Do you find the term "homo" offensive?

Degeneratefk · February 2018

This thread reminds me of this Louis CK bit.

HughFreakingDillon · February 2018

dankind said:

When I was a kid, we used “faggot” all the time. I, for one, had no idea what it meant as far as being a homophobic slur goes. It was basically synonymous with “jerk” to me (e.g., no way, faggot! I was safe! you missed me by a mile!). And I’m sure that my lesbian grandma heard me say it at least a hundred times and never thought to set me straight (no pun intended). My mom had to hear me say it even more times. That’s queer (pun intended) to me.

I probably didn’t know its more distasteful usage until probably 4th grade, and even then, I probably used it for a few more years out of habit.

We’d also always play a game called “smear the queer.”

Queer.

we'd use it in both ways. as another word for "jerk", as you stated, but also if when guy friends would tease each other about liking other guys. we were so ignorant/insecure that the knee-jerk reaction was to always call the other guy gay/fag/etc to make your case that you weren't. it was so stupid.

mrussel1 · February 2018

^^ Reading this thread, the word "fag" came immediately to mind. We used fag all the time, and it rarely meant homosexual. It was more like idiot, loser, whatever. I was thinking about this exact issue a few years ago, wondering if terms we used unceasingly as teenagers will be considered the new "n" word in the very near future, if not now. To be clear, I didn't know anyone that used the N word when I was in school, up through 91. That was definitely taboo even then. Granted, I didn't live in the south.