Singer Azealia Banks, who in no way may only be attempting to stir up controversy and attention ahead of her upcoming album release, has reignited a month-old feud with Perez Hilton via Twitter, which: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Perhaps anticipating that few would care about an artist best known for being near impossible to Wiki due to the semi-idiotic spelling of her name poking the sleeping bear that is the internet’s preeminent Microsoft Paint Penis artiste, Banks upped the ante by once again calling Hilton a “faggot”, a term she used to describe him during January’s dust-up, which garnered her a heap of attention.
Ms. Banks, who, incidentally, is openly bisexual and demonstrably moronic, followed up a tweet suggesting Hilton be “sacrificed to the Sun God” thusly:
“Here we go again. Everyone pretending to be so shocked and moved by the word faggot… It’s like society is so bored with itself it needs to hold on to these outdated rules of what you can say and cannot say… Why has society accepted “ni**er” As a colloquialism … But will not accept “faggot”? Everyones always acting like its f**king 1905 in this bitch. What is your definition of the word faggot? Faggot means coward, liar, backstabber…… Energy stealer, blood sucker. Perez tries to get every gay person all riled up when the only faggot I see …….. is him. It’s really time for a cultural shift. All these leftover old world social themes we’re all still trying to hold on to are BOOORRIIING” [A MOUNTAIN of “sic”]
Lordy.
First off, did I miss the meeting when the N word was accepted as a colloquialism? I’m pretty sure its still abhorrent, and if it is acceptable, I would posit that the vile historical weight of that world provides that it can only be used by people who have an agreement (often unspoken) to refer to each other as such, and even then, not by anyone who is not of African descent.
I imagine Ms. Banks would be none too pleased if I, a white man, referred to her as “my n****r”, “a n****r”, or used that word to refer to her in any manner. Not that I ever would, because, you know, that word is just… no.
Moving beyond that, the very reason that “faggot” is associated with weakness and cowardice is because it is a pejorative aimed at insinuating or stating that someone is possessed of those characteristics, either owing to, or attributing to someone, a homosexuality. Banks herself, in the original Twitter spat (Twispat? Twat?) tweeted:
So, to sum up, a “faggot” is any man who acts like a female; a coward, a liar, a backstabber, and none of this, in the wig-glue-addled head of Ms. Banks, relates back to the use of the word as an insult to homosexuals?
Much like I imagine is the case with the black community and the N word, I can (and do) refer to my gay friends as “faggot” as a term of endearment, or use the word within the community in accordance with the social contract we have developed around that word. I have earned that stripe. I grew up being called a faggot. I understand how to deploy that term among the people who have spent a lifetime having it slung at them like a rock in a way that is implicitly understood, that de-fangs it by way of reclamation or parody, or through mutual understanding as to what I mean when I use it.
No amount of verbal or mental gymnastics will rob that word (or, for that matter, the N word) of its historical context, of the innumerable hurts suffered by millions when it has been spat in their direction, of the weight of the acts of violence that have accompanied it throughout modern history. “Faggot”, no matter what way you spin it, is used as a demeaning reference to one’s apparent or actual homosexuality.
This isn’t really up for debate, Azealia. So let’s make a deal: I won’t use the N word. You don’t use the F word.
I would still like to call you a “Moron”, however. I think we can all agree that there’s only one meaning for that one, and it fits.
PS: Ms. Banks ended this little Algonquin Roundtable of hers with a claim that “Everyone has their own truth :)”
I encourage you to pop over to twitter and let her know your truth: https://twitter.com/azealiabanks
Photo: Flickr
