FAG one last time

[Beverly Flanigan]

A basic principle of linguistic inquiry is to ask for native speaker/users'
intuitions, not only about grammar and pronunciation but also about lexical
nuances.  Don't dictionary people do this???  I recall the controversy
about dictionary entries for 'Negro' and 'nigger' a few years ago.  One
would think compilers would ask those most involved with such usages.

At 06:55 PM 3/8/01 -0500, you wrote:
>In a message dated 3/8/01 4:11:45 PM, jester at PANIX.COM writes:
>
><< we have
>seen a variety of disparaging terms adopted with pride>>
>
>My quarrel is entirely with this phrase. Gay men do not use FAG "with pride."
>Not in my experience. Not in the experience of my friends. Not in any written
>citation that I havve ever seen. The citations that Jesse circulated in his
>earlier posting are not attempts at appropriating FAG as a legitimate term of
>self-reference. They are used exactly the way that black people use NIGGER. I
>guess if Jesse wants to read his cites as "proud" I can't convince him
>otherwise. But I know no gay men who would ever agree with Jesse's
>assessment. This is not to say that the utterers of his cites are not proud
>of their queer identity, only that the utterers of the cites do not think that
>FAG is a word to be "adopted with pride." QUEER yes. FAG no.


_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm