I caught an interesting programme on Radio 4 yesterday morning - episode 1 of a new series Taboo Be Doo about offensive and politically (in)correct songs (listen again here). There are 'fashions' in what is deemed offensive. The Beverley Sisters, of all people, were once banned from the BBC for their what were then considered risqué lyrics. On the other hand, words that are considered offensive now did not necessarily give radio and tv producers cause for concern in the past.
An executive from Radio 2 was interviewed on the programme and he specifically mentioned the popular Christmas song of the Pogues. Fairytale in New York. This song contains the word 'faggot', which is now deemed politically incorrect. The executive more or less said that this song only gets played on Radios 1 and 2 these days because it has been around for 20 years and is a fixture of people's Christmases -- if it was issued today as a new record, it probably wouldn't be given airtime (this interview was towards the end of the programme - about 24 and a half minutes in).
Faggot originally (14th century) meant bundle of sticks. By the 19th century faggot was being used as a term of abuse to a woman, accompanied by adjectives such as 'old' or 'lazy'. By the early 20th century faggot was being used to refer pejoratively to male homosexuals.
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