When reading Corbett's essay, I found myself in awe of all the uses of the word faggot; for example, Corbett says that faggot is "employed to register failure or loss" in moments of rivalry between boys. It's interesting to think that when in competition, boys choose to 'fight' by using words to undermine the masculinity of the other. The word faggot is used by these boys in order to assert their own masculinity by declaring that there opponent it feminine. The use of this word as a defense mechanism shows how it is utilized in order to insult someone else there fore giving it a negative connotation. By using the word faggot to insinuate a loss of manhood, males are often projecting insecurities about their own masculinity.
When pondering the use of derrogatory words, I have found myself realizing how many times I, myself, use them. Although I have never used the word faggot, I am plenty guily of using words such as slut, retarded, gay etc. completely out of context. After reading Corbett's essay, I was convicted of the concequences that these words can have not only on group of people but on individuals. When thinking about this, I am reminded of a series of commercials I saw on tv a while ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVicCD8FmMs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IcRQssVllA&feature=related
I really love the slogan of this campaign! Think before you speak! I think that this same message applies to the points of Corbett's essay...imagine the changes our society could make if we chose to speak before using these words out of context.
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