I was watching some 'best Christmas songs ever' show on Christmas night with some gay friends. 'A Fairytale of New York' came on and I commented that it was clearly the best Christmas song of all time, by a country mile. One of my friends looked horrified and said he thought it was the worst Christmas song ever. When I asked why he said it was because of the use of the word "faggot" ("you scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy faggot, happy Christmas my arse, I pray god it's our last.")
We had a slightly pissed debate where I insisted that the song wasn't homophobic, it was just one of the characters in the song talking to the other character. But my friend insisted that the Kirsty McColl character was using the word "faggot" as an insult and was therefore being homophobic. And that whether it was the character, the songwriter or the song that was homophobic didn't matter - even if none of these entities were homophobic, simply using the word was extremely hurtful. Surely you wouldn't be allowed to use the word "n****r" or "Paki" in a similar context? Perhaps it's less about homophobic than simply being sympathetic to other peoples's feelings.
I disagreed with him last night, but on reflection, I think he's right. As a mixed up teenage gay kid, it must be pretty hurtful to hear the word 'faggot' used an an insult in the middle of an extremely popular singalong Christmas song. I know how I would have felt aged 17 if, for example, So Here It Is Merry Christmas had the word 'Paki' in it. I'm actually starting to think The Pogues should be asked to change the lyric.
Any thoughts?
We had a slightly pissed debate where I insisted that the song wasn't homophobic, it was just one of the characters in the song talking to the other character. But my friend insisted that the Kirsty McColl character was using the word "faggot" as an insult and was therefore being homophobic. And that whether it was the character, the songwriter or the song that was homophobic didn't matter - even if none of these entities were homophobic, simply using the word was extremely hurtful. Surely you wouldn't be allowed to use the word "n****r" or "Paki" in a similar context? Perhaps it's less about homophobic than simply being sympathetic to other peoples's feelings.
I disagreed with him last night, but on reflection, I think he's right. As a mixed up teenage gay kid, it must be pretty hurtful to hear the word 'faggot' used an an insult in the middle of an extremely popular singalong Christmas song. I know how I would have felt aged 17 if, for example, So Here It Is Merry Christmas had the word 'Paki' in it. I'm actually starting to think The Pogues should be asked to change the lyric.
Any thoughts?
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