Homophobia-The perspective of a gay fan

[Foster House]

I can think of at least three other regular posters who are openly so.

And I really can't see why some posters on here can't tell the difference between regular football chants (albeit tedious ones) and downright nasty things. It's hardly rocket science.

Here's a conundrum for the troglodytes: would you rather sit next to a gay Albion fan or a straight Palace one?

If anyone answers the Palace one I will be making a complaint! I can just imagine the sketch...

I don't mind me son bein gay... yer know its 2011 init... but if my son came home and said 'Dad I'm off to SE25 on Saturday' I'd say Oi..nooooooo.....

 

[The Merry Prankster]

It is still the ultimate insult so I cant see it being eradicated from football and lads banter

Really? I would have thought anyone secure in their sexuality wouldn't be worried at all, assuming we're not talking about the playground here.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Really? I would have thought anyone secure in their sexuality wouldn't be worried at all, assuming we're not talking about the playground here.

Quite.

 

[spongy]

It's fine, can't feel any hatred in that. If you really wanted to put the fear of god into some of them just shout 'He's behind you....'

That has made me laugh out loud. nice one.

 

[Foster House]

Nice one! Can we organise this chant please?

'He's behind you, He's behind you. Tilt your bum and bend your knees....'

Now that should be the end of such banter until the next match

 

[El Presidente]

'He's behind you, He's behind you. Tilt your bum and bend your knees....'

To which tune should that be sung?

FWIW we would normally take action for anyone coming on NSC calling people faggots, it is not an acceptable term on here as a rule.

 

[Beach Hut]

To which tune should that be sung?

FWIW we would normally take action for anyone coming on NSC calling people faggots, it is not an acceptable term on here as a rule.

Really ?

So what happens if you eat faggots ?

 

[GT49er]

Interesting debate here...is there a difference betweemn homophobic chanting and banter? General opinion seems to be that stuff like, "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is banter - I think I agree. Calling someone a faggot or a queer is meant to be demeaning, derogatory, insulting and offensive, but calling a gay person 'Gay' is OK, because,well, they are gay. Sounds fair enough to me. A bit of banter along the lines of "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is pretty harmless (if puerile) fun.
So why can't the same common sense be applied to race? ******, coon and wog are objectionable terms, and their use is inexcusable, but black people ARE black (well, usually a shade of brown) - so why is calling a black person black deemed to be racism? Oh shite, I think I've just exonerated John Terry, odious **** that he is.................

 

[El Presidente]

Really ?

So what happens if you eat faggots ?

That's why I said 'as a rule', which means that context is taken into consideration.

It's the same as using the word '******'. The word itself is not offensive, it is the way that is used, and the nature of any direction towards another person (or group of people) that is taken into consideration.

 

[Paddy B]

Well within all my previous work places, friends etc , if one thing that blokes seem to get offended at is when their sexuality is questioned.

Most people I know will not go out their way to go against Gays etc as they are part of the world we now live in but I dont know many people that seem to like them although I guess alot of the more in ya face types probably do the Gay community no favours

I think that says more about them. I wonder how many posters on here would be bothered if they were thought to be gay...

 

[Beach Hut]

That's why I said 'as a rule', which means that context is taken into consideration.

It's the same as using the word '******'. The word itself is not offensive, it is the way that is used, and the nature of any direction towards another person (or group of people) that is taken into consideration.

You are all man when the voice of reason

 

[northstandnorth]

As my son and I were walking back to the centre to meet our wives,who had had more fun than us shopping,we were ironically called Brighton poofs by a couple of Stains yoofs.
I didn't have the heart to point out they were just a couple of 12 y.o. Virgins.

 

[Foster House]

To which tune should that be sung?

FWIW we would normally take action for anyone coming on NSC calling people faggots, it is not an acceptable term on here as a rule.

To the tune of 'Your supposed to be at home'.

Thanks for the recognition of that as an offensive term. It is only used in hatefulness in my experience. Someone has used it in the last 24 hours on here but I think in youthfull ignorance that's why I didn't want to make anything of it.

 

[Norman Potting]

To which tune should that be sung?

I think it would fit to "Come and Join us".

Seriously, thought provoking thread - well done!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Interesting debate here...is there a difference betweemn homophobic chanting and banter? General opinion seems to be that stuff like, "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is banter - I think I agree. Calling someone a faggot or a queer is meant to be demeaning, derogatory, insulting and offensive, but calling a gay person 'Gay' is OK, because,well, they are gay. Sounds fair enough to me. A bit of banter along the lines of "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is pretty harmless (if puerile) fun.
So why can't the same common sense be applied to race? ******, coon and wog are objectionable terms, and their use is inexcusable, but black people ARE black (well, usually a shade of brown) - so why is calling a black person black deemed to be racism? Oh shite, I think I've just exonerated John Terry, odious **** that he is.................

The word "black" is not offensive in itself, I'm quietly confident that most black people are quite fine with it just like you wouldn't care about being described as white (I'm assuming you are).

Where it becomes an issue is if it's used in an unpleasant context, as Terry is ALLEGED to have done. He supposedly used the term "black c*nt", which is highlighting Ferdinand's ethnicity in an attempt to insult him. Why even raise his colour? Why not just call him a c*nt if that's the way he feels? No need to bring his ethnicity into it at all.

THAT is the issue here, not the word black in a general context.

 

[Notters]

Interesting, I've had people chasing after me at Watford, HUddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff, Southampton... To name a few, after the game, shouting "im going to smash your face in you f***ing gay ****" and similar. Are you saying that's not homophobia, or have I just been unlucky? The only thing I can possibly have to provoke this, by the way, is wear an Albion shirt.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Interesting debate here...is there a difference betweemn homophobic chanting and banter? General opinion seems to be that stuff like, "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is banter - I think I agree. Calling someone a faggot or a queer is meant to be demeaning, derogatory, insulting and offensive, but calling a gay person 'Gay' is OK, because,well, they are gay. Sounds fair enough to me. A bit of banter along the lines of "Does your boyfriend know you're here" is pretty harmless (if puerile) fun.
So why can't the same common sense be applied to race? ******, coon and wog are objectionable terms, and their use is inexcusable, but black people ARE black (well, usually a shade of brown) - so why is calling a black person black deemed to be racism? Oh shite, I think I've just exonerated John Terry, odious **** that he is.................

Because it's using the word 'black' as an insult, and implying it is something to be ashamed of, not merely as a neutral description. This is what happened to 'n--ger' and 'negro'. Those words got used so much as insults that they eventually contaminated the meaning of the words, and so led to those who previously used those terms to identify themselves with a different term, such as 'black'. A similar thing is happening with the word 'gay' (as in 'your trainers are gay') being used as an insult.

 

[Frutos]

Interesting, I've had people chasing after me at Watford, HUddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff, Southampton... To name a few, after the game, shouting "im going to smash your face in you f***ing gay ****" and similar. Are you saying that's not homophobia, or have I just been unlucky? The only thing I can possibly have to provoke this, by the way, is wear an Albion shirt.

That, to my mind at least, is definitely homophobia.

The likes of "does your boyfriend know you're here" (yes, in some cases he's been next to me at the time) and similar are just banter and best combatted with humour ("you're too ugly to be gay" etc...). That said, I don't think the authorities take genuine, nasty homophobia nearly as seriously as they should do, and the best we can really hope for is that in the coming years and decades, much as happened with the mainstream racism prevalent in previous decades, the perpetrators simply grow old/die/stop going and their place is taken by people who actually have a modern, tolerant view of the world and the wide variety of people in it.

 

[DerbyGull]

Interesting, I've had people chasing after me at Watford, HUddersfield, Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday, Cardiff, Southampton... To name a few, after the game, shouting "im going to smash your face in you f***ing gay ****" and similar. Are you saying that's not homophobia, or have I just been unlucky? The only thing I can possibly have to provoke this, by the way, is wear an Albion shirt.

Never ever been subjected to this myself. Sounds like you're a bit of a target and not just because of being a Brighton fan.

 

[Notters]

Very much agree [MENTION=4675]Frutos[/MENTION], though it does tend to be young chavs in crapholes like Watford and Luton that seem to enjoy such vitriol.