Chester-le-Street

TUESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2007

FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK
Apparently, this is - quite rightly - the UK’s favourite Christmas song. As far as BBC Radio One is concerned, however, the inclusion of the word ‘faggot’ in the lyrics is unacceptable and it has been ‘bleeped-out’ for airplay. Mike Parr, on his breakfast show this morning, picked up on this and asked his guests and his listeners if it was ‘political correctness gone mad’. ‘Faggot’ - or just ‘fag’ - are, after all, well-established insult words for homosexuals, especially in the USA. Naturally, as a man who has lived an openly gay life for many years, I was itching to contribute to Mike’s discussion. Probably mindful of the amount I would have to say on the subject, he didn’t invited me! However, I can impose my thoughts on you!
Firstly, then, to the words themselves. This itself is worth some earnest academic research! The traditional insult-word for homosexuals in the UK has been ‘queer’; it’s been in common use since about the time of the First World War. In the USA, though, it retained its ancient meaning of ‘strange, odd, inexplicable’, with no sexual overtones at all. Their insult word - faggot and fag - were equally confined to the USA. Over here, a faggot is either a bundle of sticks or a kind of spicey meatball. The unrelated word fag also has two meanings here: a subordinate and junior public schoolboy or - as slang - a cigarette.
With the cross-fertilisation of words between the countries, though, both words now have all of their meanings intact on both sides of the Atlantic, sexual overtones included. But are they necessarily insulting?
In the 70s or perhaps slightly earlier, minorities who perceived themselves as persecuted discovered a new way of ‘neutralising’ insult-words like these - adopt them. After all, queer cannot be insulting if a homosexual uses it to describe himself. Titles such as Queer Nation and Queer As Folk are now regarded as merely decriptive or even affectionate, like paddy or mick for an Irishman, jimmy or jock for a Scotsman or Taffy for a Welshman.
Similarly, black - used to describe the colour of some people’s skin - was regarded as offensive when I was young, and the people to whom it was directed - as an insult - took the same action. They adopted the word themselves, thus removing its ‘sting’.
For communities that have not taken this action, though, the neutralising process has not even begun. There are many words which are still hurtfully and insultingly directed at them and which are taken as intended. These are the words I cannot quote here. I don’t want to hurt or insult anyone.
The neutralising of faggot and fag in the USA is not complete yet. After all, the social situation of gay people there is much more volatile than it is in the UK or most of Europe. Over there, these words are still felt keenly as hurtful insults by a community which is, in many places, still very much persecuted. Nevertheless, the use of faggot in Fairytale of New York (she calls him ‘a cheap lousy faggot’) can hardly be construed as homophobic - at least not in the same way that many of the lyrics used by some gangsta rappers are homophobic. Radio One seems to play those quite happily, perhaps because the words are not immediately understood by everyone.
European gay comminities (eastern Europe excepted) are now mature and self-confident enough to withstand trivial references like the one in Fairytale of New York. To many gay people like me, the puzzling aspect of this debate is that it is taking place at all, bearing in mind the genuine hurt felt by many gay people when Chris Moyles used ‘gay’ disparagingly - and the BBC defended him so stoutly.
Now you can see why I wasn’t invited onto Mike Parr’s programme this morning!

CONTACT ME
Post comments on this blog or contact me in any one (or more) of these ways....
ian.robinson@bbc.co.uk
text 07786 200954 (while the programme is on-air)
call (between about 0545 and 0630 Monday to Friday) 0191 232 6565
Ian Robinson, The Nightshift, BBC Radio Newcastle, Spital Tongues, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE99 1RN

NOTE
Please bear in mind that the views expressed in this blog are my own and NOT the views of the BBC.