Should South Park Get Away With Using the F-Word?
This week's episode of South Park was an F-word extravaganza. No, not that F-word. The word "fag," the three-letter insult that has become a staple on playgrounds to tease kids, in locker rooms to ridicule teammates, and in the demonstrations of Rev. Fred Phelps and his church crew to wish LGBT people a one-way ticket to hell.
Generally speaking, it's a word that rivals the "N-word" in terms of vulgarity. Victims of hate crimes have had it scrawled on their body after being beaten or killed. So given it's reputation, is it OK for South Park to air an episode that uses the word so cavalierly?
A little context might help. The episode that ran this week had nothing to do with LGBT people. Instead, it had to do with the characters (kids in a Colorado town, for those who might not have watched it over the past twelve years) taking on a loud motorcycle gang. The kids decide that they want to reclaim the word "Fag," so that it's not considered an insult to LGBT people, but used to describe "inconsiderate douchebags" everywhere. Hence a 22-minute episode on the etymology of the word "faggot" and an effort to change the word's definition in the dictionary.
On its surface, it sounds kind of noble. But underneath the surface, the fact that South Park used the word so frequently this week likely means that more people are saying the word today than yesterday.
The intentions of the creators of South Park weren't to be homophobic. Let's make that clear. There is actually something admirable about trying to dis-empower the most hateful word used to intimidate and harass LGBT people.
But as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) notes today, good intentions don't always translate into positive news. They make the case that by using the word "Fag" so frequently, and in still a very derogatory context, they are reinforcing its usage by people -- especially young people -- as a means of insulting others.
"The creators of “South Park” are right on one important point: more and more people are using the F-word as an all-purpose insult. However, it is irresponsible and wrong to suggest that it is a benign insult or that promoting its use has no consequences for those who are the targets of anti-gay bullying and violence," write GLAAD. "This is a slur whose meaning remains rooted in homophobia. And while many “South Park” viewers will understand the sophisticated satire and critique in last night’s episode, others won’t – and if even a small number of those take from this a message that using the “F-word” is OK, it worsens the hostile climate that many in our community continue to face."
Is GLAAD right? Or should shows like South Park be given the creative license to say words like "Fag"? Where does that line get drawn in the sand to indicate "offensive material" vs. satire?
All hard questions to wrestle with, but in the end, it may just be easier for shows like South Park to stay away from three-letter words that have tortured the LGBT population for decades.
Michael Jones
is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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