Quote:
|
Growing up near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, kids often used "faggot" to be synonymous with jerk, wimp or sissy. This word was used with no reference to sexuality or homosexuality, especially as it was used by 8 or 10-year-olds (myself included) who never thought about sex at that age. I never heard any adults use this word.
|
First off, there is a point where kids do discover what it means (I'd guess sometime between ages 10 and 13..perhaps younger now) and they continue to use the words because being gay is often not acceptable to kids (whether that be based on how they were raised or some other factors).
Regardless of how they intend it, it doesn't change the meaning. You can use the N word all day and say that you aren't racist but that word still affects other people negatively regardless of how you intend to use it. One should probably educate him/herself prior to using derogatory words.