Many people are aware that the word "faggot" - like the French fagot and Italian fa(n)gotto - refers to a bunch of sticks, herbs, or metal rods tied together into a bundle, but what’s the connection between a bundle of sticks and anti-gay harassment???

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "faggot" has been used in a wide variety of contexts since the 1300s. At first it was a neutral term, simply referring to a bundle of sticks or twigs that someone might gather for fuel. Eventually, however, it acquired several different negative connotations, while retaining its basic origin as a bundle of sticks. When heretics were burned alive during the European Inquisitions, the fires used to burn them were built with a "faggot"(s). The expression "to fry a faggot" came to mean "to be burnt alive." Heretics often were forced to carry the "faggot" to the fire being built for them, and those who recanted their heretical beliefs in order to avoid execution were obliged to wear the design of a "faggot" embroidered on their sleeve, to identify them as former heretics. "Faggot" thus also acquired the connotation of baggage, something burdensome or difficult to bear. This particular meaning evolved as a sexist insult, often directed with contempt at women considered shrewish, tiresome, or disreputable; a contemporary parallel would be "ball and chain."

The use of the word "faggot" to refer to men who are gay or perceived to be so is primarily a U.S. phenomenon, although linked to a 19th-20th century practice in British all-male boarding schools. Younger students were expected to gather bundles of sticks to fuel the fireplaces in older students’ rooms. This practice was extended to include all sorts of tasks older students could demand of younger students, including sex. Being someone’s "faggot" came to mean occupying a submissive position, and the submissive position forced upon younger students often left them vulnerable to unwelcome sexual advances.

"Faggot" first appeared in the U.S. during the early part of the 20th century, as a slang term for men considered to be effeminate or flamboyant. The term grew more popular as well as more venomous during the middle of the century, and by the 1960s had become one of the most common slurs used against gay men, or men perceived to be gay. It is unclear exactly when "faggot" came to be embraced as an all-purpose insult, but that usage no doubt derives from the belief among some straight men that the greatest possible humiliation is to be identified as gay.

Other definitions for the noun "faggot" throughout history have included a type of meat pastry produced in the U.K.; a person temporarily employed to fill a deficiency in a company or military regiment’s ranks; a type of vote in the British Parliament; and thinly sliced pieces or frayed edges. "Fag" is British slang for a cigarette. The verb form of "faggot" meant to tie or bind up as in a "faggot" of sticks, but also was used figuratively to refer to binding, stitching, or fastening objects, ideas or people together. A rare use of the verb form of "faggot" referred to the act of setting the accused heretic on the fire for burning. "To faggot" also came to mean "to recant," referring to the "faggot" design former heretics were forced to display on their clothing.

There have been many debates about the relationship of the definitions described above to contemporary anti-gay harassment. Some people believe that current usage of the term "faggot" derives more specifically from the history of burning heretics, suggesting that LGBT people or people perceived to be LGBT were included in the condemned. Others believe that the current usage of the term "faggot" derives more specifically from the history of abusing women, especially women considered less desirable. Either way, it is clear that "faggot" is the product of a long legacy of violence and sexism, and carries the pain of that legacy even when used as a general insult.

At Grayson Fairbanks, Inc. we believe that we can change the definition and usage of a word- no matter the history. We honor those that have been victimized by the negative use of the words fag and faggot- we bow our heads in recognition and vow to change the course and future of such words. By creating a line of products branded F.A.G and in redefining it’s recent meaning we hope that we can create a positive ripple affect in developing a more peace-filled world and demonstrate that we can reclaim negative words and connotations to give them a new definition for the next generation.

David Christian Hamblin, CEO and President Grayson Fairbanks, Inc. Research: Google.com