots," two others said.
Obviously, there are plenty of opinions, and all (or at least most) of them are totally valid. Let's take a look at five anti-gay and anti-queer slurs that are being reclaimed today.
Queer
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For many of us, "queer" was one of the first insults hurled at us when we acted a little differently from our friends. It's meant to make a person feel like an outsider, like who they are isn't normal, and like they should change. But its in that strangeness that many queer people have found strength and comfort.
From the '90s "we're here, we're queer, get used to it" chants to the iconic TV show Queer As Folk, to current day usage where organizations like GLAAD use it in headlines, "queer" has a long history of being reclaimed, and is now one of the most popular words used by the LGBTQ+ community.
Faggot
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This is a big one. For many, "f****t" often brings up some of our most painful memories of being bullied, attacked, and discriminated against. For years, its been considered probably the worst anti-gay slur, and there's good reason for that. The word is used violently by straight people, who often shout it while committing horrible hate crimes.
But for others, reclaiming the word is the ultimate rejection of cis, straight power over queer people. If we find strength and beauty in this weapon they use against us, it loses its effectiveness. And if we take the power that word has and use it within the community to let others know that they are family, we can become even more powerful ourselves.
Dyke
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For lesbians and other queer women, the word "dyke" has a lot of painful associations. When homophobes use it, it pushes people back into the closet and makes them feel ashamed. But when a queer woman uses it? There's nothing that sounds better than that.
For decades, gay women and members of the lesbian community have eagerly embraced the term dyke with all its masculinity, queerness, fuck-you-ness, and ferocity. Being a dyke is powerful and cool. Being a dyke is sexy. Being a dyke is important, and we will be dykes until the day we die.
Tranny
In a world where trans women are the targets of violence and murder and a growing number of laws meant to keep us from existing in public, it makes a lot of sense that this word has a lot of baggage around it. "Tranny" is used to dehumanize trans people, misgender trans women, and point us out in public. While its considered bad manners for a man to hit a woman, many are perfectly fine hitting a "tranny."
However, if you are a tranny, the word can feel like home. Among the dolls, we use the word to show that we trust someone. If I call myself a tranny around you, you know that I feel safe with you. And if I call one of my friends a tranny, you can know for sure she's my ride or die. We're in an exclusive family, and we see and love each other for who we are, and sometimes, that's trannies.
Homo
Many homophobes love the term "homosexual" precisely because it sounds like a medical condition or mental disorder. It seperates the human from the homo. Instead of calling someone a "gay man," you can say "a homosexual" or simply, "a homo" and he's suddenly less of a person and just a sexuality.
But also, "homo" as an insult sounds pretty funny. And if homosexual isn't a slur, why should we feel bad about being called homos? Honestly, the Right did a pretty bad job on this slur...
