From the political arena to the playground, the words “faggot,” “fag,” and “dyke” are used as barbs or taunts, despite the GLBT community’s best efforts to educate the public about the historically derogatory nature of such words.

According to the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network’s 2001 National School Climate Survey, 84.3 percent of the 904 GLBT youth surveyed report frequently hearing words such as “faggot” or “dyke.” And Human Rights Watch has reported that 2 million teenagers in the United States have problems in school because they are taunted with such language.

“It was a good day. I only heard the word ‘faggot’ four times,” the Washington Post, quoted one student as saying in a 2001 article reporting that in more than half of schoolyard shootings – including Columbine and a San Diego shooting – taunts and slurs, particularly the words “fag” and “faggot” are used.

Such anti locution is not limited to the playground.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, for example, in a recent statement about presidential candidate John Edwards said, “I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot’ so I’m kind of at an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards.”

Coulter was referring to the publicity surrounding “Grey’s Anatomy” TV actor Isaiah Washington when he called co-star T.R. Knight a “faggot” on the set and then used the word backstage at the Golden Globe Awards. Coulter has also called former Vice President Al Gore a “total fag” and former President Bill Clinton a “latent homosexual.” And few will forget former House of Representatives majority leader Dick Armey referring to openly gay congressmember Rep. Barney Frank as “Barney Fag” in a press interview.

Phillip Sherman, who has a Ph.D. in linguistics, says, “The fact is many people know the word faggot is offensive; it’s nothing new.” But he says there’s a new vigilance afoot, a sort of “linguistic policing,” and he questions “Why now? What’s changed?”

For example, after Washington called T.R. Knightly a “faggot,” he released a statement of apology and indicated that he was entering rehab as a result of the incident. And, when

Pittsburgh Steelers player Joey Porter called Cleveland Browns player Kellen Winslow a “fag,” he issued the following statement.

“You know, that was probably a poor choice of words. So if I offended anybody, I apologize for that... . I don’t know ... I guess because how we used that word freely, me growing up using that word, I didn’t think anything of it. Like I said, I apologize to anyone I may have offended. I didn’t mean to offend anybody but Kellen Winslow.

Few in the GLBT community saw these statements as apologies.

“For Porter, it was like, ‘Yeah, sorry to you actual fags – no offense, but the term still fits,’” Sherman says.

Nor was the GLBT community amused by a parody of the TV advertisement for a Raids brand insecticide: ‘AIDS: Kills Fags Dead,’ which heavy-metal band Skid Row ex-frontman Sebastian Bach wore on a T-shirt in 1989. Bach later apologized repeatedly, saying, “That was really stupid and wrong for me to wear that. … What nobody brings up is that in 2000, … I donated $12,000 of my own money to fight AIDS.”

And when, in 2001, an Associated Press photograph showed a U.S. Navy officer who had written “high jack this fags” [sic] on an airborne bomb found in Afghanistan, groups such as Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network complained and the Associated Press withdrew the photograph.

But people who use terms such as “faggot” are protected by our nation’s First Amendment.

“When a statement is held to be a legitimate, purely verbal expression of dislike, well, we’re allowed to do that,” says Steve Raskovich, California State University’s legal counsel.

“You can generally say, ‘I am personally against homosexuality, and I think it is immoral,’ and that is one thing. It’s hard sometimes to reconcile hate speech policy and prescription with First Amendment protections.”

It’s doubly hard, Sherman says, when a community has come to embrace what is seen as hateful or demeaning terminology.

In the last decade, there has been a great deal of dialogue about three words –“faggot,” “dyke,” and “queer” – historically used in a demeaning way toward GLBT individuals, and now some members of the GLBT community are embracing the terms.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “faggot” was originally used when heretics were burned alive during the European Inquisitions (specifically those aimed at rooting out critics of the Catholic Church). The fires used to burn them were built with “faggots,” or small bundles of sticks. Those who relented their heretical beliefs, rather than be burned at the stake, were required to wear a design of a faggot embroidered on their sleeve.

As time passed, the term “faggot” came to mean “heavy burden.” It was used during the next few centuries as a sexist insult, most commonly directed at women. Some linguistic historians say the word is the medieval equivalent of the expression “ball and chain,” referring to a “nagging wife.”

As it relates to men, the word “faggot” was first used in British all-male boarding schools where younger students were required to do chores for the older students as a part of ritual initiation. One such task was to gather bundles of sticks for fuel for older students’ fireplaces. Thus, being someone’s “faggot” meant being in an involuntary, submissive role to an elder schoolmate. Because the schools were all-male boarding facilities, it was not uncommon for older students to demand sexual favors of the younger students.

By the 20th century, (primarily in the U.S., although the usage also reflected students’ experiences in British boarding schools) the word “faggot” became associated with men who were considered to be effeminate. By the 1960s, when sexuality was at the height of social discourse, the term “faggot” was a common slur against gay men – or men perceived to be gay – in general.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “dyke” is a centuries old term for ditch, trench, cave, dam, barrier, etc. In the field of geology, a “dyke” is “a mass of mineral matter that fills a hole in a rock formation.” Unlike the term, “faggot,” however, few scholars have traced the history of current vernacular usage.

Most scholars agree that the term “dyke” stems from a derivation of “hermaphrodite,” which first appeared in English in the 14th century to describe plants and animals born with a certain degree of sexual or reproductive ambiguity.

Over time, the terms “morphodite” and “morphodike” replaced “hermaphrodite,” and some scholars say that “dyke” is a variation of morphodike.

One other popular theory as to the use of “dyke” can be traced to a 1st century C.E. Celtic/British tribute in what is now Britain but was then occupied by the Iceni tribe, whose chieftain and queen was Boudicca [Boo-Dyke-A]. When Boudicca’s husband – the chief and king – died, Boudicca ascended to the throne. At the time, the Romans ignored Boudicca’s authority, flogged her, and raped her two daughters. In retaliation, Boudicca led an armed revolt, slaughtering the Romans who occupied their settlement in the area now known as London. Eventually, the Romans fought back, and killed a vast number of the Celtic/British citizens. Legend has it that Boudicca committed suicide in 62 C.E. in order to avoid being humiliated by her Roman captors through the streets of Rome.

The anecdote of Boudicca shows that the use of the word “dyke” as an anti-lesbian slur could have begun as a way to denigrate women who transgressed their assigned social or biological gender roles.

Sociologists often argue that one way a group of victimized or marginalized people can begin to overcome this status is to reclaim demeaning vocabulary – a process called amelioration.

Ramone Johnson is a gay rights activist who writes for About.com, a Web site for the GLBT community.

“By embracing a word that was used to attack or degrade, the gay community has demagnetized the strength of the word, making it a common everyday term,” Johnson says. “This lessens the effect of the word when used against them.”

But San Diego State University professor of philosophy and ethics, J. Angelo Corlett, says amelioration creates a trade-off.

“Look at ‘South Park,’” Corlett says. “Look at [the character] Kyle. I like Kyle because he is always the one doing the morally right thing. But then Cartman will say, ‘Don’t be gay,’ referring not to Kyle’s sexual orientation, but equating that with some negative action. Where did we get to the point that such a popular animation series can get away with that?”

Corlett’s analogy might also be extended to use of such expressions on school campuses.

“I was subbing one time in an elementary school, and during lunch I was in the teacher’s lounge,” says David, a teacher in a San Diego school district who asked not to be identified by last name in this story. “There was this group of teachers sitting around and one of them said, ‘God, if I have to hear “That’s so gay,” one more time.’ So, I looked up from my paper … and said, ‘Well, what did you say to the student when he said it?’ The teacher just looked at me and said, ‘If I had to stop a kid every time they said that, I wouldn’t have time to teach.’”

“What part of explaining the disempowering nature of that comment isn’t teaching?” Davis says he replied.

The National Education Association – the largest labor organization representing teachers – currently distributes a video titled Can’t We All Just Get Along? The video highlights the measures that many school districts are taking to discourage use of such expressions on campuses.

“‘That’s so gay’ is the equivalent of ‘That’s so retarded,’” David says. “And until we are ready and willing to accept and take action to systematically teach our children that it’s wrong, it will continue to be the phrase of choice in children – who then become adults who use it as the phrase of choice.”

Once upon a time, says Sherman, “That’s so retarded” was among the many slurs that fell freely from the lips of kids on the playground.

“But over time, teachers and parents explained that this was a disempowering phrase, just as saying someone ‘Jewed you,’ or calling someone an ‘Indian-giver,’” Sherman explains. “Obviously, my hope is that we will be more proactive in eliminating the allowance or passing of anti-gay slurs in schools as a way of stopping what later escalates beyond just words.”

Sherman says he isn’t so sure about the recent amelioration of “faggot” or “dyke” as a strategy, however.

“Let me draw this analogy,” Sherman says. “Several years ago, a growing number of the African American community decided to reclaim the term ‘nigger.’ But what’s happened with that? It certainly is no more acceptable today than it was 40 years ago during the Civil Rights Movement, and the fact is that those who have embraced it aren’t politicians and academics or, more importantly for the African American community, it’s not preachers or Oprah. Instead, it’s rappers and hip-hop artists. I don’t see that the strategy of reclaiming for purposes of regaining ownership or control has worked, if that’s our model.”

Just as the term “nigger” has been adopted by the black community, many gay men and lesbians have begun to reclaim the terms “faggot” and “dyke.” In doing so, however, a debate has arisen about whether it has a negative or positive effect.

Further, while many in the GLBT community have embraced terms such as “faggot” and “dyke” as a way of celebrating their sexuality (groups such as “Dykes on Bikes” are annually lead the San Diego GLBT Pride Parade), that doesn’t mean we extend the privilege to other groups.

“There is such a thing called linguistic privilege,” Corlett says. “Linguistic privilege is when a term that is often used in racist or sexist context starts to be used within a community. For example, ‘queer’ is a term that is generally used with a pejorative meaning. … [I]t has become used with relative frequency within the homosexual community.”

But when straight people use it, Corlett says, it may not be so welcome.

So how are people to determine when using such terms is appropriate?

“You and I may hear [GLBT] people use the term ‘queer,’ and you might think, ‘Well, then, why can’t I use the term?’ And this can cause some resentment,” Corlett says. “Instead of being resentful, we should instead be respectful and ask [ourselves], ‘Do I have the right to use this term?’ The answer may well be yes. You have the right to use it, but that doesn’t mean you exercise that right. If you really respect a people, you will go out of your way to curb your speech to make sure it is not hurtful, offensive. You simply choose a different word, and then this changes the way we think, which changes our behavior. Respect is the bottom line. Generally speaking, in my estimation, I don’t think the majority of society respects gays and lesbians enough to do that.”

Kevin Mallory, 46, is a gay San Diego native who says he can see both sides of the issue.

“On the one hand, I totally get why my friends want to call each other ‘fag’ or ‘faggot,’” Mallory says. “It’s this thing that only we can do, that we can throw in the face of the rest of the world. But it’s like this, whether someone likes it not. If I have my son and I want to discipline him, I can spank him. But just because I can spank him doesn’t mean, say, his teacher can spank him, or my brother can spank him. Or, maybe my sisters can call each others ‘bitches’ or ‘cunts,’ but I can’t do that, and I shouldn’t even consider it.”

Not everyone in the GLBT community welcomes reclaiming the terms “faggot,” “dyke,” or “queer.”

“I am a 22-year old male who likes to write, performs in sketch comedy, reads a lot of magazines, has an obsession with British politics, and, oh yeah, I happen to be gay,” writes James Kircheck, a Yale University student, in the Feb. 14, 2006, edition of the Yale Daily News. “[But] I’m certainly not queer. Individual gay people and others associated in the vast and ever-expanding panoply of the homosexual community (the bisexuals, the transsexuals, the omnisexuals, the polysexuals, the genderqueers and so on and so forth) may be ‘queer,’ but I – and I assure those queer activists who doubt this – along with the vast majority of homosexuals in this country, would much rather be referred to as gay.”

The point, says Sherman is not lost on many of the larger GLBT advocacy groups.

“I don’t know that I have ever seen a [Human Rights Campaign] release with the term ‘queer.’ And that should speak volumes about how those with power, those who are critically thinking about how to create change in this country, talk about sexuality.”

“For those gay activists whose stated mission is to promote gay equality, it is hypocritical to use the word ‘queer’,” Kircheck agrees. “If the whole purpose of the gay rights movement has been to convince heterosexual Americans that gay people are just like them, why go about using a word like queer to describe yourself? This is strategic stupidity.”

Stephanie Bottoms is the former editor of the gay publication Vanguard, and she recently took the University of Kansas’ GLBT club to task over its name, “Queers and Allies.”

“The LGBT community is constantly battling conservatives, bigots and all those who generally disagree with our beliefs,” Bottoms says. “What do you suppose they call us behind our backs? How can they take us seriously if we are the ones calling ourselves queers?”

There is even a movement among some GLBT youth and young adults to dispense with terms that don’t fit heterosexual linguistic patterns, or heteronormative lexicon, including words such as, “faggot,” “dyke,” and “queer.” The youth instead prefer terms such as “homosexual” and “same-sex.” Bill Leap is an anthropology professor and chair of the American University in Washington, D.C. Leap has held an annual Lavender Languages and Linguistics conference since 1993.

In a 2005 article in The Advocate, Leap, who says that for some youth terms such as “gay” and “lesbian” carry political baggage, was quoted as saying, “Some students are not political. They’re saying … I don’t see anything political in sucking dick.”

Erick Hoffman is a recent college graduate in San Diego with a degree in queer studies and says he “hates” terms such as “gay,” “lesbian”, or “queer.”

“Heterosexual people probably dislike the label ‘straight’ as much as I dislike the label ‘gay,’” Hoffman says. “I think heterosexual people think in terms of sexuality, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and so maybe it’s time we start using terms such as same-sex and opposite sex. Let opposite-sex couples take on the negative word.”

Hoffman says using “same-sex” rather than “gay” or “queer” creates a mental safety net for same-sex couples, and describing heterosexual couples as “opposite sex” puts the focus back on them.

“What so-called straight people dislike the most about same-sex couples is that we’re different,” Hoffman says. “But the truth is that inherently people will gravitate more to the safety of things that are the same, and when you start identifying yourself as a ‘same-sex couple’ then it changes up the way we dialogue, and because language is so powerful in shaping culture, then maybe we become more ‘safe’ culturally.”

“When you go around [with] names of groups like ‘Queers and Allies’ and ‘Dykes on Bikes,’” agrees Sherman, “straight people – society as a whole – is going to be uncomfortable engaging you in dialogue, because from the very outset they have trouble with the words. They know they have a history of negative use, and so they are put in this sort of dilemma where they don’t know where to start.”

In the final analysis, Kircheck argues, using the term “queer” does one of two things: It “radicalizes the demands of the gay rights movement or promotes the marginalization of gay people.”

“When people are so used to hearing the words ‘fag’ and ‘faggot,’ then it becomes almost acceptable for the general population to take in,” Mallory adds. “Look at [Fred] Phelps’ Web site, www.GodHatesFags.com. I’ve seen it on the ticker of the news program at the bottom. You think you’d ever see www.GodHatesNiggers on the news ticker at the bottom? It’s not going to happen. If we are going to take on the rights to use words, and give ourselves the privilege of demagnetizing those words, then we also have to take on the responsibility that comes along with it. We have to educate on the hateful nature of

words.”