... just because they used a word that's so frequently thrown around as an insult. Quite often good naturedly, especially in highly macho arenas like rugby fandom can be. The biggest insult that macho blokes can throw at other blokes is weakness, and that's the meaning that faggot most often has in those circles.

It's like calling someone an arsehole. You just say it, and most often don't mean it.

Yes, it is certainly becoming a horrible insult for homosexuals, but she probably heard it a lot from her older male relatives so it won't have that meaning for her.

The American influence really only became huge in the late 70s and early 80s. Faggot is a much older insult than that.


That's what I mean. So no, she doesn't need to "soul search". She needs to think before she speaks or tweets, or whatever. And she needs to remember the connotation the word has for most people around the world and not use it again. That's as far as it needs to go, IMO.