Faggot (slang) - Masculinity and High School

Masculinity and High School

Through ethnographic research in a high school setting, CJ Pascoe examines how high school boys use the term 'fag.' Pascoe's work shows that boys in high school use the fag epithet as a way to assert their own masculinity by claiming that another boy is less masculine, making him a fag. The way the word fag is used in this context shows that it is less about sexual orientation and more about gender. In fact, one-third of the boys in Pascoe's study claimed that they would not call a homosexual peer a fag. Fag is used in this setting as a form of gender policing, in which boys point out and ridicule others who fail at masculinity, heterosexual prowess, or strength. Because boys do not want to be labeled a fag, they hurl the insult at another person to deflect their temporary position as the fag. The fag identity does not constitute a static identity attached to the boy receiving the insult. Rather, fag is a fluid identity that boys strive to avoid, often by naming another as the fag. As Pascoe asserts, " is fluid enough that boys police their behaviors out of fear of having the fag identity permanently adhere and definitive enough so that boys recognize a fag behavior and strive to avoid it." Gender policing is most common among white boys, while black boys are more concerned with "acting" appropriately black. The black youth in Pascoe's study often ridiculed one another for "acting white," and did not express gender policing to the same degree as white boys.