Bitter on Twitter

**Twitter is never without one controversy or another, but one that has captured the attention of LGBTQ news is Azealia Banks’ row with celebrity gossiper Perez Hilton when she called him a “messy f**got”. Banks has since tried to argue against the backlash – but what’s the problem with “f**got”?**

Homophobic slurs are all too common in everyday society. A lot of people are comfortable using the phrase “that’s so gay” to refer to something as bad or stupid and it has become a norm for people in society to use such phraseology in everyday speech. Whilst this points to an underlying problem with the current discourse of society, and the LGBTQ community’s place within it, for a public figure to openly use such a term to describe a member of the LGBTQ community is dangerous.

It sends a signal that it is OK to use such terms, to make these prejudiced remarks towards people, particularly when voiced on a global, public access platform.
As much as the public/celebrity hierarchy infuriates me, it takes public figures to influence people to change for the better. Whilst we can, and should, change ourselves, having people we admire tell us that it isn’t OK to use homophobic slang can only lead to a positive change in our discourse.

“F**got”, has not been adopted as a colloquial term used by the LGBTQ community, unlike the word “queer” for example; it still holds power as a word of prejudice and hatred.
It is worth pointing out here that Banks, as an openly bisexual person, has since claimed that she did not mean “f**got” in the homophobic sense, but that it refers to “any male who acts like a female.”

{{ quote f**got remains a term used to denote prejudice towards the LGBTQ community }}

However “f**got” is a word that has become synonymous with homophobic prejudice, with it being used against many a gay man as a means of expressing disgust towards them. Therefore, for a person with many young, impressionable fans to use a word with such a sordid meaning, whether implied or not, is unacceptable.

In short, regardless of Banks’ intended meaning, “f**got” remains a term used to denote prejudice towards the LGBTQ community and for public figures to use it on Twitter only gives others an excuse to use it.

Whilst there have been protestations about freedom of speech, public figures like Azealia Banks have a responsibility to promote positivity in their fans. It seems unfair to want to restrict their speech more than the general public’s, but when a voice gains international recognition and influence it is all the more important that it should be extremely careful about what it says.